{"id":42173,"date":"2018-10-31T18:59:40","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T17:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/odunsi-the-poster-boy-for-the-african-sonic-revolution-coming-from-lagos\/"},"modified":"2020-05-04T23:13:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T22:13:07","slug":"odunsi-the-poster-boy-for-the-african-sonic-revolution-coming-from-lagos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/odunsi-the-poster-boy-for-the-african-sonic-revolution-coming-from-lagos\/","title":{"rendered":"Odunsi, the poster boy for the African sonic revolution coming from Lagos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15764 pam-featured-content\"  src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"715\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi-759x543.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi-661x473.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi-465x332.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Odunzi-375x268.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\"><strong>&#8220;You don\u2019t need to conform directly to where you are from to do what you feel like doing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Odunsi (The Engine) is the poster boy for the African sonic revolution coming from Lagos: Afrofusion. It is a blend of different sounds, culture and influences. It is not a static sound or a genre yet, in fact, it is an alteration on its own; sounds that changes between artists, albums and tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Featuring Davido, Duendita, Santi, Zamir LOS, Runtown, Tay Iwar, Nasty C and Hamzaa<\/span><b>,\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Odunsi\u2019s widely anticipated debut album,\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rare.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is so far the most distinctive project of the movement and it currently runs the risk of being a hit. Inspired by the pop culture of the 80s and 90s,\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rare.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0confirms Odunsi\u2019s extricating energy for his choice of funky and disco vibes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We caught up with Odunsi to talk about his album and influences among other things.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\"><b><br \/>\nWhere did your title, \u2018The Engine\u2019 come from?<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s just a nickname I got in high school, there is no deep meaning to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\"><b><br \/>\nWhere did you get the inspiration for your new album,\u00a0<\/b><b><i>rare.<\/i><\/b><b>?<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It came from my re-discovery of music from the 80s and the 90s and some of these songs are what I heard growing up and as I got older, I kind of went out of touch with them but then I went back to them about 2 or 3 years ago and that was what inspired the sound of the album. <br style=\"clear: both;\" \/>\u00a0<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KeoHBVhxQRw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">How long have you been working on it?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About one and a half to two years now.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">In your intro, you said \u2018i told you i\u2019m ready, it\u2019s my time and nobody can tell me nothing\u2019, this makes me want to ask what were the challenges you faced putting together this album and generally since you started singing?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being a new artist in Nigeria was a real experience for me because in Nigeria, there are some things you have to do before you get into the mainstream and it almost feels like if you don\u2019t go over those things you will probably wouldn\u2019t go too far and some of these things don\u2019t necessarily fit who I am so I was struggling with being seen and getting heard and connecting to a larger audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">Do you think you\u2019ve gotten over that now?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am definitely still in it but I am in a way better place than I was when I just started<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">There is obviously a sense of brevity in the album, most of the songs didn\u2019t last up to three minutes, is it intentional?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">You like your album to be short?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For me, I just want to give an experience that could capture someone for just about 30+ minutes, so I didn\u2019t want to make it too long. I tried to make sure that all the messages I was trying to pass, I was able to pass them under 40 minutes because of listening tradition and how sounds have evolved over time. Unlike before when you have an album in like three CDs, you know that it is only the CD that is being played because to change the music you need to put in another CD but right now, you can change any song you want easily anytime.\u00a0<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/>\u00a0<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17743\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-759x759.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-1010x1010.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-661x661.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-465x465.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-375x375.jpg 375w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-85x85.jpg 85w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-Rare-73x73.jpg 73w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">Let\u2019s talk about your song, \u2018outcast\u2019. You were really kicked out of High School?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I was expelled from my first High School<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">What happened?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a group exploitation. Something happened and I was part of the people who were in the vicinity, so they just expelled everybody together.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">Who is your favourite artiste of the 80s and 90s?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have several, Sade Adu, Prince Bobby and Janet Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">Michael Jackson?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I like Michael Jackson too. But I don\u2019t know why I like everything else about him more than his music, I like his performances and everything music wise, Prince is my pop head.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">What do you think is the future of Afrofusion?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I feel like Afrofusion is a word we use to explain people who might just be making something outside of the box from African or Nigeria. It\u2019s not rooted yet, we are just trying to get heard outside what people always hear from here. To make sure that you are not misunderstood, you just have to find something to describe yourself as.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">You have a global approach to music, do you think musicians in Africa should do that too?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I feel like musicians should do what they feel like doing but also if any artist feels like he wants to reach a kind of people, it\u2019s nice to tap into yourself and just reflect who you are to the world, it doesn\u2019t have to be like a global package and you don\u2019t need to conform directly to where you are from to do what you feel like doing. Where you are from is a big part of what you want to do but don\u2019t. You don\u2019t owe anyone anything, to be honest, just do what you feel like doing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">You recently made your runway debut.<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, it feels good but it was scary. I had fun at the end.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><b><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\">What are the things you plan to do before the year is over?<\/span><\/b><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would love to have a show.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\"><b><br \/>\nIn Lagos?<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anywhere to be honest, but majorly in Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to our Afrobeat<span style=\"color: #333333;\">s playlist in\u00a0<a style=\"color: #333333;\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/user\/panafricanmusic\/playlist\/5fzbLUbqLiEvriBPMlLNbf?si=l26WQmnrSLqG_AmR0_tdyw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #f2c94c;\"><br \/>\nRead next:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #f2c94c;\" href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/maka-interview\/\">Maka: \u201cThe kind of music I make never die, no matter how many times you perform it\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17739\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine-759x557.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine-661x485.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine-465x341.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Odunsi-The-Engine-375x275.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You don\u2019t need to conform directly to where you are from to do what you feel like doing.&#8221; Odunsi (The Engine) is the poster boy for the African sonic revolution coming from Lagos: Afrofusion. It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":15764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7835,9405],"tags":[],"location":[8172],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42173"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=42173"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=42173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}