Best Afrobeats Albums of 2025 The Definitive Guide (So Far)

Best Afrobeats Albums of 2025: The Definitive Guide (So Far)

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Section 1: Executive Summary: The Sonic Landscape of 2025

The year 2025 in Afrobeats will be remembered not for a singular, unifying sound, but for a profound divergence in its creative and commercial trajectories. While the genre’s established male superstars continued to command significant market share through blockbuster album releases, their projects were often met with a critical consensus that pointed to creative stagnation and a reliance on proven formulas. In stark contrast, the year’s most resonant cultural and artistic momentum emanated from two distinct, yet interconnected, fronts: the unassailable ascendancy of the genre’s female vanguards and the rise of a new wave of street-level artists championing raw, unfiltered authenticity. This report analyzes this “Great Divergence,” arguing that 2025 marked a pivotal moment where the metrics of mass-market success and the drivers of critical acclaim and cultural innovation began to decouple.

The analysis reveals that albums from legacy acts like Burna Boy and Davido, while commercially potent, struggled to meet the heightened artistic expectations set by groundbreaking 2024 projects from Tems and Ayra Starr. The latter’s influence defined the 2025 landscape, creating a new benchmark for cohesion, personal storytelling, and global resonance that their male counterparts were judged against. Concurrently, the award-winning success of Rema’s experimental 2024 album HEIS emboldened a movement away from polished, trend-chasing pop towards hyper-regional sounds, giving rise to the Afro-Adura subgenre and artists like Ayo Maff.

Throughout this complex landscape, one constant remained: a deep reliance on melody as the primary vehicle for connection, a trend amplified by the voracious appetite of short-form content platforms for infectious, repeatable hooks.1 Ultimately, 2025 was a year of tension—between legacy and innovation, global polish and local grit, the blockbuster formula and the cohesive artistic statement. It was a year that challenged the established hierarchy and, in doing so, laid a new blueprint for the future of African music on the world stage.

Section 2: The Titans at a Crossroads: Legacy, Experimentation, and Expectation

For the established male titans of Afrobeats, 2025 was a year of immense pressure and complex navigation. Their legacies, built over a decade of global expansion, served as both a powerful asset and a source of overwhelming expectation. Their major album releases and strategic moves revealed artists grappling with the challenge of evolving under the global spotlight, leading to projects that were ambitious and commercially successful, yet critically divisive.

2.1 Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness: The Burden of a Global Fusionist

With his eighth studio album, No Sign of Weakness, released on July 11, 2025, Burna Boy made his most audacious attempt yet to transcend the confines of the “Afrobeats” label.2 The project is a testament to his status as a global fusionist, deliberately weaving a tapestry of disparate genres. The album features a striking collaboration with rock legend Mick Jagger on the classic-rock hybrid “Empty Chairs,” a foray into country with the Shaboozey-assisted “Change Your Mind,” a high-energy baile funk track with Travis Scott on “TaTaTa,” and a nod to house music with “Kabiyesi”.3 This sonic ambition is backed by elite-level production and engineering, a hallmark of Burna Boy’s access to the highest echelons of the music industry. His deep, resonant vocal delivery remains a constant, crystalline and assured, acting as the connective tissue across the album’s shifting soundscapes.5

However, this technical polish and sonic experimentation could not fully mask a growing critical sentiment of thematic stagnation. While the album’s title projects an image of unassailable strength, reviews pointed to a rehashing of familiar narratives—dominance, wealth, and braggadocio—without the poignant specificity or intimate reflection that defined his earlier, legacy-building work.5 The songwriting, at times, felt clichéd; a reference to a past car crash, for instance, is framed not with the emotional weight of “Last Last” but as a consequence of being distracted by a woman.7 This lack of a cohesive narrative thread led to sequencing issues, with abrupt stylistic pivots between chest-thumping anthems and more introspective tracks feeling fragmented.5 The project was thus characterized as technically masterful yet “safely played” in its core messaging, a grand tour of global sounds that ultimately said little new about the artist at its center.5

Burna Boy’s position in 2025 is analogous to the innovator’s dilemma. Having already achieved the genre’s highest honors, including a Grammy, his logical next step is to prove his longevity as a versatile global artist, not just an Afrobeats king. This necessitates the kind of sonic exploration seen on No Sign of Weakness. Yet, in expanding his sonic palette so broadly, he risks diluting the narrative soul and lyrical depth that built his “African Giant” persona. The album’s title can be read as a preemptive defense against this very critique, asserting strength in a moment of creative uncertainty. The tension is palpable: the music sounds new, but the message feels familiar, posing a critical question about how a global superstar can innovate sonically without losing the narrative that made him essential.

