Niniola has released Without You, a deeply personal four-track EP dedicated to her late husband and manager of 13 years, Michael Chiedu Ndika, who passed away suddenly in May 2026.
The project marks the Queen of Afro-House’s most vulnerable body of work to date, arriving out now via Drumroll Records.
Rather than retreating into quiet, stripped-back balladry, Niniola leans straight into her signature energetic Afro-house and Amapiano-adjacent sound, pairing speaker-shaking log drums and driving basslines with raw, emotionally charged vocal performances.
The lead focus track, “Pain,” centers around the refrain “e dey pain me,” capturing the disorienting feeling of losing a partner who was woven into every part of daily life.
The EP also includes “Raining (O Dun Mi),” a tribute built around a Yoruba expression of deep emotional pain, along with “Somebody’s Baby” and a fourth track rounding out the project.
Across all four songs, Niniola moves through stages of heartbreak, longing, memory, and something closer to spiritual healing, without ever dropping the rhythmic pulse that defines her catalog.
“This song is also for everyone who has lost someone they love, for the memories that remain, the empty spaces they leave behind, and the love that never truly goes away,” Niniola said of the project.
Without You by Niniola is available on all streaming platforms.
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