Born in West London but raised in the spirit of “Naija”, British- Nigerian Singer- Songwriter Rebecca Winter is carving out a distinct space in the music world with her unique “Afrofusion” sound. Blending her Nigerian heritage with R&B and dancehall influences, Winter embodies the modern, multicultural artist.
Her journey into the spotlight was unconventional; rather than following a traditional path, she strategically learned the business from the inside out. Working for Cokobar, a major ticketing platform for top Afrobeats artists like Burna Boy and Rema, she gained invaluable insight into music promotion, which she leveraged to secure opening act slots and launch her own career.
Winter’s music and identity are shaped by a “culture clash”, feeling “too Nigerian” for London and “too British” for Nigeria. She embraces this duality, channeling it into her art. This was the driving force behind her simultaneous release of two singles: “Do To Me,” with a distinct Afro vibe, and “Flossing,” which caters to a UK Afro swing audience. This creative choice highlights her versatility and her commitment to representing both sides of her identity.
Beyond the music, Winter’s persona is defined by a bold fashion sense, favoring luxurious fur and leather and a deep-seated confidence.
A career highlight includes touring internationally with Burna Boy, an experience she describes as “electrifying.” However, she admits that headlining her own shows provides a unique thrill, knowing the crowd is there just for her.
Her creative process is spiritual, often serving as an escape from low moments, with faith in God helping her combat imposter syndrome. Winter boldly declares Afrobeats as the world’s dominant genre, reflecting its global influence.
If given a do-over, she would hesitate less, trusting her talent and faith to let things fall into place.
RV Unmute caught up with Rebecca Winter for an exciting and insightful interview
RV: Who is the Afrofusion it girl, Rebecca Winter?
Rebecca Winston: I am a singer-songwriter of Nigerian descent from West London, born and raised. And I am someone that loves my culture and loves to fuse it with R&B, dancehall and other influences in music. I’m also someone that prides themselves in looking good and focusing on being that girl.
RV: What’s a never told before story that actually led to your music career?
Rebecca Winston: Oh, that’s a good one. A never told story that’s led to my music career. I actually was so invested in learning the behind the scenes for music. So much so that I was working with Cokobar, who is a huge ticketing platform. They work with Burna Boy, Rema, Fireboy, anyone, you name it. And I would sit down at Abi Babalola’s house. She’s my mentor and I would do tickets and I’ll be overhearing conversations between the promoter and the artist, the teams and the artist. Over time, whenever I heard something that was appealing, I’d be like, can I open for this artist? Can I do this? Can I do that? And over time, I feel like it all contributed to me understanding the promoting world and how I can get myself on shows. Yeah.
RV: What are some of the culture clash you encounter when making music, given that you’re a Brit and Nigerian?
Rebecca Winston: Oh, there is so much. When you’re in London, you’re too Nigerian. It’s too Afro beats. We don’t understand it. But when you’re in Nigeria, you’re too British. You’re Oyinbu. You don’t understand anything. So I feel like each culture almost feels like I belong in the other category, which is so not true. And that’s why I call myself Afrofusion, because I literally mix both. So many of us from the diaspora actually love going to Nigeria and also in terms of making music just the understanding like there’s some songs that i’ll say is very r&b but over here they’ll say or in london they’ll say it’s too or it’s very afrobeat so yeah
RV: You’re really bossing and flossing with your fashion style run us through something we’d find multiple times in your closet or something that can never make it into your wardrobe or purse?
Rebecca Winston: I love this question so something that would you’d find in my closet is fur i love fur like i just feel like you’re that girl when you have a nice bit of quality fur on you it could be brown it can be white white goes with everything i have gray i have black i have brown i have so many colors um so you’ll definitely see a fur piece there. You’ll see a leather piece there because I love leather. I think it just makes you feel so sexy. You can’t wear it in Nigeria, unfortunately, because you will sweat. And something you will never find in my wardrobe or purse, if I’m honest…It might just be Crocs. I appreciate the convenience of them, but I think they are so ugly.
RV: You released two singles simultaneously. What informed your decision for it?
Rebecca Winston: So yes, I released two singles simultaneously. I did that for the question you asked about Culture Clash. I felt like Do To Me has the Afro vibe but I also want to stay in touch with my London people, which Flossing has. It has that like UK Afro beat bop, Afro swing. So that’s why I did it like that.
RV: How did touring with Burna Boy come about and what was the experience like?
Rebecca Winston: All my days, absolutely loved the tour with Burna Boy. He is one of my favourite artists. So it initially came about how I told you about the whole ticketing thing. I met Mama Burna and I was told that she doesn’t like, or Burna doesn’t like opening acts. So I kind of knew from then it’d be impossible or hard for me to open. So I just kind of showed her my music. At the time I had released my first EP Rare and it was like number one on the iTunes charts and she really liked it. So over time of me getting to know her, I just said, you know what? Let me ask her, do you mind if I open for Burn on one of the days? And she said, okay, sure. Let’s put you for Manchester. I did Manchester. They loved it so much that they said, do you want to do Birmingham? And then that’s literally how it continued. So much so that they called me on again for the spaceship tour and that was amazing because that was international. So we did saint patrick’s day in dublin and honestly his team is so fantastic, i could never forget performing to 20,000 people, it was just electrifying and so liberating and i just felt like i was meant to be there.
RV: You’ve toured with legends. You’ve headlined your own shows. Which one always feels surreal to you?
Rebecca Winston: I feel like it might be touring with legends. No, I think it might be my own show, actually. Because knowing that these people come out just for me is a different feeling to perform in someone else’s crowd. Although I love touring with legends and I feel like I learn so much and I feel like it’s surreal because I was listening to them growing up. Like Tiwa, I absolutely love that queen. I feel like just having my own moment, like you guys are all here for me, is different. And you just don’t feel so stressed. In fact, you have so much fun.
RV: What are some thoughts that go into your music creation? How do you get back your confidence during down times?
Rebecca Winston: My music creation is very different. I think it’s very spiritual because I can be so low and so down and then I go studio. For example, with Miss Spender, I was having a bad day and I was like, you know what, let’s record. Boom. I’m making a song about money. Like I don’t even realise that I just needed to have a good time. So my music sometimes can be an escape. Other times I could just be in my room writing, putting pen to paper, just be in my feelings. And that’s how those songs come about. And of late, I’ve been trying to like cross collaborate with songwriters. So I guess they could just have a vibe and I can bounce off it. And before you know it, it’s a hit. So it really varies. And what gets me back during down times is, imposter syndrome is a very real thing and i feel like it’s it’s definitely my faith, my lord and personal savior Jesus christ gets me through it all i have to wake up first thing renew my mind pray. I’m currently on a strict routine where i’m like spending enough time with God and feeding my physical, my spiritual, psychological, just to keep me going, because child, being an artist is not easy.
RV: What is the biggest music genre in the world? Please don’t sit on the fence, Ms. Spender.
Rebecca Winston: I mean, I’d be lying if I didn’t say Afrobeats because it has taken over literal world domination. Let’s be honest. Everybody’s trying to make Afrobeats. It’s that girl. So Afrobeats to the world and back.
RV: If you had a do-over with your music journey, what would you have done differently?
Rebecca Winston: I think I wouldn’t have hesitated so much. I think I doubt myself a lot. And I realise that a lot of creatives do but i think just hesitation is wasting time. Flip the coin and see where it lands if you don’t flip the coin you’ll never know where it lands so i think hesitating and doubting myself for sure i would do differently and i will continue to do differently because yeah you just know that you got it, things will work itself out especially when you’re covered by God, like things always have a way of working itself out.