2.2 Davido’s 5IVE: Mastering the Blockbuster, Questioning the Formula

Released on March 14, 2025, Davido’s fifth studio album, 5IVE, stands as the apotheosis of the feature-driven, commercially engineered Afrobeats blockbuster.8 The project is a masterclass in curation and collaboration, boasting a star-studded roster that includes Jamaican royalty YG Marley, Nigerian contemporaries Omah Lay, Chike, and Odumodublvck, and American R&B heavyweights Chris Brown and Victoria Monet.9 This strategy yielded immediate commercial dividends. The album secured a No. 1 global debut on Spotify, and its lead singles, particularly the Omah Lay-assisted “With You,” became ubiquitous, topping charts and dominating airwaves.1

Yet, this commercial triumph was shadowed by a significant critical backlash. Where Davido’s 2023 predecessor, Timeless, was praised for its cohesion, 5IVE was widely described as listless, incoherent, and suffering from undercooked ideas.14 Critics noted a palpable sense of creative fatigue, suggesting the album was an attempt to replicate the success of

Timeless by doubling down on an Amapiano-fusion sound that, by 2025, felt dated and less dynamic.16 Despite undeniable high points, such as the ingenious Igbo Highlife and log drum fusion on “Funds” featuring Odumodublvck and Chike, the project was perceived as a collection of standalone singles rather than a unified body of work. Its poor track arrangement and thematic repetition led to ratings that highlighted a jarring disparity between its incredible highs and its frequent, unimaginative lows.11

5IVE thus marks a potential inflection point for the genre. It demonstrates that the blockbuster formula—which Davido has perfected over his career—can still generate massive streaming numbers and chart success through sheer star power and event-sized collaborations. However, it also reveals the formula’s diminishing artistic returns in a landscape where critical and audience expectations have evolved. The album’s success highlights a growing chasm between what drives the streaming market and what earns cultural longevity and respect. It succeeded by the old rules of the game but was found wanting by the new standards of cohesive, personal artistry being set elsewhere in the genre.

2.3 Wizkid’s Feature Run: The Art of Strategic Absence

In 2025, Wizkid adopted a deliberately different approach from his peers, forgoing a traditional album release in favor of a meticulously curated, high-impact feature run.17 This was not a year of inactivity but a masterclass in strategic brand management, allowing him to maintain cultural ubiquity and commercial power without the immense pressure and scrutiny of a full-length project. His collaborations spanned the breadth of the global music scene, showcasing his versatility and reinforcing his status as the ultimate “sonic co-sign.”

His key appearances included a reunion with longtime collaborator Olamide on the slick, jazzy “Kai!”; a sensual, late-night anthem with rising global star Tyla on “Dynamite”; a cross-continental, festival-ready dance-pop track with David Guetta and A7S on “Lighter”; and a smooth blend of trap and Afropop with American rapper Gunna on “Forever Be Mine”.17 This run produced significant chart hits, most notably “One Condition” with DJ Tunez, which soared to No. 1 in Nigeria, demonstrating his continued Midas touch.12

This strategy appears to be a calculated response to the evolving pressures on legacy artists. The album format demands a cohesive artistic statement and invites intense critical review, a reality starkly illustrated by the mixed receptions of No Sign of Weakness and 5IVE. By appearing only as a featured artist, Wizkid sidesteps this gauntlet entirely. Each feature becomes a self-contained event, allowing him to experiment across genres without committing to a single sonic direction. This “post-album” strategy is remarkably efficient: it keeps him dominant on the charts, in high-profile playlists, and central to the cultural conversation, all while preserving his creative energy and artistic mystique for a future, more intentional album cycle. It is a pioneering model for how an established Afrobeats superstar can navigate the modern, single-driven music economy.

