From Meat Pies in the Club to ‘Money Constant,’ Billboard African Rookie of the Month Mavo Is Set on Becoming a ‘Mainstream International Artist’  

When Mavo celebrated his 22nd birthday at the top of this month, he had “1” “2” and “3” LED marquee numbers to symbolize another significant figure. He had occupied the top three spots of the Apple Music Nigeria Top Songs chart with “Money Constant” with DJ Maphorisa, DJ Tunez and Wizkid, “BODY (danz)” with CKay, and the “Shakabulizzy (Remix)” with Davido.

“My friends actually did that for me. My friends did a surprise party for me,” he tells Billboard while on Zoom in Cape Town, South Africa, where he reveals he’s recorded another song with Davido (their “Galorizzy” collaboration with Scotts Maphuma, Morravey, Ecool and Iphxne DJ was announced less than a week after our interview and released the following week). “Davido is my friend. After I dropped the ‘Shakabulizzy’ remix, we’ve been always talking.”

Such an auspicious musical career is quite the extracurricular for someone who’s currently studying optometry at Afe Babalola University in Ekiti State, Nigeria, where Mavo (real name Oseremen Marvin Ukanigbe) will graduate in July 2026. But outside of wanting to specialize in eye care, he’s also taken a special interest in linguistics when it comes to his music.

His self-described “Burbur music” is an experimental hybrid of Afrobeats and rap that’s riddled with his idiosyncratic slang and unfiltered storytelling. “Burbur” – meaning “something that’s crazy, something that’s busting out speakers,” he describes – is one of 80 terms that Mavo has devised for his Bizzylingua vocabulary and defined in the Bizzpedia, A Native Bur Bur Dictionary that he worked on for two years and recently published with NATIVE Mag.

The “Bizzy” prefix is Mavo’s self-appointed nickname, which personifies his hustle as an independent artist and university student. He says listening to Wizkid at a young age inspired the semantic highlight of his music. “He’d start songs by saying ‘yaga.’ This guy’s feeling fly on the song. I’m like, ‘These are things I need to think about. How can I create words that when you say them, you’d be like, ‘What’s he saying?’ But they also sound cool at the same time,” he explains.

His favorite slang is “burti,” a “term referring to a great deal of swag and motion” as defined by the Bizzypedia. Many words in the Bizzylingua are suffixed with “izzy,” as popularized by his witty street-hop “Escaladizzy” hit with WAVE$TAR that BNXN co-signed, while ZerryDL put his own spin on it. Zerry’s brother and Plutomania Records boss Shallipopi individually reached out to contribute a verse to the remix, as did Ayra Starr and Zlatan, so Mavo combined their starpower on “Escaladizzy II.”

“I knew that anything was possible,” he reflects after “Escaladizzy II.” And while the stars continue aligning for – and collaborating with – Mavo, he’s determined to end his breakout year on a high note and continue his ascent into the new year.  

Billboard spoke with November’s African Rookie of the Month about juggling his optometrist career goal and A-list artist ambitions, educating his listeners on the Bizzylingua, and cooking up the viral “Your body na meat pie” lyric from “BODY.”   

When did you know music was your calling?

When I was in secondary school, there was a music club. So before I went to university, I had already written songs but not so full of metaphors or any form of literature, just basic lyrics. When I went to uni, I wanted to be more imaginative and innovative in my lyrics. I always try to trigger people with what I’m saying. I don’t want to say triggering, but that’s what it does. People [ask], “Why would you say this?” And that’s what works for me: the ability to make people want to know more.

How did your upbringing in Ekpoma, Edo State impact the music you listen to and the music you make?

It was a do-it-yourself thing. You had to be independent. I was in an all-boys school. There’s no impressing any girl. Nobody’s going to do anything for you because they like you. I was growing the habit of being independent for six years while I was in school before I went to uni.

Who are some of your favorite artists whom you grew up listening to?

Wizkid, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Burna [Boy], Lil Uzi Vert, Davido, Rema, Seyi Vibez, Omah Lay. Future and Young Thug are my greatest inspirations ever. I’ve not dropped a lot of music, so people can’t tell that, but in due time. I’ve worked on so much music. Right now, I have over 1,500 songs on my laptop.

You’ve recorded that many songs since you’ve started making music in general or just recently?

Over the past three years. I started recording commercial music when I was in 300 level optometry. When I got to 300 level, I had time to multitask by recording songs and reading my books.

As you’re recording and studying at the same time, what does your schedule look like these days?

I had to choose channeling my school energy into my music. I have some songs where I met this girl when I was coming from class, or I met this girl when I went to buy food last night and I just tell the story. What I could do during my leisure [time], when guys are going to play basketball, I just record in my room. I have my microphone and everything.

Most of my songs, like “Escaladizzy,” were recorded in my room in my hostel. I believed that me doing it in my room is actually better than me going to a bigger studio. But for “Shakabulizzy” and moving forward, I saw the importance of actually going into the studio and following proper engineering routes.

How did you learn to record music in your room?

In my 200 level, I had friends that did music as well. We bought the equipment then started recording. My friend already knew about FL Studio and he started telling me about it and setting me up. Because I was in medicine, I had to stay back in school for three months. I was practicing FL Studio every day and finally made one banger, the song was so sweet. I sent it to my manager like, “Bro, can you hear the song?” She’s like, “Yeah, this song is crazy.” I’m like, “Yeah, man, I just recorded it.” And that’s how everything started.  

And what made you pursue optometry?

