In the latest episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Larry Madowo meets Nigerian singer Simi to discuss her journey from church choir to superstar.
She begins by describing when she first fell in love with music, “I have a core memory from when I was eight years old. So, we have been doing this thing in church. And there was a song they wanted the kids church to sing and they gave me a solo. I knew that I liked singing but I didn’t know anything about my voice being nice. On the day after I had done my solo, everyone was like, oh, oh, that was so beautiful. And I think that, that sparked something in me.”
Born Simisola Bolatito Kosoko in a suburb of Lagos state, Nigeria, Simi studied mass communication at Covenant University. Her mother Jedidiah Ogunyele explains, “She told me that she was going to go into music. I wanted her to do, maybe just look for a job first and make some money. But she only wanted to do music.”
The singer wrote her first song at the age of ten, and by 2008, she made her professional debut with a gospel album called ‘Ogaju’. She tells Madowo, “I never really used to listen to a lot of music, but I was just very drawn to the idea of like melodies and rhythms. I just let my art take me where it would. I refer to myself as an album artist because when I create, I like to make songs that are very cohesive together.”
Talking about her creative process, she tells CNN, “I mean, every song is different. And my style has changed over time. Now I engineer my own stuff, I mix my own music. […] Sometimes I don’t have any inspiration, but I have a deadline.”
Simi discusses why she got into engineering her own music, “While I was making an EP of covers, this was before I got signed, I didn’t really have money to give anyone. […] And it came to me so naturally, like, I loved, I loved doing it. I loved finishing songs. And so, I was like, I mean, I did this and I’m really good at it. So, I just kept on with it.”
The singer signed a record deal in 2014 with X3M music and captured the spotlight with smash hits like ‘Tiff’. But it was in 2017 with her sophomore album ‘Simisola’ where her unique brand of afro R&B fusion took her career to new heights. She says, “When I was working on Simisola, that’s the first, well, not my first album, my first mainstream album it was almost like I was telling a story about, this is me when you hear my name, my voice this is what I represent.”
In 2019, Simi went independent, starting her label ‘Studio Brat’ – a name inspired by the countless hours the singer spent in the studio. “I would be in the studio 16 hours a day. I would just take breaks to eat and sleep,” she describes. “It can be very tedious because it takes a lot of time and you have to be very precise about certain things.”
The following year, Simi emerged with a new sound when she released the highly anticipated ‘Restless II’ EP with a combination of Trap and Afroswing sound. The singer landed two of Nigeria’s biggest songs of that year. Her songs resonate deeply with listeners, earning her a dedicated fanbase – ‘The Simi Army’. Simi talks about her fans, “They take me very personally. I’m not just an idea to them, I’m not just a singer, I’m a real person. And that’s something that I’ve leaned into very strongly because that’s the experience they came for and it comes to me naturally.”
Her accomplishments underscore her status as one of the most influential and impactful artists in Nigeria’s music scene, but she says no role is more important than being a mother, “It’s definitely changed my life in so many ways as a woman, as a person, as an artist, as a friend, as different things, as a wife even.”
Simi concludes with some advice for people who want to make a career out of music, saying, “The climate has changed. You know, there’s so many musicians out there now talented and otherwise. I would say, make sure you love this because it takes a lot out of you. You have to focus on whatever your dream is, and keep on pushing because that’s all you can do.”
‘African Voices Changemakers’ airs on CNN International at the following times:
Monday 22nd April 2024 at 0300 WAT
Saturday 27th April 2024 0730 WAT and 1100 WAT
Sunday 28th April 2024 0600 WAT
https://edition.cnn.com/specials/africa/african-voices-changemakers
