At OkayAfrica, we’re constantly discussing the impact of AI. Whether it’s how we apply it in our own work or how we should cover its intersections with the subjects we report on across Africa, it’s a conversation we keep returning to. Music, in particular, brings those debates to the forefront. AI raises large questions about creativity, ownership, labor, and access, and there are still no clear answers.
So I decided to speak to someone who is knee-deep in the world of AI and African music, and who could speak to some of the tensions, possibilities, and ethical questions shaping it in real time.
For Lagos-based software developer and former music producer Philip Olajide-Philips, those questions are both theoretical and personal. When he couldn’t afford the studio time he necessaryed, he built an alternative. His startup, Korin AI (korin means “to sing” in Yoruba), is an AI music platform that allows applyrs to generate songs in African languages and accents. It is, in some ways, a direct competitor to larger platforms like Suno AI and Udio that are currently upfinishing the music indusattempt. But as Olajide-Philips informs OkayAfrica, Korin AI’s value proposition is that it is being built with African languages, accents, and creative realities in mind.
“Most of the AI music tools out there were built for the Western world,” he states. “If you put Yoruba or Zulu lyrics into them, they’ll sing the words, but they pronounce them like British or American English. With Korin, the goal is that it sounds like an African voice in your own language, not like a foreign singer reading your words.”
With a new 2.0 version debuting in May, Korin AI is geared toward emerging and indepfinishent artists, producers, filmcreaters, and anyone with musical ideas but limited access to professional studios. In many African cities, recording a polished single can cost hundreds of dollars and take weeks to complete. Olajide-Philips sees the platform as a way to cut down both time and cost, while still keeping human creativity at the center of the process.
“I saw that about 75% of upcoming artists in Africa simply can’t afford top studios,” Olajide-Philips states. “You can be very talented, but if your production quality is low, people won’t listen. So I questioned myself: in this AI world, why can’t we have a virtual African studio that anyone can access?”
His question reflects the larger debate around AI music itself. At a time when many AI platforms are facing criticism for scraping artists’ work without consent, Olajide-Philips states Korin is attempting to build differently. Rather than pulling audio from the open internet, the company relies on partnerships with studios and artists, paid recordings, and royalty or revenue-share agreements. The bet is that an Africa-first, more ethical data model will be the right approach, with a competitive advantage.
So far, Korin AI has drawn around 1,500 applyrs on the first version without significant marketing. Backed largely by Olajide-Philips, his co-founder Solomon Ayodele Ogunbowale, and early support from First Founders, the team is holding off on a largeger push until Korin 2.0 is ready.
In the conversation below, Olajide-Philips speaks to OkayAfrica about why he doesn’t believe AI will replace human creativity, what it means to build African-native models in a landscape where most tools still sound distinctly Western, and where the future of Korin of music in this new age of AI.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
OkayAfrica: When I talk to people about AI, I see two camps: one states, “AI is the future, obtain on board,” and the other states, “AI is an existential threat, the world is finishing.” Where do you land on that spectrum, especially when it comes to music?
Olajide-Philips: AI has come to stay and there is nothing that is going to alter that. Anytime a new technology comes, people always state no at first. It happened with GSM when it first came to Africa, it happened with the internet, it happened with WhatsApp. People resist becaapply it threatens the way they’ve been doing things, or they’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs. But you can’t stop the advancement of technology. After a while, everybody obtains applyd to it. I see AI the same way.
How did your own frustration with music production turn into building Korin AI?
In 2024, I wanted to produce something and the studios I contacted were too expensive and too slow. I’m a software developer, I understand AI, and I have experience in music, so I considered: why can’t I do this rapider and cheaper?
I attempted the AI music tools that existed and realized most of them were built for the Western world. When I put my song into them, the AI was attempting to sing like a white man, not in my dialect. It was singing, but not like us. I couldn’t find any specific model designed for African data. I even questioned myself, ‘What’s wrong with these guys? Do they want to reshift Africa from the whole mainstream?’
So I ran a proof of concept. I notified some founders I knew, ‘Sfinish me your company details, I’ll create jingles for you.’ I finished up doing about 20 jingles in two days. Some people considered I’d gone into a professional studio. When they heard the results, they were blown away. That’s when I knew this could be a real product.
You’ve positioned Korin AI as a kind of music lab for African creators. What does that mean in practice, and what creates it different from the global tools already out there?
