Tuff Times Never Last

Released on Brownswood in July 2025, Tuff Times Never Last is Kokoroko's debut studio album, arriving years after the band first broke through via their contribution to the We Out Here compilation and 2019's Abusey Junction EP. Fronted by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, the eight-piece pulls from Afrobeat, highlife and London's broader jazz and soul scenes, building a sound rooted in horn-led melody rather than solos or improvisation for its own sake. The album explores themes of togetherness, community and perseverance across eleven tracks, and represents the culmination of one of UK jazz's most anticipated debuts — a band who spent years building a devoted live following before finally committing a full album to record.

Kokoroko formed in London around trumpeter and bandleader Sheila Maurice-Grey, drawing together players from the same fertile London jazz scene that produced Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd. Their name means 'be strong' in the Nigerian language Urhobo, and their sound reflects that directly — horn-led, Afrobeat-rooted, built for communal listening rather than solitary headphone sessions. They first reached a wide audience through their contribution to Brownswood's We Out Here compilation in 2018, and their standalone track 'Abusey Junction' became one of the most-streamed tracks to emerge from the London jazz scene, setting up years of anticipation for this full debut album.