Before the Vocals, There Were Drums: TuneWalker’s “Hakeem”

TuneWalker Makes a Statement With Instrumental Project Hakeem

Most of what dominates today’s streaming platforms is built around the human voice. Hooks, melodies, features the entire discovery system revolves around vocals. So when an artist releases a purely instrumental project in 2025 and expects it to find an audience, they are either naïve or deliberately making a point. TuneWalker appears to be doing the latter.

Play TuneWalker’s Hakeem

Hakeem takes its name from the artist’s birth name, Mustapha Adeniyi Hakeem, and consists of just two tracks running slightly under seven minutes. Across both records, TuneWalker performs multiple instruments: drums, saxophone, keyboards, and bass guitar. Central to his visual identity is the talking drum the gangan, the Yoruba hourglass drum capable of mimicking the tones and rhythms of human speech. Historically, it was used to send messages across distances, open ceremonies, and announce lineage. Placing it at the center of his image is not a branding choice; it is a cultural declaration of where his music originates.

The opening track, “Tornado,” begins with heavy percussion that feels more natural in a physical space than through earbuds. While the Amapiano influence is present in the rhythm, the arrangement feels organic these are not programmed samples but played instruments. When the trumpets enter at the hook, the song takes on a brass-band energy that shifts it beyond club music into something communal. The electric guitar then assumes the melodic role, restrained and purposeful. It does not overplay; it simply serves the song.

“Hurricane” slows the pace and allows the sound to expand. The shekere establishes the rhythmic base with its familiar gourd-and-bead texture, while the track builds gradually toward a saxophone hook that stands out as the project’s strongest moment. The phrasing is deliberate and unhurried. Rather than chasing high notes or technical flourishes, the melody settles into the groove and lets feeling lead a far harder task than it appears.

The storm-themed naming convention “Tornado” and “Hurricane” may be literal, but it is fitting. Both tracks develop patiently. Both carry force without aggression. And the decision to remain instrumental means the music must do all the work: mood, narrative, climax, and resolution. Over seven minutes, it does exactly that.

Afrobeats-Amapiano fusion already has no shortage of vocalists. What it needs more of are instrumentalists willing to shape the sound from the inside. TuneWalker is clearly one of them, and Hakeem is his way of announcing his presence.