{"id":76621,"date":"2021-04-01T10:18:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T09:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=76621"},"modified":"2021-04-01T10:18:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T09:18:27","slug":"dont-get-too-comfortable-with-simi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/dont-get-too-comfortable-with-simi\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t get too comfortable with Simi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The unrelenting Nigerian afropop singer breaks down her career thus far, her acclaimed Restless series, and the trials of being a mother and musician in a time of crisis. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The singer, born Simisola Ogunleye, rerouted from a promising gospel career to writing about love and emotions. Her trajectory was influenced by a subtle clamour for a break from the overwhelming supply of Afropop in Nigeria at the time. Simi\u2019s lithe vocals, perky persona, ability to interweave relatable anecdotes & lingo into songwriting and sound engineering  revealed her from the clutter. The singer single-handedly mixed and mastered her husband Adekunle Gold\u2019s debut album, Gold<\/em>. Her first EP Restless<\/em><\/a> <\/em>is a compilation of covers that provides her own spin on  proven hits like Beyonce\u2019s “Halo”, Rihanna\u2019s “Man Down”, Bruno Mars\u2019 “Grenade”, Adele\u2019s “Set Fire to the Rain”, OneRepublic\u2019s “Apologise”. Simi centers love as the primary theme of her artistry which she expressed in different forms in tracks like “JAMB Question”, “Tiff”, “Love Don\u2019t Care”, “Joromi” <\/em>etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her debut album, Simisola <\/em>which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard World Albums Chart is revered as one of the most critically acclaimed albums in contemporary Nigerian music. Barely a year later, Simisola <\/em>broke the record for the first album to garner over a million streams on Boomplay, the leading music streaming service in Sub-Saharan Africa. In that record year, Simi emerged one of the biggest winners at the Headies Award where she snagged Album of the Year (Simisola<\/em>), Recording of the Year (“Joromi”) and Best R&B Single (“Smile For Me”) awards in one night. Simi also beat Cameroon\u2019s Salatiel, Daphne; Malawi\u2019s Dawson, Angola\u2019s Anselmo Ralph to emerge Songwriter of the Year (“Smile For Me”) at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) within the same record year. The artistic blend of Simi and Falz in “Jamb Question” (remix) and “Soldier” saw the duo maximize their epiphanous allure with a seven-track EP, Chemistry<\/em>. In 2019, Simi furthered her course with Omo Charlie Champagne<\/em>, her third studio album whose genre spans across sentimental ballad, afropop, afrosoul, dancehall and more. The album title is dedicated to her father Engr. Charles Oladele Ogunleye who passed in 2014. In a year that would\u2019ve been earmarked as sabbatical for the singer following her pregnancy and motherhood, Simi abated stereotypes with “Duduke” and “Know You” (alongside Ladipoe<\/a>), two of Nigeria\u2019s biggest records in 2020. “Duduke” scooped the inaugural Best Written Song award and “Know You”, Best Collaboration at the recent Headies. Simi also emerged Best Female Artist, Western Africa at the African Muzik Magazine Awards & Music Festival (AFRIMMA) in 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The singer recently released Restless II<\/em> which she reveals was inspired by her husband, Adekunle Gold. The six-track EP with assists from Wurld, Ms Banks, and Adekunle Gold reflects the singer\u2019s state of mind at the time. \u201cI was pregnant, I just left my record label and started my own company. There were too many new-unfamiliar phases at once. That\u2019s where the restlessness came from\u201d says Simi. Here, Simi speaks to PAM about music as her biggest outlet, smashing stereotypes and being unapologetically vocal about causes she\u2019s drawn to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Lex Ash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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2020 was relatively interesting for Simi; from motherhood to “Duduke”, Platoon<\/em>, Restless II<\/em> etc.<\/strong> Tell us, how do you feel?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Totally blessed especially as the year 2020 was such a wild one for many people and the world at large with the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, End SARS etc. In all, I feel really blessed that I\u2019m able to have these testimonies of mine in the midst of the chaos. I\u2019m not sheltering myself from reality however. I\u2019m totally happy and I\u2019m also always putting everyone in my prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Congratulations on your AFRIMMA win for Best Female Artist West Africa. Did you envisage all these feats within such a period?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not exactly. The one thing people will tell you about being pregnant and right after having a baby is that things tend to go down because your attention is divided and your priority is changing. Honestly, a big part of me expected that would happen. In fact, it kind of went that way in the earlier part of my pregnancy. Even before announcing I was pregnant, I felt like I have to constantly prove myself even after I\u2019ve done that time and time again. It\u2019s something about people opining that because you\u2019re with child, your value should be lower. It makes absolutely no sense. I think because my team and I foresaw that, we planned ahead. Especially earlier in my pregnancy when I had more energy, I put things together to ensure I have something going when I\u2019m not able to work as much. Interestingly, it didn\u2019t happen the way I\u2019d thought it would and I\u2019m glad that we were able to exceed expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What does it mean to you to inspire a village with such show of tenacity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really proud of myself because adding to God\u2019s grace, I did put in the work and I\u2019m happy to see it pay off. Initially, I was scared it might turn out a certain way but then it didn\u2019t. It reaffirmed the belief that if you put your heart into something you cherish, you\u2019ll likely get results. I mean, I don\u2019t want to sound like a privileged brat because there are people who work hard and don\u2019t necessarily get what they want. I\u2019m just honoured that I was able to achieve and exceed what I intended. I\u2019m also glad that I was able to foster a mentality that being pregnant doesn\u2019t mean one should be totally counted out – not just for myself but also for other women. Now, I know I\u2019m capable of anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What inspired your earlier transition from Gospel to secular music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, I wasn\u2019t doing Gospel because I started singing in the church choir or something. It was just where my heart was. Also, as trying to write love songs wasn\u2019t working at the time, I settled for Gospel which came to me effortlessly. I remained in that space till I started to write differently and about more experiences. It\u2019s relatively hard for me but I prayed to God that if secular music is not his will for me, then it shouldn’t work out. When it started to work out, I just guessed I was on the right path. I pride myself on the fact that I\u2019m a genuine person and whatever I do, even if I\u2019m making a mistake, I don\u2019t have any sinister intention. I just let myself go on and enjoy the process therein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s something intriguing about how you brilliantly lace storytelling to your music. Tell us about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s probably because I talk a lot [laughs]. It\u2019s probably from a part of me that feels like when you paint a picture with the music, people connect to it better. I don\u2019t tell as many stories like I used to, like in my debut album Simisola<\/em>. I enjoy painting pictures; I want people to be able to picture what\u2019s happening when they listen to the music.  I think it\u2019s a way to have them connect more to what I\u2019m saying and it’s a great selling point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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