Chikwado Chijoke, known as Kwae Kobain, is a Nigerian rapper and musician who takes an imaginative approach to making music. Paving a lane of his own, he makes SWAG Rap,A refreshing fusion between Hip Hop and Afro-swing. His music is characterized by a medley of literary skills, sonically pleasing melodies and an audacious cadence.
While growing up in Abuja, he had to deal with conflicting feelings because of instability in his environment. As an introvert, it was hard to understand those feelings or even express them. Therefore, music became his avenue to do so. It is surprising to hear that someone with all the credence Kwae possesses in his music started by using music to sift through his feelings.
After moving to Hamilton, Ontario, for high school, he began to record music. This double-edged sword of musical influence from Nigeria and Canada is seen through the diverse palette of melodies and genres he interacts with. His music does not sound like one thing you’ve heard before or one artist. Rather, you can catch an assortment of influences meshed in with a personal flair that creates a balanced and invigorating sound.
Kwae confirms this vast palette through the versatility of the people who inspire him. He cites Banggz, Santi, WestSideGunn, Roc Marciano, Rema, Wizkid, Jhus, Jay Z, Pre-Kardashian Kanye, Olamide, Shallipopi and Zlatan. This almost random lineup of influences can look brash at first. However, after listening to songs from Blu De Kobain, his latest album, it makes perfect sense.
“Music is the fragrance of my life. It helps me keep in touch with myself and life around me.”
This adoration and incorporation of music into his being is admirable. It made me wonder what his process of actually making music is like. Unsurprisingly, his approach is very intuitive and delicate. It usually begins with him contemplating a particular feeling, building on it by reading books or watching films that share similar sentiments. During this time, he notes any phrases that help express the feeling. Keeping them compiled as they usually come while he’s just going about his day.
The tone is the most important thing to him during this phase. It’s not what the song is particularly about but how it feels, what it inspires, what it sounds like. Meaning he’s very intentional about curating instrumental tracks during this period. So he continues putting down phrases from his subconscious, leaning into other material that sounds like what he wants to create. Kwae does this until he is extensively inspired to take all his material and write something comprehensive. Booking a studio session for a full day comes soon after.
During these sessions, he enjoys getting moderately intoxicated, not wanting to tilt toward the point of inhibition. This loosens him up to have that almost nonchalant but self-assured cadence. Once at the point he’d like to be, he slowly forms a song over one of the instrumentals he made during his rumination period, finally concluding the creation of a Kwae Kobain song.
After hearing his process, it made sense to me why he regards music as a tool to explore himself and the world around him. This process is so entrenched in his inner vibrations and any stimuli from his environment. He can accurately access a feeling and translate it into a beautiful song. It is quite inspirational, to say the least.
Aside from timeless music, expressing himself and navigating the world. What exactly is Kwae Kobains end goal? What are his listeners meant to get from his music? What is the takeaway he wants? Is it just what he is feeling that day? He responded by saying,
“I don’t have a concrete message, I do want my listeners to feel seen and validated in who they are.”
Straight and to the point. I couldn’t have said it any better. I strongly believe this deep connection to his music is a big reason why it sounds so good. If you’d like to hear more from him, he has an album out, which I mentioned previously, called Blu de Kobain. It is a tastemaker for his upcoming catalogue, “Kwae Kobain” the album. It is going to drop sometime this year, so follow him to keep up with his journey and his music.
@KwaeKobain on all platforms.