2.4 Omah Lay’s Clarity of Mind: The Risk of a New Narrative

The anticipation surrounding Omah Lay’s sophomore album, Clarity of Mind, slated for a Q1 2025 release, was uniquely charged.8 Following his universally acclaimed and classic-status debut,

Boy Alone, which built a deep, therapeutic connection with listeners through its exploration of personal demons and character flaws, the stakes for his follow-up were immense.9 The project’s intrigue was amplified by a promised thematic pivot. Omah Lay signaled a move away from the “sad boy” persona that defined his initial rise, hinting at a happier, more self-reflective state of mind in lead singles like “Holy Ghost” and “Moving”.9

This narrative shift became the central question for critics and fans alike: would an audience that found solace in his darker, more vulnerable lyricism embrace this new, more positive artistic direction?.9 The artist himself heightened the pressure, boldly describing the forthcoming project as one of the “greatest Afrobeats albums of all time,” a statement of intent that left no room for mediocrity.10

Clarity of Mind therefore represents more than just a highly anticipated album; it is a crucial test for the possibilities of artistic evolution within Afrobeats. It directly challenges the notion that an artist must remain tethered to the emotional persona that brought them initial success. The music industry is replete with examples of artists who stumbled when attempting to alter their core thematic appeal. As such, the reception of Omah Lay’s sophomore effort will serve as a significant case study, determining whether an Afrobeats artist can successfully guide their fanbase through their own journey of personal growth, or if the market ultimately demands a consistent, unchanging persona.

Section 3: Queens of the New Age: The Unassailable Ascendancy of Afrobeats’ Female Vanguards

While the genre’s titans navigated a complex terrain of expectation and critique, the most definitive creative and commercial momentum in 2025 was generated by Afrobeats’ female artists. Setting new benchmarks for artistic depth, global reach, and commercial performance, this vanguard did more than just participate in the conversation; they reshaped the genre’s center of gravity, establishing a new standard of excellence.

3.1 The Long Tail of Greatness: The 2025 Dominance of Tems and Ayra Starr

Though released in mid-2024, the profound and sustained impact of Tems’ Born in the Wild and Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21 was a defining narrative of 2025. These albums were not fleeting moments but enduring cultural artifacts whose influence grew exponentially, establishing them as the critical and commercial yardsticks against which all other Afrobeats projects were measured.

For Tems, 2025 marked her coronation as a global critical darling. Her debut album, Born in the Wild, earned a nomination for Best Global Music Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, while its sunny, nostalgic single “Love Me JeJe” secured a landmark win for Best African Music Performance.20 This solo Grammy win was a monumental achievement for a Nigerian female artist. The album’s commercial performance was equally historic; it peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting album by a Nigerian female artist at the time, and had surpassed 400 million streams on Spotify by the beginning of 2025.20

Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21 achieved a commercial milestone of staggering proportions. By May 2025, the album officially surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, a historic first for any project by a Nigerian female artist.25 This monumental figure, driven by global hits like “Commas” and “Rhythm & Blues,” quantified her meteoric rise to global pop stardom. The album was lauded by critics for its maturity, genre-blending confidence, and cohesive storytelling, charting in the UK and debuting on the Billboard 200, proving her appeal knows no borders.27

The combined success of these two albums fundamentally shifted the paradigm in Afrobeats. Historically, the “Big 3” set the benchmark for success. In 2025, however, the genre’s most prestigious solo award and its most breathtaking commercial achievement belonged to Tems and Ayra Starr. Their projects were celebrated for the very qualities—cohesion, vulnerability, and profound personal artistry—that critics found lacking in the 2025 releases from their male counterparts. This was not merely a story of “female empowerment”; it was a raising of the artistic bar for the entire genre. Tems and Ayra Starr did not just join the conversation; they set its new terms.

3.2 Qing Madi’s I Am The Blueprint: A Debut of Unprecedented Confidence

Released on January 31, 2025, Qing Madi’s debut album, I Am The Blueprint, was the year’s most audacious and self-assured arrival.8 In an industry where rising artists often rely on high-profile collaborations to gain traction, Qing Madi made a bold strategic statement: the 13-track album contains zero features.31 This decision was a powerful declaration of artistic self-sufficiency, signaling that she did not need the co-sign of established stars to command an audience.

