Oshun

Oshun is the name of two different musical acts. One is a neo-soul and hip-hop duo from the United States, and the other is an electronic project by Clément based in Lyon, France.

Neo-soul and hip-hop duo

Oshun is an Iya-sol, neo-soul and hip-hop duo made up of DMV natives Niambi Sala and Thandiwe. The pair meet as incoming freshmen at a scholarship orientation at New York University in March 2013 and form a close creative partnership there. They make their debut at the orientation’s talent showcase in 2014.

Niambi Sala grows up in a musical home and has been a vocalist and musician throughout her life. She moves to New York City to continue her studies and career at the Clive Davis Institute at NYU. Thandiwe comes to NYU to study journalism and Africana studies, and begins experimenting with music production after arriving in the city. At the end of their first semester, they decide to pursue the collaboration seriously.

The name Oshun refers to the Yoruba river deity Osun and her sisters Yemoja and Oya, who represent femininity and womanhood. The duo release their debut EP AFAHYE in March 2014, followed by the mixtape ASASE YAA, issued for Earth Day. They tour in the greater New York City area in 2014 and also perform in Washington, DC and Philadelphia. Their work attracts attention from publications including Complex, Huffington Post, Okayplayer, Afropunk, Deli Magazine, Impose Magazine and Nu-Soul Mag. They also build an online following, with more than 10,000 fans, over 120,000 plays on SoundCloud and 80,000 views on YouTube.

The duo describes its aim as sharing a message of empowerment, cultural pride and self-respect for women and other people, linked to a broader movement of cultural realignment, awareness and creativity.

Electronic project

Oshun is also an electronic project by Clément from Lyon, France. The project’s album Occult Interface appears in 2017, and its sound is associated with psywave, psytrance, darkpsy, downtempo and cinematic styles.