If you’re an alté lover, a smooth vocals enthusiast, fine lyrics connoisseur, then get to know Yinka Bernie. 25-year-old Yinka Reuben Onaduja is the perfect blend of emotional writing and nostalgic melodies. His latest release, conveniently titled Something New, is so intimate it’s like Yinka Bernie is sharing a secret with you. His deep, jazzy voice and the recurrent humming are soothing. In five songs and twelve short minutes, the Nigerian alté act is able to convey messages and drag out the kind of emotions only a good therapy session would. A bit dramatic? Sure, but you won’t get it until you take the time to listen.
Although his music is open, you won’t find much about his personal life on the internet. So who is Yinka Bernie? When asked to introduce himself, Yinka listed a few things: he’s a producer, a recording artist, and a sound engineer. That’s not it! He’s also a web and app developer and runs Egwu, one of Lagos’ best record shops.
Bernie didn’t grow up in the tumultuous city but further north in Oyo State, in the more peaceful Ibadan. “I think Ibadan is super calm, like the complete opposite of Lagos. Super calm. Everyone is calm, the environment is very serene. It’s a very calm city”. He also notes that his formative years in this space shaped his art. “I think it really translates into my sound. I think my sound is also calm and serene. Not too much going on, just easy”. To escape Lagos’ chaos and constant noise, Yinka answered my questions in the comfort of his car.
Music came to Yinka early on, his apparent love for physical records drawing him in. “I think it’s when I started buying CDs in, like, junior high school. Once I started owning CDs, music just fascinated me: the making of music, the artists, and watching music videos, … I mean, I didn’t particularly know I was going to be an artist but I knew I wanted to do something around that because like I said, I started as a producer.” With a hint of pride still showing on his face, he explains that he started producing in 2012. He was friends with the older boys in school, so he used to make beats with them as a cool kid would. “We were talking a lot about music and somehow I knew that ‘okay, I think I really want to do this’ but at the time, it was still passive. When I knew for sure was in university, when I started making music in 2014/2015. I was like, ‘yeah, I will do it, for sure.’”
And he started strong, exploring the sekere’s many notes and afrobeat roots on the experimental Fela Obsession EP. His productions sampled the genre’s founding father Fela Kuti’s speeches. But Bernie’s influences go even further than the afrobeat blueprint. “For influences, I would say a lot of the UK Jazz scene. Like Tom Misch, Masego, FKJ. Just anything influenced by jazz and soul music. These types of artists. And back in Nigeria, I’d say I’m influenced by the older stuff: Lagbaja, Sunny Ade, just every percussion music.” It transposes in the precise way Yinka Bernie places his baritone voice on the instrumentals, letting the lyrics sink in and the music breathe.
Music came to Yinka early on, his apparent love for physical records drawing him in. “I think it’s when I started buying CDs in, like, junior high school. Once I started owning CDs, music just fascinated me: the making of music, the artists, and watching music videos, … I mean, I didn’t particularly know I was going to be an artist but I knew I wanted to do something around that because like I said, I started as a producer.” With a hint of pride still showing on his face, he explains that he started producing in 2012. He was friends with the older boys in school, so he used to make beats with them as a cool kid would. “We were talking a lot about music and somehow I knew that ‘okay, I think I really want to do this’ but at the time, it was still passive. When I knew for sure was in university, when I started making music in 2014/2015. I was like, ‘yeah, I will do it, for sure.’”
And he started strong, exploring the sekere’s many notes and afrobeat roots on the experimental Fela Obsession EP. His productions sampled the genre’s founding father Fela Kuti’s speeches. But Bernie’s influences go even further than the afrobeat blueprint. “For influences, I would say a lot of the UK Jazz scene. Like Tom Misch, Masego, FKJ. Just anything influenced by jazz and soul music. These types of artists. And back in Nigeria, I’d say I’m influenced by the older stuff: Lagbaja, Sunny Ade, just every percussion music.” It transposes in the precise way Yinka Bernie places his baritone voice on the instrumentals, letting the lyrics sink in and the music breathe.
In 2017, he released a few singles, including the confident “Silhouette” and the sonic “Oomph” (infused again with the pan-African icon’s saxophone). In the summer, he dropped his first EP as a recording artist: the well-received 19 & Over, more mature and less commercial. Then followed a short 3-track project in 2019 named Façades, featuring RnB vocalist Aylo and falsetto singer-writer Amaarae. You should also know that he produced her massive hit “SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY”. In 2020, he released his most successful song so far, “It’s Okay To Cry”, the last track on his 2022 extended play Something New.
Like many alternative artists on the Nigerian scene (namely Odunsi and Santi, whose fanbases’ common trait is patience), Yinka Bernie releases music parsimoniously, when it feels right. Risky business, considering the number of talents sprouting almost daily on the Nigerian scene. But the quality and the connection keep his audience attentive. “There are other mediums: I produce for people, I share music a lot, I share resources, I share a lot of my day-to-day. So there is some kind of connection. Even if you think ‘oh, he hasn’t released music in a while’, there is still some form of expression that my supporters connect with. I’m mostly present and they are present with me. I have a mailing list, I have intimate shows, I go online. So that helps bridge the gap so I have a healthy relationship with my fanbase. They don’t just expect music”. He adds nuance. “They do expect music all the time, but I think we’ve just been able to express in other forms. And they just wait. Whatever the right time is for me, they wait until I drop.” On Something New’s interlude “YB why?”, Bernie’s fan and now friend Morenikeji Adebola expresses her frustration but gets the point: Yinka doesn’t sing nonsense. So, it takes time.
These days Yinka Bernie’s favorite track on the EP is “Very Simple”, a sweet, easy ballad. “There is a lot of nostalgia in that song for the early fans, even new fans. I like that the early fans will recognize some beats and pieces of things I’ve done before. And also, for the new people that listen, when they go back to my old catalog, they can find where the references come from. Because a lot of the lines are from one of my songs.” Most of the references in question date back to 2017. Good luck digging. “I also like that it touched on the type of women I like, very simple women. And just appreciating black women and all of that. So yeah, ’Very Simple’ is my best song right now.”
Yinka Bernie has plans to take “Very Simple” and the EP all around Lagos, the internet, and even overseas. As a record store owner, he of course loves memorabilia. “In coming weeks and days, you can expect more collectibles from me, like vinyl, CDs, and merch. More shows in more cities. We plan on going to Europe soon. More music, more visuals like music videos. I’ve not dropped a music video before. So more of that. Just more experiential stuff.” Something New is available everywhere. Expect more to come from Yinka Bernie.
Listen to Something New by Yinka Bernie here.
