Tolü Makay

Tolü Makay

Tolü Makay is a singer-songwriter from Dublin who works across soul, pop and R&B. She starts singing in church at the age of eight, beginning with hymn leading before moving into praise and worship and later helping her local Redeem Church choir at 16.

Early development and gospel background

Makay enters a national gospel singing competition and wins it, then releases Guide me all the way. That period helps her develop a stronger personal style and confidence as a performer. A later spell of questioning her faith leads to the song Reflection.

Singles and collaborations

Her single Goodbye is written as a song about letting go of negative people and energy, and it reaches more than half a million streams on Spotify, becoming widely used in the UK and Ireland. Another single, Let Me In, gets radio play on RTÉ 2FM in Ireland and appears on Spotify playlists including New Music Friday UK and Easy.

In early 2019, Makay works with a Berlin-based artist and independent label on The Greatest Gift as featured artist. The track passes 80,000 views on YouTube and 30,000 streams on Spotify, and she signs with the Berlin label soon afterwards.

Recognition and style

Makay is selected as one of Ireland’s “ones to watch” for 2019 by Dave Allen. She is influenced by artists including Erykah Badu, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Asa and Labrinth, and her writing focuses on personal experience, growth, confidence, self-love and using her voice.