Kunde drops “Shades of Navy” music video

Belgian-Cameroonian artist Kunde has spent years forming a unique sound that flickers between jazz, hip-hop, R&B, afrobeat and psychedelic soul. A rapper, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kunde’s music is all about movement and emotion, serving up grooves that breathe, melodies that wander and lyrics that reflect a life lived between worlds. Born to a father inspired by Cameroonian polyrhythms and raised amid the sonic experimentation of European jazz and 90s hip hop, Kunde’s creative output has been a lifetime in the making.

By ten years old, he was already exploring beatboxing and sample-based production, gradually developing into a pianist, bassist and vocalist with a flair for engaging composition. This blend of organic musicianship and digital influence would later define a sound that sits comfortably alongside innovators like Anderson .Paak, André 3000 and Butcher Brown. Since his debut EP From Roots to Fruits in 2018, released through Ghent’s Mellow Minds collective, Kunde has earned a reputation as one of Belgium’s most forward-thinking artists. His 2021 instrumental album Meanwhile, released on Antwerp’s San-Kofa Rhythm Records, revealed his more reflective, jazz-leaning side.

But it was last year’s acclaimed record Dandelion, via the W.E.R.F. Records imprint, that confirmed his international presence via meditative outing that balanced emotional context with intricate production. Now, Kunde steps into a new creative era with his forthcoming self-produced album Late Bloomer, a project that fully realises his original artistic vision.

Written, arranged and mixed with his live band, the record expands his exploration of personal and widely relatable themes from childhood memories and friendship to betrayal, identity and loss, all rendered through a sound that feels organic yet endlessly inventive. Following the lead single “Bittersweet” featuring Fred Gata, Kunde now unveils “Shades of Navy”, the second taste of Late Bloomer and an emphatic statement of his artistic output. The track is an exquisite study in atmosphere, a comforting, immersive soundscape that blurs the lines between genres.

Stacking live instrumentation with psychedelic textures and Dilla-inspired grooves, Kunde creates a sonic sphere painted in deep blues and muted light, all capped by a stunning collaboration with Helena Casella, whose elegant vocals bring emotional impact to Kunde’s production. Carried by a swung groove and peppered with warm key tones, smooth brass elements and stuttered rhythmic hop, the track delivers an infectiously rhythmic sound that’s at once energising and dreamy. With Kunde and Helena laying down alluring vocal performances carrying delicate melodic writing, the track casts a listening experience that’s slow-burning, enveloping and intimate.

It captures the analogue warmth that’s become central to Kunde’s process, pairing live arrangements with the detail of deft studio work, resulting in a sonic antidote to the noise of the world. With Late Bloomer landing next year, Kunde is set to continue to explore the overlap between jazz and hip hop as well as intimacy and scale and we can’t wait to see what he’s got in store.

Watch the music video for Shades of Navy below