Ibeyi ( the Afro-french Cuban Twin Sisters Who Sings in Yoruba)

Ibeyi is a musical duo consisting of twin sisters from Cuba. Their music is mostly in french, spanish and yoruba. Their music also has elements of jazz beats sampled with traditional african instruments.

Lisa and Naomi Kainde were born in 1994 in Paris. Their yearly visit to Cuba on holidays exposed them to their cuban heritage and culture where they picked up the yoruba language.

Their Father was a popular percussionist who has also recieved a grammy award for his work with Latin jazz band, Irakere.

Lisa kahinde, who is the lead singer also plays the piano, while Naomi plays the traditional cuban/yoruba instruments, like the cajon and the bata drum.

At the age of 20, their self titled album, Ibeyi was released in 2015 . The albums plays tribute to their deceased father and their older sister who also died in 2013.

in 2014, their video for the song river recieved attention. The video shows the twin sisters in white garment and took turns to sing while one is submerged deep in water, while the other is singing. At the end of the video, their head were both deep in the water, while the final part of the song was sang in yoruba language.

They have since then worked with Beyonce on her Album Lemonade. It will be believed that Beyonce drew inspirations from Ibeyi’s album and their single river with the concept of spirituality, most expecially with water. They also appeared in beyonce’s short film, lemonade as members of Beyonce’s farm Utopia, offering a safe space for black women

In 2017, Their second album Ash was released. The album ash earned them a nomination at the IMPALA’s european album of the year ward. The album also show a strong and spiritual connection to their yoruba roots same as their previous album. it also features samples of a speech given by michelle obama

The duo has also cited frank ocean, james blake, King Krule and their father as their musical inflence while still firmly rooted in their afro cuban culture.

Ibeyi or ibeji means twins in Yoruba

Signed to XL recordings in 2013, They have released two albums under the label. In november 2021, Made of gold, their first single from their upcoming third album was released. The song celebrates magic, divine power in ancestry and blood line strenght.

Listen to River by Ibeyi