Into the life of the Artist : Y.D.A 

Y.D.A is a melting pot of various kinds of music in one. Being influenced from different genres of music, from R&B to Raggaeton, he finds a way to implement these genres to his unique style, which he ultimately categorizes as Afrofusion. Even though he’s been away from Nigeria for most of his life, he still recollects growing up there and understanding what it is to be African, which helps shape the sound of his music. 

Y.D.A makes it clear that he intends to keep up the current momentum of his career by releasing singles. However, he hints at the possibility of an EP hitting the road in 2021. 

49^th Street: It looks like you’ve been at this for a while. How has the music journey been so far?

Y.D.A: The music journey has been rough in a good and bad way, but that’s expected for anything time consuming and rewarding. It’s definitely fun creating new sounds from scratch and putting words to it. 

49^th Street: What would you call your genre of music?

Y.D.A: My genre of music is Afro-Fusion, due to the influence from the different genres.

49^th Street: What were your earliest influences?

Y.D.A: My earliest influences are Nelly, 50 Cents, Chris Brown, Akon, Trey Songz, Drake, Wizkid, Burna boy, Davido and some others.

49^th Street: What inspires you to keep making music?

Y.D.A: The support from peers and strangers is what really kept me going and believing in myself.

49^th Street: How did you come about the name Y.D.A?

Y.D.A: I remember I used to create different names in my earlier days and one day, I just landed on Y.D.A. I think I was told to write my abbreviation somewhere and I liked how it sounded, so I decided it’ll be my artist name from then on.

49^th Street: If not music, what would you have been doing?

Y.D.A: I love being creative, so I would probably be in a creative field like architecture or technology.

49^th Street: You recently hit more than 500k streams on one of your singles, how did that feel?

Y.D.A: That put a smile on my face and made me reminisce on when I dreamt of getting to that kind of number. It just further proved to me that I have what it takes to be a big artist.

49^th Street: How has the reception been for “Make Am” since its release in November 2020?

Y.D.A: The reception has been very good. People understood the point of the album, that it told a story instead of it just being a vibe. I’m glad I was able to get my point across with good music. It’s also dope to just hear what people’s favorite songs are.

49^th Street: What songs did you enjoy making the most on Make Am? 

Y.D.A: I enjoyed making all of the songs because there’s a memory attached to each of them that I still remember vividly, but if I had to choose, it’d be When, Gbadun, and My Side.

49^th Street: Anybody you’d like to collaborate with in the music industry?

Y.D.A: Definitely Wizkid, Burna Boy, Oxlade, Davido, Wande Coal, Fireboy DML, Tekno, Kizz Daniel, etc.

49^th Street: Any words for your fans?

Y.D.A: Thank you for staying down with me through this journey. I have many more music to come and I will keep growing to keep giving you guys new/ fresh sounds. 

 49^th Street: When should we expect your next project?

Y.D.A: I plan on releasing singles for now and maybe an EP later this year.