Black Sherif’s music has always sounded like it was made at night. “First Sermon”, “Second Sermon”, “Kwaku the Traveller” and most of The Villain I Never Was dealt with grief, betrayal and survival. SUN SHERIF, the six-track EP he released on 4 September 2026, is named for the opposite.
The basics
SUN SHERIF came out through Blacko Management and EMPIRE, the same setup behind both of his albums. It runs about 16 minutes. There are two features: AratheJay on “Forever”, and Full Blown, a duo from Trinidad, on the closing track “Love Again”.
It is his first project since Iron Boy, released on 3 April 2025, and it arrives in the middle of a busy year. In July he appeared on “Amazing Grace” from Davido’s album Oriadé, the only Ghanaian on the record. In August he played a sold-out show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York as part of his US tour.
A different kind of Blacko
The first thing that stands out is how Apple Music has filed it. SUN SHERIF is listed under R&B/Soul, not hip-hop. That fits what critics heard. DancehallMag described it as Black Sherif turning inward on a reflective EP. Album Talks framed it as him seeking clarity.
Afrocritik gave it 7.6 out of 10. Its reviewer, Yinoluwa Olowofoyeku, wrote that the EP “does not ask us to forget the darkness that came before it. Instead, it asks us to consider what that person might look like when he finally steps into the sun.” The same review said the production “opens the sonic sunroof”, giving his writing space to move somewhere warmer.
This is a noticeable change. One review pointed out that the EP bears little resemblance to the high-energy Afro-drill of his earlier work, and called it more solemn and meditative. For an artist who built his reputation on pain, making a record about tenderness and romance is a real risk.
Track by track
“Expresso” opens the EP with success and ambition, mixed with romantic affection. It sets the tone: the hustle is still there, but it is no longer the only subject.
“Run Around” deals with romantic uncertainty and yearning, the kind of back-and-forth he rarely wrote about before.
“Forever”, with AratheJay, brings together devotion, spirituality and ambition. The pairing has history. In 2024, AratheJay had Black Sherif on his song “Jesus Christ 2”, and here the favour is returned.
“Jolie” is a straight declaration of affection and emotional vulnerability.
“Frontline” goes back to familiar ground: hustling, survival and the street. On paper, it is the song closest to the Black Sherif most listeners know.
“Love Again”, with Full Blown, closes the EP by embracing romance and vulnerability. Afrocritik read it as Black Sherif giving himself permission to believe in a love he had struggled to admit he deserved.
What was left off
Black Sherif released three singles earlier in 2026: “PopStar” in March, “SWAGGA” in May and “Find A Way” in June. None of them are on SUN SHERIF. The EP stands apart from that run, which makes it feel like a deliberate statement and not a way of collecting loose songs.
Where it fits
Black Sherif was born on 9 January 2002 in Konongo-Zongo in the Ashanti Region. He broke through in 2022 with “Kwaku the Traveller”, which went to number one on the Apple Music charts in both Ghana and Nigeria. The Villain I Never Was followed in October 2022 with a Burna Boy feature, and Iron Boy in 2025 brought in Fireboy DML and Seyi Vibez.
Both albums were heavy records. SUN SHERIF is short, warm and unguarded by comparison. It will probably not replace “Kwaku the Traveller” in anyone’s memory, but it shows a range that not everyone knew he had.
All six tracks can be previewed on the SUN SHERIF album page. His earlier albums, The Villain I Never Was and Iron Boy, are on AfroYard too.
