BLOG - COMMUNITY - Oxlade x KJ Spio

Profiles of the people behind the looks – and their own ways of wearing IMPARI. For "Emiko", their 2025 single, Ghanaian-born music executive KJ Spio and Nigerian singer Oxlade wore pieces from our Ont ≠ Kop collection [PRÜFEN: beide Künstler in IMPARI gekleidet?]. A story about music, heritage and the people who carry a look into the world.

[Autor:in] / November 04, 2026

Meet the people

KJ Spio was born in Ghana and works from London as a music executive, creative director and – in his own words – "culturepreneur". For almost a decade, he has moved between the UK and African music industries: he managed the late British rapper Cadet and worked on creative direction and A&R for Sarkodie. His own releases bring artists from across Africa and the diaspora together on one track.

Oxlade is a singer from Lagos whose voice moves between Afro-fusion, R&B and pop. His COLORS performance of "Ku Lo Sa" in 2022 travelled far beyond Nigeria and introduced his voice to a global audience.

In 2025, the two came together for "Emiko", produced by Blaisebeatz – a song about faith and about believing that all things are possible. This is where our paths crossed: [ERGÄNZEN: wie der Kontakt zwischen IMPARI und KJ Spio entstanden ist, z. B. „KJ Spio had seen our work in Berlin …“]. For the video, IMPARI dressed the artists and models in pieces from our Ont ≠ Kop collection.

Their perspective

KJ Spio describes "Emiko" as a song about "believing in all things being possible through God" – a message of faith and resilience that needed a place with weight. They found it in Cape Coast Castle, one of the sites from which enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic. The video opens with the two artists at the top of the castle, as KJ Spio speaks about the ancestors who were held beneath it.

In a setting like this, clothes cannot simply be decoration. The looks had to carry the same story: flowing silhouettes, earthy tones and prints with a spiritual quality – from embroidered crochet skirts to light cotton overshirts. Ont ≠ Kop reflects the growing divide between humanity and the Earth [PRÜFEN: Ist das eure Beschreibung der Kollektion?]; in the video, it becomes part of a conversation about where we come from and what we carry forward.

[ERGÄNZEN: persönliches Statement von KJ Spio und/oder Oxlade, z. B. wie es sich angefühlt hat, IMPARI an diesem Ort zu tragen – aus einer Nachricht, einem Interview oder einem Social-Media-Post, mit Quelle]. For us, it showed what we mean when we say we design in cycles, not seasons: pieces that carry meaning beyond a single moment.

[ERGÄNZEN: Bildunterschrift – was und wo, z. B. „On set of "Emiko" at Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, 2025. Looks: IMPARI Ont ≠ Kop“]

The conversation continues

For us, the most interesting part begins after the shoot – when a piece leaves the set and becomes part of someone's own story. [ERGÄNZEN: wie KJ Spio oder Oxlade die IMPARI-Pieces seitdem tragen, z. B. bei Auftritten, Events oder im Alltag. Stammt das Bühnenfoto im Artikelkopf von einem Auftritt, hier kurz einordnen: wo und wann.] That is what "their own ways of wearing IMPARI" means to us: not a costume, but a look that people make their own.

Music and fashion have always told stories together – especially across Africa and its diaspora, where artists shape how a generation sees itself. Working with people like KJ Spio and Oxlade carries that conversation between Berlin, Accra, Lagos and London. [ERGÄNZEN: nächster gemeinsamer Schritt oder Ausblick, falls geplant – sonst diesen Platzhalter löschen.]

“If it's not progressive to the collective culture, I don't do it.”

KJ Spio – quoted in 3news, 2025

About the contributors

KJ Spio
Ghanaian-born, London-based music executive, creative director and self-described "culturepreneur". Has worked with artists such as Sarkodie and the late Cadet.
Oxlade
Singer from Lagos, Nigeria, working across Afro-fusion, R&B and pop. Known for "Ku Lo Sa".