Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I mean, London has shaped me as a person. My parents are Nigerian so I've had the luxury of blending different cultures together just through my everyday life.
'Correct' is a song and an exercise for me where I've been able to reclaim who I am and the good that I've done when in real life sometimes I struggle with that.
That's the cool thing that music can do: make you feel this or that way. That's all I've ever wanted to achieve - I'm a music guy, you know? That's my occupation.
I am empowered by my friends in the music industry who are other fellow black men because I see them as my brothers; we have similar experiences and relate to each other.
I use Auto-Tune but it's not to mask anything. If you come to see me live, I can sing on the spot. Auto-tune is just for the recording. It keeps everything really precise.
'Tongue' is literally just one piece of the puzzle. This album is something I've worked on over the course of my entire career and something I've been discovering myself in it.
For me, I've written and produced for pop singers, but, like, female pop - I love that. I think it's putting me in the game that I love girl pop. All my writing is inspired by it.
There's an underlying sense with 'Tongue' that... it's really... it's real. I mean that in the sense that now I'm not afraid to touch on relationships and on my sexuality in my videos.
In reality, my parents knew that I was a vegetable outside of music. They have fears, they know how tough and competitive it is, but they're happy that there are a lot of people backing me.
I don't feel pressure, I think there's fun to have. And I want to show that being gay and of color doesn't have to be a sob story all the time. It can actually be really jokes and empowering.
When I first came out, I was wearing full-on traditional Nigerian wear. I got told by a lot of people that I should just tone it down. I only stopped when I realized there's only so many prints you can wear.
I've waited for the day my debut album is released my entire life, so naturally I've designed it to be listened to from start to finish - so every song flows into each other in a way that tells a sonic story.
I'm very thankful that I'm in a position where I'll never be without a session. I'll always have someone who will want to get in the studio with me, or there'll always be someone that I'll wanna get in the studio with.
I make pop music. I make music that is pretty commercial. But, at the same time, I'm a minority within a minority and it can be challenging. I feel validated about what I'm doing when I meet fellow black gay men or black gay women.
When I'm doing a session for another artist, it's a very scheduled thing, and it's kind of imperative that I write a song in that time. But if I'm trying to write a song for myself and I don't have an idea that day, I just can't force it.
We have a lot of black British men who are killing it: John Boyega, Stormzy, Anthony Joshua, Tinie Tempah, and Idris Elba, of course. I see them as people I really admire and that's empowering for me because it means I am not alone in this.
There are so many amazing out, gay, black artists who are really great in their own fields, but they aren't necessarily trying to make pop music. I guess my thing is different because I am trying to be part of that world. But doing it my way.
If I'm writing a song for Karen Harding, I know I can't impose what I want to say onto her. I literally have to get into her headspace and think, 'what does she want to say?' When it comes to my stuff, it's the same. What can I write that's true to me?
They saw that it was a passion of mine from really young... My parents did a good job. They wanted me to win. They let me do all these things. If some old guy came to the house asking, 'I want your kid to sign a contract,' they were so open to it. Yeah, I credit them loads.
I've been in situations where someone has told me that my video made them uncomfortable. This was a straight man, and I really don't want to have to worry about making him uncomfortable. I should really be worrying about my own comfort and me putting out the best art that I can.
I often make a joke of my parents, because I come from a Nigerian background and there's a stereotype in the Nigerian community that all of us are going to be doctors and lawyers, and that's just how it is. But upon reflection, my parents were always really supportive of me doing music.
I'm from Nigerian descent, and the classic Nigerian mentality is 'Stay in school! You're going to be a doctor, you're going to be a lawyer.' That is what it is. Thankfully my parents knew my situation was different because I definitely didn't want to be a doctor, I definitely didn't want to be a lawyer.
The Big Music Project gives young people access to producers, managers, set designers, artists and a load of other industry insiders who are at top of their game. It can be difficult to know where to start and this project gives young people who are passionate about music, knowledge and hands on experience.
I think 'Girlfriend' in particular is definitely one of the songs that is angled towards early 2000s, late '90s, R&B pop and those kinds of songs that were prevalent in that time. I don't think I was conscious of those songs in particular, but I'd say I definitely wanted a song that had that kind of vibe era wise in tone and all the writing.
