Grandmaster G Is Listening for What Sierra Leone Has Next

Grandmaster G has two ways of paying attention to music.

One is as an artist, moving between Afrobeats, rap and R&B on his own records. The other is through Inspired By, his Spotify playlist, where he spends time listening to Sierra Leonean artists and deciding who deserves another set of ears.

The distinction matters because the playlist is not built entirely around relationships. Some of the artists he knows personally. Others are acquaintances. Some, he says, he may barely know at all.

The deciding factor is simpler.

“If the music is doing well, the numbers are sufficient,” he explains. “Yes, I add them to the playlist.”

Grand Master G

It is a straightforward philosophy, particularly in a music environment where proximity can sometimes determine who gets heard. For Grandmaster G, knowing the person behind the record is not a prerequisite for giving the record attention.

That has made Inspired By a space for discovery, bringing together more established Sierra Leonean names with artists still finding their audience. One of the playlist's projects, Sierra Leone 2026: Freetown's Finest, pushes that idea further, placing the focus on a particular moment in the country's musical landscape.

Inspired by

The playlist is predominantly Sierra Leonean, but it does not exist behind a hard border. International collaborations and artists living outside the country can find their way into the mix too, reflecting how naturally music now moves between Freetown and the wider diaspora.

That openness mirrors Grandmaster G's own relationship with music. His catalogue moves between Afrobeats, rap and R&B without much interest in staying inside one particular box. The artist and curator therefore operate from a similar instinct: follow what sounds right, rather than forcing everything into a predetermined category.

His latest release, “Sunday 2 Sunday” featuring Vizir Jozi, arrived on February 15, 2026, adding another entry to the artist side of his work.

Sunday 2 Sunday

There is a quiet connection between the two roles. Grandmaster G makes music for people to hear, then spends part of his time listening for music that might deserve to be heard by more people.

For Inspired By, the criteria does not appear particularly complicated. The artist does not have to be a friend. They do not have to already have a name.

The music has to make the case.