Kokoroko

From Meru to Brownswood

Kokoroko is an Urhobo word meaning be strong, or hard to break. Sheila Maurice-Grey and Onome Edgeworth met in Meru, Kenya, in 2014, teaching art, dance and English at an arts organization, and decided to form a band representing the West African diaspora sound in the UK; they had earlier worked together in Wood Green. Several members came through Tomorrow's Warriors. Early on they played Afrobeat and highlife covers, then their own compositions. Former members named by the official bio include Oscar Jerome, Cassie Kinoshi, Mansur Brown and Yussef Dayes.

"Abusey Junction" came out on February 9, 2018 on Brownswood's compilation We Out Here, and a self-titled EP followed in March 2019, which the official bio says sold over 20,000 on vinyl. The song won Track of the Year at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards in 2019, and in February 2020 the band won Best Group at the Urban Music Awards. They played the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in September 2020. Their debut album Could We Be More (August 2022, Brownswood), produced with Miles James, reached 30 on the UK chart and was among the Guardian's top 10 jazz albums of 2022; they headlined the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on December 1, 2022. Get the Message (2024) was an EP, they recorded a KEXP session on October 23, 2024, and the second album Tuff Times Never Last came out on July 11, 2025, with a North American headline tour from July 30. A Record Store Day EP, Live at Metropolis, came on April 18, 2026.

Their influences include Afrobeat, highlife, palm wine, gospel, hip-hop, grime and Jamaican sound system culture, and Fela Kuti, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Bristol247 credits them with igniting a resurgence in West African-inspired jazz. Beats Per Minute scored Tuff Times Never Last 76 percent and called it sunny and welcoming.