The risk paid off. The album was met with widespread critical praise for its polish, artistic maturity, and remarkable cohesion—qualities that defy expectations for a debut project from an artist so young.32 Effortlessly weaving together elements of R&B, soul, and pop, Qing Madi showcased a deep well of relatable storytelling and an ethereal yet commanding vocal presence.10 Tracks like the intoxicating, Muhammad Ali-inspired lover-girl anthem “Ali Bomaye” and the potential classic “Goosebumps” were highlighted as standouts, demonstrating her ability to craft melodies that feel both familiar and refreshingly new.32 While some reviews offered more measured praise, giving the album a solid but not perfect rating 35, the overwhelming consensus was that

I Am The Blueprint marked the arrival of a major new force in Afrobeats.

Qing Madi’s debut signifies an accelerated evolution for female artists in the genre. Benefitting from the global pathways forged by Tems and Ayra Starr, she was able to enter the market not as an apprentice but as an immediate authority with a fully-formed, uncompromising vision. The album’s title is therefore not mere youthful bravado but a reflection of her strategic positioning. She is not following the old model of success; with I Am The Blueprint, she has delivered a new one for others to follow.

Section 4: The Sound of the Streets: Grit, Authenticity, and the Rise of Afro-Adura

Providing a crucial counter-narrative to the polished, global-facing sound of mainstream Afropop, 2025 saw the consolidation of street-oriented subgenres that prioritize raw storytelling and hyperlocal authenticity. This movement, energized by a major award-season validation, championed artists who spoke directly to the struggles and aspirations of Nigerian youth, proving that the path to cultural resonance often leads inward.

4.1 Rema’s HEIS: The “Afro-Rave” Revolution One Year On

Though a 2024 release, Rema’s sophomore album, HEIS, cast a long and influential shadow over 2025. Its impact was crystallized during the year’s awards season, where it achieved a stunning sweep at the 2025 Headies, winning both the overall Album of the Year and Afrobeats Album of the Year.36 This, combined with a prestigious Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album, served as a powerful industry-wide validation of its audacious and experimental sound.36

The success of HEIS legitimized Rema’s self-coined “Afro-Rave” genre—a dark, abrasive, and rhythmically inventive sound deeply rooted in the incandescent street-hop energy of mainland Lagos.40 It was a conscious and risky pivot away from the ubiquitous Amapiano log drums that had begun to create a sense of sonic homogeneity in the genre.40 The album’s unapologetically Nigerian focus and brazen lyricism, exemplified by the now-iconic line, “No more Big 3, there’s now a Big 4,” felt like a jolt of energy that shocked the genre back to life.40

In retrospect, HEIS functioned as a crucial “market correction” for Afrobeats. At a time when many top artists were looking outward for inspiration, Rema looked inward, tapping into the abrasive, high-energy music that has long existed in Lagos subcultures but had yet to be branded for a global stage.40 The album’s triumphant 2025 awards run sent an unmistakable signal to the industry: artistic and commercial success could be found by embracing authenticity and innovating from local sources rather than chasing global trends. This validation created a permission structure for a new wave of artists to champion their own hyper-regional sounds, directly influencing the movements that would gain prominence in 2025.

4.2 The New Princes: Ayo Maff and the Soul of Street-Pop

The most significant new voice to emerge from the street-pop scene in 2025 was Ayo Maff, whose debut album, Prince of the Street, was released on June 25.42 The album quickly established him as a primary torchbearer for “Afro-Adura,” a burgeoning subgenre of Street-Pop characterized by its prayerful, emotive, and deeply personal storytelling about struggle, lack, and the hope for a better future.44 Drawing from his upbringing in the Bariga neighborhood of Lagos, the album’s narrative resonated powerfully with a young audience that saw their own realities reflected in his music. This connection translated into immediate commercial success, with the album soaring to the top of the Nigerian Apple Music chart upon its release.42

The album’s title is a deliberate act of reverence; by calling himself a “prince,” Ayo Maff implicitly acknowledges Olamide as the undisputed king of the genre.44 The project is unflinching in its honesty, even sampling a social media critic who accused him of “singing about suffering too much” on the intro track, “Beginning,” before launching into a heartfelt account of his journey.44 High points include the log drum-inflected “Realness,” featuring a soulful contribution from Chike, and the swagger-filled “Gang,” a collaboration with fellow Afro-Adura heavyweight Seyi Vibez.44 While critics noted that his vocal delivery could be monotonous at times, suggesting an artist still developing his full range, the debut was hailed as a promising and important arrival.44

