Kokoroko first formed in 2014 when Sheila Maurice-Grey (trumpet/flugelhorn/vocals) and Onome Edgeworth (percussion) met on an arts trip in Kenya. The two bonded over their frustration with the lack of racial and gender diversity in the UK’s afrobeat and highlife scenes. A desire to repair the disconnect young people in the African diaspora had with traditional African music would also fuel the band’s genesis.