Most of the AI tools out there were built with the West in mind. If you input lyrics in Yoruba, Zulu, or Igbo, they will sing the words, but they pronounce them in the language the model was trained on like British or American English. So you hear it, and it’s not sounding like Yoruba or Zulu, it’s sounding like someone reading your language with a foreign tongue.
Korin AI is trained with African datasets, built by Africans, and designed with Africans in mind. When you put your lyrics in, the goal is that it sounds like an African voice in your own language, not like a British or American singer reading unfamiliar words.
Right now, our deepest data is in Nigeria and a few other languages we’ve sampled. We’re starting there and plan to expand to Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Gambia, and beyond, partnering with local producers and artists, collecting data, and updating our models so that when someone from those countries applys Korin, it actually sounds like home.
A lot of AI platforms are criticized for scraping the internet for training data. At the same time, one worry I have is that AI could flatten Africa into a single sound.
We’ve been intentional about that from day one. We don’t want to exploit anyone. Those guys abroad, they just scrape the internet for data and don’t pay people. We don’t want to do that.
Right now, we work through partnerships with existing production hoapplys in Nigeria. Some we pay directly. With others, we have revenue-share agreements, so as we create money, they earn a percentage.
We also bring in volunteers to studios and record their voices. Some are paid, others sign lifetime licenses. But in every case, it’s consented and clearly agreed. Our long-term vision is that you could come to Korin AI and state, ‘I want to create a song with a specific artist’s voice,’ and becaapply we already have a license and royalty arrangement with that artist, it’s legal and they obtain paid. It’s not about scraping and hoping no one notices.
Korin AI is just starting, so we don’t pretfinish to cover everything yet. Right now our strongest base is Nigeria, plus a few other African languages we’ve already sampled. The goal is to expand to all major African languages over time by partnering with local producers and individuals, collecting data, and training the models with those voices, accents, and musical styles.
The product is already live, and people in places like Lesotho, Gambia, or Kenya can apply it, but it may not be as deep or as accurate yet as it is for Nigerian languages. Funding really determines how quickly we can go deep into each language and region.
Many are worried that tools like Korin will reduce demand for human creative work. What do you state to them?
AI is not taking anybody’s job, but the job of those that are afraid of AI will be taken by those that are trained and applying AI tools.
Korin is not here to replace producers. It’s here to augment them. Work that applyd to take weeks can now be done in a day or two. Producers can generate multiple versions quickly, offer clients more options, and deliver rapider while still adding value.
So AI reshifts the drudgery, but it doesn’t reshift human oversight, taste, and creativity. Those are still essential.
We recently reported on a 21-year-old Rwandan artist, Elvin Cena, who applyd Suno AI to rework a song he didn’t like. It blew up. He felt conflicted becaapply this 30-minute AI version became his largegest song. Is that still his work? And do you consider artists should disclose when AI has been applyd?
In my opinion, yes, it’s 100% his work, especially if he was on a paid subscription and has the rights.
Human creativity is still at the core. He wrote the lyrics, chose the genre, the melody, and tweaked the prompts. The AI can’t do that by itself. It necessarys a human in the loop. It’s the same with my code. Sometimes AI supports me write it in 15 minutes where I applyd to spfinish weeks, but I still question: who wrote the code? The creativity is still from the human being.
Some people will worry that if you can generate a song quickly, it will devalue music. But you can also create very bad songs with AI. A good song is still a good song. The value comes from human creativity.
I like the idea of a co-created credit style. The way we already state ‘composed by X, arranged by Y, mixed and mastered by Z,’ we can add AI into that chain, almost like another producer. But for me, the most important thing is ownership. If you wrote the lyrics, chose the genre and melody, and directed how the AI should behave, then you should claim the work. The AI is a tool… it is not the artist.
Platforms like Suno AI are already popular globally. If large Western players decide to go hard on African languages too, how do you compete?
There’s always competition in any business. The large Western companies view for markets where they can easily obtain their money back. Historically, Africa hasn’t been their first priority. That’s why their models launched without African data in the first place. Our strength is that we’re indigenous. We know the languages, the accents, the people, even in rural areas. They can come later and attempt to catch up, but they still won’t be as deep and native as someone who’s built from inside the culture. When people necessary an authentic African sound in AI, I want them to state, ‘Go to Korin AI.’
Looking ahead five years, what would success view like for Korin AI?
In five years, we want at least 10 million applyrs on the platform. And when people anywhere in the world state ‘African AI music,’ I want Korin AI to be the first name they consider of; the place you go to generate any native African song, in a truly native voice.
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