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Gallery Club, London | 2nd October 2025
Gallery Club, London | 2nd October 2025
London’s Massuma is shaking up the UK Afro house scene.
London’s Massuma is shaking up the UK Afro house scene.
From grime producer to viral hitmaker with Contesto, his debut at Gallery Club, showcased a masterful blend of rhythm, depth, and global influences, proving that Afro house can thrive on home soil while staying true to its roots.
From grime producer to viral hitmaker with Contesto, his debut at Gallery Club, showcased a masterful blend of rhythm, depth, and global influences, proving that Afro house can thrive on home soil while staying true to its roots.
Massuma’s debut at Gallery Club offered a glimpse into why London’s Afro house scene is quietly flourishing. Known for his viral hit Contesto, Massuma (Sam) has spent over a decade in music, first producing grime instrumentals and later DJing for names like A$AP Rocky and Travis Scott. Yet it’s his emergence as Massuma in Afro house that has really turned heads, even if at first he seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
Reflecting on his journey, Massuma tells us: ‘A lot of people didn’t know, but I was producing from about the grime era in London… I was actually a producer before I was a DJ.’ His move into DJing came from frustration: ‘I was hiring DJs for my own events and just wasn’t happy with the way they were playing… So I picked up a controller and locked myself in my room and started practicing.’
That self-directed approach translates into his current sets, where diverse influences are blended seamlessly. ‘It’s been quite easy because I was so used to blending all these different genres [in] my work.’
All image credits to Peter O'Sullivan.
The transition to Massuma marked a deliberate break from his hip-hop residencies. ‘It’s like coming out of a cocoon,’ he says: ‘I rebranded myself as Massuma [and] left all my residencies behind.’ Less than a year into the alias, he’s already making waves: Contesto hit over a million streams, #2 on Beatport’s Afro House chart, and attracted support from Keinemusik, Carlita, Shimza, and MoBlack.
Part of what makes the Massuma experience so striking is the contrast between his appearance and his sound. ‘When people see me on stage, with my hat backward, shades on, baggy t-shirt – it’s very grime or hip-hop – sometimes they think I’m going to rap,’ he says. Instead, what hits them is the hypnotic, expansive grooves of Afro house. That initial surprise only amplifies the impact of his music, catching the audience off guard in the best way.
As we saw first-hand at Gallery Club, Massuma’s Afro house is deliberate but expansive, giving the audience room to move without ever feeling repetitive. He situates himself consciously in the UK scene, largely dominated by tech house.
Playing Afro house, Massuma notes, is different from his previous DJ work: ‘When you play in Mayfair clubs, you’re seen more as a jukebox. Whereas, when you’re playing Afro house, people come to listen to your sound and what makes you unique.’
Even his private listening habits reveal his eclectic taste: ‘I draw inspiration from North African and West African music to Japanese pop.’ It’s this global perspective, combined with technical skill and respect for Afro house, that makes Massuma’s sets feel refreshingly dynamic.
Massuma is telling that London has an Afro house talent who is not only technically adept but also thoughtful about his place in the scene. His debut under this alias felt like a confident declaration: a producer and DJ redefining the city’s musical landscape while honouring the genre’s roots – and keeping everyone guessing what he’ll do next.
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