Nigerian singer and songwriter Seyi Shay has formally adopted the stage name ṢÉYI, a deliberate shift that underscores her ongoing artistic maturation within the country’s thriving music industry.

Born Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua in London, United Kingdom, on December 21, 1985, the artist maintains strong Nigerian heritage through her mother Edith Olabisi Joshua and father Olakunle Odeniran. Her immediate family comprises siblings Olubunmi Johnson, Steven OluSola Odesola and Victor OluSegun Odesola on the maternal side, together with Oluremi Odeniran, Olakunle Odeniran Jr and Dami Odeniran on the paternal side. Early years spent in Lagos, where she attended Junior Strides Academy followed by Command Day Secondary School in Ikeja, instilled the cultural foundations that continue to inform her creative output.

Since launching her solo career in Nigeria in 2012, ṢÉYI has steadily built a catalogue rooted in the fusion of contemporary Afrobeats rhythms with heartfelt lyricism. Her initial singles quickly secured heavy rotation on local radio and television, paving the way for a debut studio project that captured national attention and established her among the generation of female artists shaping the early afrobeats soundscape. Subsequent releases, including “Electric Package” a widely streamed eight-track EP in May 2018, highlighted her ability to curate collaborative environments with established Nigerian producers and vocalists, resulting in club hits that sustained playlist dominance across West Africa.

That same year marked her acting debut in a lead role for a Netflix feature film “Lara and the Beat”, broadening her profile while reinforcing her multifaceted presence in the entertainment sector. 

The transition to ṢÉYI, she explains, stems from a desire to honour her Yoruba lineage more directly and streamline her public identity. The adjustment arrives as she prepares fresh material that builds upon the momentum of her earlier Nigerian successes, with plans for live engagements and digital drops scheduled through the remainder of 2026.

With her established body of work continuing to generate consistent engagement on major streaming services, ṢÉYI enters this phase as a respected figure whose contributions have helped sustain the genre’s domestic vitality and international reach.