My mom had some issues. I don’t know what it was, but I knew it was some issues with her eye. That was when I was really small. It was really hard for me to juggle school and my mom. I already had it in mind I wanted to become a doctor but not an eye doctor in particular. I was studying medicine originally. After a while, I told my lecturers I wanted to change and study optometry.

I already knew I was going to do music. I just needed something to inspire my educational side. I didn’t want to study music. I was doing really, really well in science. And my parents didn’t really want me to do art. Funny thing is when I started studying optometry, I realized that it was so fun. It’s different from being an optician or a regular eye specialist. You have a lot of things in your hands, you are closer to the patients. You are next to the ophthalmologist. It’s a lovely opportunity to become an optometrist.

How do you envision your career path being post-grad?

It’s going to be very interesting. I’m not really a person that likes to spill tea. I have a song with Wizkid and Davido, and nobody actually knew about it until the day they were dropping. But I have a really, really big thing happening during the first quarter of next year. That’s all I can say. Serious music. What I’m going to do is going to actually blow minds by God’s grace.

Take me back through the making of “Escaladizzy.”

I wrote it when I was in school. I had classes that week and during the weekend, I had shows in Lagos. After writing the song on Thursday, I had to go to Homecoming [Festival] on Friday. I performed [it] in my set the next day, it was unreleased. [WAVE$TAR] was like, “You should come to the studio” the next day. I was like, “No problem. I’ll pull up to your studio tomorrow.”

I went to the studio, I recorded one song, then I’m like, “Yo, yo. I’m still feeling the vibes. I feel like we need to record another song.” He’s like, “Oh yeah, yeah, that’s calm. Let’s do it.” Then I recorded “Escaladizzy.” I had the beat on my phone already. I had already written my part before I came there. But we didn’t finish it. I had to finish it three weeks later when it was hitting on TikTok.

When did you know that that song was special? Were you caught by surprise by the fan reaction to the snippet you shared on TikTok?

Trust me, I have a lot of songs that I know would do a lot of things, like more than 100, but I didn’t know this one was going to do this. After I recorded “Escaladizzy,” the only way it was going to work out for me business-wise was if I made another song like “Escaladizzy.” So I went to make “Shakabulizzy.”

Between “Escaladizzy” and “Shakabulizzy,” what is the significance of your signature “izzy” suffix?

The Bizzy form of something is going to be “izzy,” so the Bizzy form of an Escalade is Escaladizzy. The Bizzy form of Shakabula is Shakabulizzy. The Bizzy form of a clock is a clockizzy. The Bizzy form of a socket is a socketizzy. It just depends on if you want to do this. I don’t use my words all the time. It’s like an alternate word if I want to joke with my friends or be funny.

How did you get Davido on the “Shakabulizzy” remix?

He just texted me on Instagram. He’s like, “Could you send me ‘Shakabulizzy’? I want to do something.” I sent it to him. And he sent it to me the next day. Then he sent me a lot of money for the video as well. He’s a really nice person.

When did you realize that you were going to have a song with Wizkid and a song with Davido come out on the same day?

I knew that a month before it happened. They came to me. DJ Tunez texted me in September saying, “Wiz and you should do a song. Can you send the chorus?” I’m like, “OK, can you send me the beat?” Then he sent it. I just did my thing.

What was your reaction to occupying Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on Apple Music Nigeria Top Songs chart with “MONEY CONSTANT,” “BODY (danz)” and the “Shakabulizzy (Remix)”?

We knew it was going to happen. My team already told me. Surprisingly, I felt like there was going to be some sort of shuffling, like it was going to come on, go off, maybe [Nos.] 1, 2 [and] 5. But the funny thing is my team already told me it was going to go [Nos.] 1, 2 and 3.

Speaking of “BODY (danz),” how did you come up with the viral lyric “Your body na meat pie?”

I initially was telling you about being more metaphorical in my music, being more literature-based, trying to make a body of work an actual art piece. Let’s just say “meat pie” is metaphorical.

Did you expect that line to get as much attention as it has?

That, I can’t say — because I’ve related the body to a lot of other foods, trust me.

One X user commended you as a “lyrical genius” and broke down the mathematical meaning behind “meat pie,” equating that to “she’s a ten.” What do you think of all the lyrical breakdowns?

I see a lot of crazy breakdowns. I didn’t even know this was happening. But it’s cool to know that if you do that, it actually works.

You performed “BODY” at a club where everyone was holding up meat pies. What was going through your head as that was happening?

[Laughs.] I was like, “Why are you guys holding up meat pies?” Yeah, I said, “Your body na meat pie.” But this doesn’t mean you guys [should] actually hold up meat pies. I think for my live show in December, I’m going to give free meat pies to everybody there.

Who would you love to collaborate with next?

SZA, Travis Scott or Drake. Future and Young Thug is going to happen, but I want to go step by step. The way original Afrobeats artists have already worked, I feel like it’s only right if I do a song with Drake or Chris Brown. My music doesn’t really go in line with Chris Brown’s music. But I love Drake so much.

What’s been the biggest “pinch me” moment of your career so far?

Wizkid calling me. Anytime Wizkid calls me, it still doesn’t feel like it’s him calling. It’s crazy. Somebody I’ve been looking up to can just call me like, “Yo, Mavo, I’m coming in December. Hold it down for me.”

You’ve had multiple causes of celebration recently, since you just turned 22. What’s at least one career goal you have for yourself in the new year?

In 2026, I’ll be a mainstream international artist, like A-list. I personally want to drop three projects next year. And I want to make sure I get the collaboration of the year award.