Afrobeats keeps stretching in 2026. The big festival names still run the room, but a lot of the heat is coming from artists who treat the genre as a feeling first and a formula second. That is the lane Port Harcourt singer, songwriter, and producer Dr.Vibez is working on “Feelings.”
Excel Otanjah, professionally known as Dr.Vibez, comes out of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Born August 4, 2002, he writes, sings, and produces with one clear brief: blend African sounds with modern pop instincts and keep the emotion close to the surface. His own artist note puts it simply. The music is meant to reflect his journey, his feelings, and his vision. “Feelings” sits right in that brief.
The track lives on the 2025 EP Vibez&Insha’Allah, a six-song project that also includes cuts like “Little Liquor,” “Your Waist,” “Soma,” “Ifunanya,” and “Alhamduchineke.” “Feelings” is the one that has been doing the most work so far, sitting at the top of his popular tracks and clocking in around two minutes and forty-five seconds. That short runtime matters. Afrobeats and Afro-pop right now reward records that hit the pocket fast and leave before they overstay. No long runway. Groove first.
Production comes from Badhboi knackam, with writing credited to Excel Otanjah. The genres attached to the submission are Afrobeats, Afro-pop, and Afro-fusion, which is the honest way to hear it. You get the West African pulse and the dance-floor bass, but you also get the smoother pop melody work that has been pulling Afrobeats toward playlists that used to live in R&B and global pop. In 2026 that fusion lane is not a side note. Writers have been pointing out that Nigerian artists are treating genre as a starting point, not a fence, and “Feelings” fits that moment without needing a press-release speech about it.
What you can hear in the record is intention more than spectacle. Dr.Vibez is not trying to out-shout the biggest names in the scene. He is building a personal catalog: earlier singles like “Composure” and “Shakara,” the Vibez&Insha’Allah run, and a later 2026 EP titled Song of Songs. The through-line is versatility. He presents himself as a singer first, then a writer, then an aspiring producer, which is a useful order. The voice carries the hook. The writing keeps it personal. The production keeps it club-ready.
Port Harcourt does not always get the same global spotlight as Lagos, but that distance can be an advantage. Artists coming from outside the loudest industry rooms often sound a little less processed and a little more local. Dr.Vibez leans into Nigerian texture while keeping the mix clean enough for international Afro-pop playlists. If you have been following the wider Afrobeats conversation this year, you already know the argument: stay rooted, stay melodic, and do not sand off the feeling just to chase a chart template. “Feelings” is named like a thesis for that argument.
This is still an independent story. The streams are growing, the catalog is stacking, and the artist is clearly treating each release as part of a longer run rather than a one-off viral swing. That is the interesting part of watching Afrobeats from this angle. The genre is huge, the infrastructure is better than it used to be, and a Port Harcourt artist can still put a track on Spotify, Apple Music, and Audiomack and let the groove do the introducing.
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What do you hear first on “Feelings,” the Afrobeats bounce or the pop hook? Drop it in the comments. I want the honest take.
