In recent years, Southern Nigeria has earned a reputation for producing some of the most sophisticated talents in Afrobeats. From Timaya, Burna Boy, to Omah Lay and Prettyboy DO, one can trace a line of excellence that entails sonic brilliance and lyrical dexterity. In usual fashion, another wunderkind from Southern Nigeria is breaking through, his name Quiries. Coming from Bayelsa with dreams of taking over the world, Quiries is a gifted Afro R&B artiste with a unique story. Taiwo caught up with him to talk about his beginnings, his eponymous EP as well as future aspirations. Read the interview below.
Taiwo: Who is Quiries?
Quiries: Quiries is Quiren Doubara Dan Odoko from Bayelsa State, Yenagoa. I’m a graduate of the Niger Delta University, where I was one of the biggest stars. Aside music, I paint and design as well. So yeah, I’m a multi-talented artiste.
Taiwo: So how did you find music? Were you in the church choir or did you just start miming your favourite songs, like most artistes?
Quiries: No, I actually found music through my parents. Growing up, my dad stayed in Belarus and whenever he came back to Bayelsa, he’d go to the club with my mum. I used to watch him perform and wanted to be like him. So I started rapping, but that did not work for me. Cos’ rap did not work, I decided to sing, and that worked out. My mum loves music, and she plays R&B music all the time. The music that I heard when she slammed her speakers in the house, inspired me to start writing my own music. My mum introduced me to Banky W, T-Pain, and Trey Songz, and they inspired my early sound. Chris Brown is my biggest inspiration when it comes to music.
I used to be in a band with a rapper, a very talented guy who raps and sings. After a while, he got tired of being in a band and wanted to do his thing solo. It was difficult for me to do music after that, cos I was used to working with a partner. I didn’t think that I would get this far, because I thought my career wouldn’t take off without him. But look where I’m at now. It’s crazy.
Taiwo: When did you record your first demo?
Quiries: I think I recorded my first demo when I was 14. I remember I had an A4 book, where I wrote my first song. I started competing in talent hunts in Bayelsa, as far back as 2009, and I won so many of them.
Taiwo: When did you decide that music was “it” for you?
Quiries: It was in 2015 that I decided that this music thing was for me. I went to a military school in Zaria, NMS. Back in like 2008, I’d sing to my roommates in school and they’d be moved to tears sometimes. I felt really inspired by that, like “If my music can make my roommate cry, what about the world?”. I started writing more and getting better. In 2015, I did a feature and it took me everywhere in Bayelsa. Following the success, I just thought to myself, “Wow, if this song can take me everywhere, then I need to do more songs”
Taiwo: What has it been like since 2015, when you decided to do music professionally?
Quiries: It’s been crazy, the love from the fans has been growing steadily. I’m not a lazy artiste, I’m always working and listening to different genres of music. I never go back to something that I have done previously, I’m always trying to outdo myself and make new sounds. In 2020, I dropped my first EP, but I used beats that I downloaded from the internet, so I had to take it down. The name of the EP was Heartbreak in August, and it was inspired by a personal heartbreak story. I channeled all the emotions from that experience into making the EP. Heartbreak in August was so big in Bayelsa State, that it became a pop culture reference. Every August, you hear people saying things like “I no wan make dem break my heart, August don dey reach oh”.
Taiwo: Quiries EP is officially your debut EP. How did the EP come about?
Quiries: Yes, it is. The Quiries EP was not planned. It actually was not supposed to be an EP, as I made it for a record label. Dammyprobeats, the guy who produced Vibrate had been a frequent collaborator. Apparently, he had shared my music with someone on the record label. So, when I moved to Lagos and informed him, he said that he wanted to link me to someone.
I linked up with the guy, who was a representative of one of the most successful record labels in Nigeria. He asked me to work on 20 songs and get back to him in a month. However, he specified that I make Afrobeats songs because all the songs I sent previously were RnB. I went to work and made 23 songs in just over two weeks. Surprisingly, he rejected all the songs. My manager decided that we could not just discard all the songs. We picked four songs out of the 23, and that’s how Quiries EP came about.
Taiwo: How easy was it for you to transition from RnB to Afrobeats?
Quiries: Honestly, it was not that difficult. After my conversation with the record label, I knew that I had to make it work. So I decided to infuse my RnB sound into Afrobeats. You can still hear the R&B inflections, even though I’m singing on an Afrobeats instrumental. I like to think of it as Afro Hybrid or RnB hybrid, lol.
Taiwo: What inspired your writing on the EP?
Quiries: Lol, I can’t explain it tbh. Writing music comes naturally to me. Sometimes I just think of the things going on around me, and I write a song with it. For example, the story on Vibrate is my lived experience, as I was involved with someone’s girlfriend.
Taiwo: So you write music based on your real-life experiences?
Quiries: Yeah. I cannot write about something that I have not been through, it’s really difficult.
Taiwo: What has the reception to the EP been like?
Quiries: The reception has been so good. I have not gotten negative feedback, and I am happy about that. This is the first time since Heartbreak in August, that I’m enjoying this level of love. The fact that I made an Afrobeats tape surprised my fans, and they are madly in love with it.
Taiwo: So do you identify as an Afrobeats artiste now? Or are you still going back to your RnB roots?
Quiries: I’m an RnB/Afro artiste. I’m still going to make R&B projects. I actually have an R&B album for a record label, already made.
Taiwo: What is the biggest challenge that you have faced as an emerging artiste in Nigeria?
Quiries: Not being able to make the kind of music that I want to make. In Africa, dance music is more appreciated than anything else. I make music from the soul, and I want people to understand that there’s more to music than dancing.
Taiwo: How did it feel leaving Bayelsa where you had made a name for yourself, for Lagos where you are relatively unknown?
Quiries: Omo, it is crazy. When my manager asked me to come to Lagos, it was difficult to wrap my head around it. I was thinking of how much I was leaving behind in Bayelsa. But I had to do it ‘cos I knew what I was chasing, and I’m here now.
Taiwo: Who is one artiste you’d love to work with?
Quiries: Tiwa Savage men. Davido too, Davido is everything. Timaya as well.
Taiwo: Who are the artistes in your generation that inspire you?
Quiries: Ayra Starr is amazing. I love Ayra Starr the EP. Ayra Starr makes the kind of soulful music, that I like.
Taiwo: What is next for you? Now that you have dropped your debut tape?
Quiries: The next step is promoting the EP, better than how we’ve done.
Taiwo: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Quiries: I see myself at the top. I believe that my kind of music is what this generation has been waiting for, and I am ready to give them what they need
