Interview with Yinka Oshodi
Well I’m Ayoyinka Moriam Oshodi, I have a BSc. In international relations, I am a Christian.
So how has your musical journey been. You released your first record at the beginning of this year and another a few days ago. Narrate your story. If I could summarize it in one word I would say it has been enlightening. It’s definitely not been easy as there have been many constraints but I thank God for progress. I’m currently doing my NYSC at the moment, so I have to ration the amount of time I can spend on music
How would you describe your style of music?
I’d like to say my style is versatile. Hence the title of my EP being SPECTRUM. It gives an introduction to that versatility using love a the primary subject whether it be the love of an individual or music
Who are your musical influences ?
I have so many musical influences, I probably get one every day. Anita Baker, Beyonce , Sade, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, the Jackson 5, Stevie wonder, Michael Bolton, Fela, Angelique Kidjo, Aaliyah, Tupac, faith evans, goapele, Erykah Badu, Common, Linkin park, Chaka Chan, George Michael, Alex Isley, Lauryn hill and so many others 😂.
Floetry, Kendrick my best friend Lamar 😂, the internet, Amy winehouse, jasmine Sullivan, migos and a plethora of others.
Niniola, Rihanna to mention the obvious ones lol
Haha! With all these influences you would morph into a super artiste!
Lmao amen
And how could I forget SZA
Who would you like to collaborate with? And why
I don't have one particular person I want to collaborate with because the list is endless. I feel collaborating also teaches and they say you start dying when you stop learning but I’ll still be wise with my choices.
How successful do you want to be in this industry? And how do you plan on achieving that?
I want to be really successful and I’m not sure how to quantify that in words. I’m still learning the ropes about the industry but for now I’m focuses on trusting God for direction and working my butt off .
Who's career would you like to emulate?
If there’s anyone’s career I’d like to emulate is Rihanna’s. This has nothing to do with the type of music she makes but it’s more about how well she has used her platform. I don’t think people understand how blessed they are to have such a platform and as cheesy as it may sound I want to use mine to do some good in this world, whether through business or philanthropy. It’s not enough to be blessed, you have to be a blessing. And I also admire the work ethic of Beyoncé, she is SUPER hardworking!! And irrespective of people’s opinions about her, her work ethic is unparalleled.
On your two singles you collaborated with Cidane and Remy Baggins. Describe the experience of working with them
Well all I can say is they were very enlightening experiences. It was cool to work with Cidane but there were constraints cause of things like distance but thank God we got the job done.
With Remy it was more relaxed cause it was at the label's studio. And I was just in awe of the fact that he made the beat in one day. And I finished recording my parts in a less than 30 minutes. I actually thought I’d have to re record but apparently it was ok that way .
They are both really talented artistes and it was an honor working with them.
Let's talk about Spectrum
Why did you pick the name Spectrum?
Projects like this require a lot of time and resources
Can you speculate how many tracks we would be getting
Well like I said before, I chose the title Spectrum to introduce my versatility as an artiste, and also the spectrum of love. I also felt it’s importance to show that a love song doesn’t always have to be about roses and forever’s. There’s unrequited love, love for music, toxic love, young love and so forth. There are so many other contexts I could have used but it’s an EP so I chose a few that I can relate with or people around me have dealt with.
You’ll be getting 7 tracks but one will be an interlude and another an outro. So in essence you’re getting 5 main tracks.
We definitely hope to do at least 2 videos and to promote it on social media and certain shows and events.
You may have noticed since you started music that there is a mini industry otherwise known as the "underground industry".
Who are your favorite artistes from this industry?
Omg yessss!!! It’s like you read my mind! There are so many talented artistes out there. Too many sef lol but there is everyone. I wouldn’t really say these artistes are underground cause they’re quite popular amongst their peers but haven’t been signed or are not in the league of Nigeria’s major artistes.
What are your thoughts on women in the music industry?
Well women in the Nigerian industry hmmm. All I can say is it’s hard out here but I’m so grateful to God that I haven’t been put in a position where compromising myself or values were an option to make music. It’s definitely hard tbh, especially when it’s a male dominated industry. That’s why irrespective of what people think about Tiwa Savage I’ll always respect her for being a game changer. I’m not saying this because I am a woman but honestly most Nigerian female artistes are gems and are really hardworking because they understand how hard it is to succeed as a woman in the industry.
Would we see any performances from you anytime soon ?
Yeah I’ll be performing at Mood beach club on June 30th (has already performed) with an array of other artistes. It’s at the beach so it will be a chilled and relaxing event I hope.
Do you have any message for your new and ever growing fan base (of which we are strong members)?
Aww I’m glad you are part of the fan base. If I’m being honest sometimes I find it hard to believe that people are “fans” of my music. Even if it’s just one person, it’s so wild. All I’ll say is by God’s grace I hope to ALWAYS make you proud and this is actually just the beginning. I have so many songs to share.
YINKA ADDS…
And lastly about Nigerian female artistes, if we want to take this “Africa to the world” movement to a new level through music, we need way more women to participate. The misconception that women are more than men is actually a myth. The ratio is about 101 males to 100 women in the global population. So that’s basically 50/50. Even in Nigeria we have similar demographics, so it only makes sense that both genders participate in this movement EQUALLY. After all we are literally occupy half of the world.
Yinka's music is availabe on all digital platforms. You can also follow on her on Twitter @YinkaOshodi and on Instagram @yinka.oshodi.