by Ifeoluwa Etttu
What do Tems, Omah Lay, Ckay, Tekno, Simi, Johnny Drille, Runtown and Phyno, Davido all have in common? They can all produce their own songs! While it’s not a prerequisite for an artist to master music production, there are varying reasons an artist would venture into production. The artist might want a deeper understanding of the creative process, need to reduce recording costs or maybe even to temporarily document ideas till someone with more experience can give it life.
In recent times, the Nigerian music scene has seen an increase in artists that double as producers, as well as producers that later transition into artists. We can’t help but notice that artists that can do both well, tend to have a more distinct and consistent sound. If the discographies of Davido, Runtown, Phyno, Tekno, Simi, Maleek Beery and Johnny Drille are considered, one would have no choice but to agree. All these artists have been in the spotlight for a while, but the trend is also noticeable in the next generation of superstars making the country proud. Majority of the new acts probably do not produce and might not need to. Regardless, we’ll like to point out that those that do, have go on to experience phenomenal success and are arguably the biggest stars out of the bunch. Let’s evaluate them below –
Tems
Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems, has had nothing short of a stratospheric rise in 2021 with the mind-blowing international success of Essence, her feature on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos. Essence became the first African song to go platinum in the United States and the first song to be nominated for the Soul Train awards, it is also under consideration for three categories at the 2022 Grammy awards.
Tems burst onto the scene in 2018 with “Mr. Rebel” and “Looku Looku” but would only achieve widespread success the next year with her anthemic hit single “Try me”. Try me put Tems in another category entirely and caught the whole industry unawares. The vocal performance and songwriting had barely been seen prior from a female artist in Nigeria. The song was distinct and became a hugely successful record on the continent. Asides from her outstanding vocal performance and range, however, the secret ingredient to the success of the record was also the production which she handled alongside another singer/producer “Remy Baggins”.
She would go on to handle 90% of the production on her critically acclaimed debut album “For Broken Ears” which was released in September of 2020. Tems is an awesome singer with an amazing vocal range but her production skills cannot be overlooked and must’ve definitely influenced her unique sound. The rest of the world must also believe in her stock as she has had co-signs from Rihanna and Drake among many more artists and it really doesn’t get bigger than that. Her last body of work “If Orange was a place” did not feature even a single production credit from her and further iterates the point that musicians that can produce themselves do not necessarily have to do so all the time. Regardless of any way the pendulum swings, we certainly can’t get enough of Tems and obviously, the rest of the world can’t either.
Ckay
When Ckay had his first mainstream success in 2018 with his viral single “Container”, very few people would’ve guessed that he’d had multiple years of experience as a producer. He had produced for a vast array of artists at chocolate city including but not limited to – Dice Ailes, Koker, Ice Prince, Milli and M.I. Container was a viral sensation that became hugely popular organically, earning massive plays at clubs, parties, on the radio and even crossed borders to other countries on the continent. It featured futuristic production that was ahead of its time and is still unique till this day.
Ckay started learning the piano from a very early age (as early as 7), as his father was a choir master at a church in Kaduna, Nigeria. In a few years, he would learn music theory and become versed in playing classical music. In an interview, he admitted to infusing elements of classical music in his music and even sampling Beethoven’s 5th symphony on “Way”. This must be responsible for his very distinct sound that is now causing a global storm around the world. His 2019 masterpiece “Love Nwantiti” has completely taken over the world, breaking several records along the way and elevating him to an unforeseen level of global stardom that many artists can only dream of. While the artist doesn’t necessarily have to produce all of his songs by himself, his prior experience with producing music enables him contribute to the production process in ways an artist without that knowledge can’t.
Love Nwantiti recently became the first Nigerian song to go platinum in France, it was also the most the most Shazamed song in the world for days, Ckay currently has the most listeners on Spotify ever for an African artist and Love Nwantiti is the second most streamed song ever on Spotify for an African artist after Jersualema and is catching up fast! A dive into Ckay’s discography reveals a very experimental and futuristic production catalogue and for someone who believes in extra-terrestrial live forms, it’s safe to say his sound is out of this world and we’re loving it!
Omah Lay
Omah lay took the industry by storm in 2020 after the release of his smash hit single “Bad Influence”. He had released two singles “Do not disturb” and “Hello Brother” the previous year but wouldn’t achieve critical acclaim till a year later. Unknown to many people however, the talented singer is also a highly skilled music producer.
When he was younger, he was a part of a rap group called “Big 2” alongside his cousin, and went by the moniker “Lil King”. His cousin would later dissolve the group because of a lack of studio time and difficulties in getting instrumentals to record to. This event would go on to have a good influence (pun intended) on Omah lay and inspired him to learn music production. That was the only way for him to get studio time because he couldn’t afford to pay for sessions. He would spend the next few years honing his craft and later, producing music for other people. According to him, he would “write the song, produce and sound engineer it” and when the song was done, he’ll never see the artist again while watching them take the glory and even going on tour. What started as an urge to “prove himself to friends” that he could actually do as good as the said artists, would go on to birth one of the most distinct sounds in the Nigerian music industry.
A critical look at Omah Lay’s discography reveals a blend of music that is so different from the regular Afrobeats, that it captivates and holds you hostage. No wonder Wizkid, 6lack and Justin Bieber all reached out to the superstar. Whether he’s singing on a soulful beat like “Bad Influence” or a more up-tempo instrumental like “Godly”, the uniqueness in his style cannot be missed. His song structure and melody fit the instrumental like a glove, in a way that is unlike his peers. His recently concluded and hugely successful “Purple American Tour” also indicates his sound definitely has global appeal. Surely, his prior experience as a producer is shining through and that is something we can’t get enough of.
Other Notable Acts
There are a host of other fast rising Nigerian acts that handle some other aspects of the music creation process asides just being the artist. Notable mentions include Olakira, Dunnie, Minz, Alpha Ojini, Ditweni, Pyscho YP and the afore-mentioned Remy Baggins, among others.
This article is in no way belittling other artists that might not necessarily have any other music creation skills asides from being the artist. An artist’s first job is exactly that, be an artist and if you can do that well enough, you’re good to go. Like we mentioned before though, learning other aspects of the creation process can have some serious advantages. Some of them include – shorter length of the creation process; greater control of creativity, experimentation and art direction; better understanding of intricacies of music creation; an avenue to make extra revenue; and helping to save costs associated with hiring more professionals and so much more.
There are also other skills that might come in handy for artists, to help them reduce expenses and reliance on other professionals in the creativity process. These include but is not limited to – video directing and editing, graphic design, digital marketing and sound engineering (popularly known as mixing and mastering), amongst others.
A huge percentage of artists might not have these skills as they start out, but they usually pick up one or more of them as their career grows. Some even become music business moguls rather than just artists. It’s also a fact that a lot of Nigerian singers have achieved massive global levels of super-stardom without any “known record” of being able to produce music. Regardless, we couldn’t help but notice that those that do, manage to stand out a bit differently, especially among the new generation of rising stars.