Ayo Maff’s rise is part of a broader thematic maturation in Street-Pop. This evolution was also exemplified by the sustained 2025 impact of Llona’s 2024 album, Homeless. Llona, whose music delves into themes of mental health and resilience, supported his project with a unique and extensive grassroots tour across Nigeria in 2025, building a deep, personal connection with his audience in cities often overlooked by major artists.34 Together, the success of artists like Ayo Maff and Llona signals a shift in the subgenre’s focus. The “street” in Street-Pop now refers not just to a sound, but to a shared socio-economic experience, evolving from pure “lamba” (up-tempo dance music) to a more introspective and culturally vital form of expression for Nigerian youth.

4.3 The Anticipated Arrival of the Iron Boy

Adding to the momentum of the street-oriented movement is the highly anticipated album Iron Boy from Ghanaian artist Black Sherif, expected in the first quarter of 2025.8 Known affectionately as the “street prophet,” Black Sherif has built a formidable reputation for his music, which is defined by its raw pain, grit, and unfiltered storytelling.50 His forthcoming album is poised to be a major event, not just in Ghana but across the continent. It represents a potential bridge that could further unify the street-focused sounds of Nigeria and Ghana, solidifying the movement’s pan-West African appeal and amplifying its collective voice on the global stage.

Section 5: Critical and Commercial Crossroads: A Data-Driven Analysis of 2025’s Afrobeats Albums

To objectively assess the albums that truly defined 2025, this section synthesizes quantitative chart and streaming data with qualitative awards recognition. This data-driven approach provides a clear picture of the year’s performance landscape, substantiating the narrative of divergence between established formulas and emerging artistic paradigms.

The following dossier provides an at-a-glance summary of the key projects analyzed in this report, offering a comparative overview of their defining characteristics and critical summaries.

ArtistAlbum TitleRelease DateKey CollaborationsDefining Trait / Critical Summary
Burna BoyNo Sign of WeaknessJuly 11, 2025Travis Scott, Mick JaggerAmbitious, genre-fluid production but thematically repetitive.
Davido5IVEMarch 14, 2025Omah Lay, Chris BrownCommercially potent and feature-heavy, but critically noted for lacking cohesion.
Qing MadiI Am The BlueprintJan 31, 2025NoneA bold, mature, and cohesive solo debut cementing her as a major new talent.
Ayo MaffPrince of the StreetJune 25, 2025Chike, Seyi Vibez, BNXNAn authentic Afro-Adura narrative, showing promise but needing more vocal range.
RemaHEISJuly 10, 2024Shallipopi, ODUMODUBLVCK(Impact in 2025) A polarizing, inventive “Afro-Rave” project with undeniable cultural impact and major award wins.
TemsBorn in the WildJune 7, 2024J. Cole, Asake(Impact in 2025) Critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning project solidifying her global stardom and setting a new artistic standard.
Ayra StarrThe Year I Turned 21May 31, 2024Asake, Giveon, Coco Jones(Impact in 2025) Commercially dominant, breaking streaming records and achieving unprecedented global reach for a Nigerian female artist.

5.1 Chart Dominance and Streaming Metrics

An analysis of the TurnTable Official Top 100 Albums chart for Nigeria provides a clear view of the competitive landscape. Albums released in 2025 by the titans, such as Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness and Davido’s 5IVE, both achieved the coveted No. 1 peak position, demonstrating their immense domestic drawing power.51 The debut from Ayo Maff,

Prince Of The Street, also performed impressively, peaking at No. 3 and showcasing the commercial viability of the Afro-Adura movement.51 However, the chart also underscores the remarkable longevity and sustained relevance of the key 2024 albums. Rema’s

HEIS, Tems’ Born in the Wild, and Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21 remained fixtures in the upper echelons of the chart well into 2025, indicating an enduring connection with audiences that transcends initial release hype.51

In the international market, the Official UK Afrobeats Chart reflects a strong preference for star-powered, single-driven hits. Throughout 2025, tracks from Burna Boy (“TaTaTa”) and Davido (“With You”), alongside Wizkid’s various features, were consistently ranked in the top tier.13 This highlights the effectiveness of the blockbuster strategy in key diaspora markets.

However, the most staggering metrics of the year belong to the female vanguard, quantified by their global streaming milestones. Tems’ Born in the Wild surpassed 400 million streams on Spotify in early 2025, a massive figure for a debut album.24 Even more historic was the performance of Ayra Starr’s

The Year I Turned 21, which crossed the monumental threshold of 1 billion streams on Spotify by May 2025.25 These figures provide concrete, undeniable evidence of their global market power and the immense scale of their audience reach, placing them in a commercial stratosphere of their own.

5.2 Awards and Accolades: The Ultimate Arbiters of Impact

The 2025 awards season served as the definitive arbiter of impact, solidifying the year’s narrative of divergence by rewarding artistic risk and authenticity over formulaic success.

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, held in February 2025, delivered a landmark moment for the genre. Tems took home the award for Best African Music Performance for her solo track “Love Me JeJe”.21 This win was profoundly significant, representing a major validation for a solo female Afrobeats artist on music’s biggest stage. The nominations for Rema’s

HEIS and Tems’ Born in the Wild in the Best Global Music Album category further underscored the critical weight and international respect these artistically ambitious projects commanded.20

Domestically, The Headies 2025 provided the ultimate validation for Rema’s creative pivot. His album HEIS achieved a commanding sweep of the top categories, winning both the overall Album of the Year and the genre-specific Afrobeats Album of the Year.36 This clean sweep was a powerful endorsement from the Nigerian music industry, celebrating his fearless experimentation and cementing the cultural importance of his “Afro-Rave” sound.

While the titans were certainly present in nominations across various awards, the year’s most significant wins and compelling stories belonged to the new vanguard. The accolades bestowed upon Tems and Rema confirmed that the industry’s most prestigious bodies were recognizing and rewarding the very qualities—artistic integrity, bold innovation, and authentic storytelling—that defined the year’s most culturally resonant works.

Section 6: The Blueprint for Tomorrow: Emerging Trends and the Future Trajectory of Afrobeats

The Great Divergence of 2025 was not an endpoint but a catalyst, revealing key trends that will shape the future trajectory of Afrobeats. The year’s complex interplay of commercial forces, critical reception, and artistic innovation provides a clear blueprint for where the genre is headed.

  • The Rise of the “Post-Album” Superstar: Wizkid’s 2025 strategy of forgoing an album in favor of a high-impact feature run may signal a new paradigm for established superstars. In a landscape where the pressure to deliver a cohesive, critically acclaimed album is immense, a “post-album” approach offers a more viable path. It allows legacy artists to manage their brand, maintain chart presence, and experiment sonically through curated singles and collaborations, effectively mitigating risk while maximizing cultural ubiquity. This model prioritizes strategic presence over the traditional, and often fraught, album cycle.
  • The New Center of Gravity: The creative and commercial energy in Afrobeats has decisively shifted. The artistic standards of cohesion, personal storytelling, and global resonance, so powerfully demonstrated by Tems’ Born in the Wild and Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21, now represent the genre’s new benchmark for excellence. Simultaneously, the raw authenticity and cultural specificity of the Street-Pop movement, validated by the success of Rema’s HEIS and the emergence of artists like Ayo Maff, define the genre’s cutting edge. Future success, both critically and culturally, will increasingly be measured against these new standards, moving beyond the blockbuster formula of the past.
  • Hyper-Regionalism as the New Globalism: Perhaps the most significant trend to emerge from 2025 is a counterintuitive one: the path to global appeal may no longer run through sonic dilution or the chasing of Western trends. The success of Rema’s unapologetically Lagos-centric “Afro-Rave” and the rise of the deeply narrative Afro-Adura subgenre suggest that amplifying unique, hyper-local sounds and stories is the new frontier for innovation. The more authentically Nigerian or Ghanaian the music is, the more powerfully it seems to resonate with a global audience hungry for distinct cultural perspectives. This points to a future where regional subgenres become the primary drivers of creativity, ensuring that as Afrobeats continues its global expansion, its soul remains firmly rooted at home.

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