Discover... Adenikè
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Photo Credit: @jrydertr
Female voices are there but not as celebrated as their male counterparts. Enter: Adenikè, an Afro-R&B artist based in the UK but with Nigerian heritage, who has the potential to reach the heights of Burna, Wiz and DaVido. Having had the chance to support Burna Boy on part of his Europe Tour, in Finland, earlier this year, she’s clearly already making the right moves.
WFA caught up with her earlier in Quarantine to chat more about life under lockdown and her 2020 release: “Tonight”.
Thanks for sitting down with us — how have you been doing under lockdown?
I’ve been doing quite well, staying as busy as I possibly can. I can’t lie, when I’m at work my bed is calling me so being able to do it from home is right up my street.
Tell us a bit about why you decided to become an artist?
Honestly, as cliché as this sounds, when I was a lot younger I wanted to be a singer. On a normal day, I and my brother would write songs like we were drinking water, (only God knows where the songs are now), but my brother was a guru when it came to recording or anything to do with a computer. I guess music was always a part of me growing up. Taking the step to doing music seriously was something I always found hard as I am really shy; it sounds silly as I am an artist but it’s real. However, my family and friends have always seen what I can do with my voice and have always been supportive, telling me to take it seriously. So they pushed me to get out there. I am still shy but with practise, my confidence will grow.
What music did you grow up listening to and has that influenced your sound?
I grew up listening to a bit of everything really, however, I would always be drawn to Afrobeats. Afrobeats has definitely influenced my sound. When doing music I instantly went for that sound and being from Nigerian has also influenced my style of music. This is why I love to implement that in my sound.
You’ve released a couple of singles to date, the second of which “Tonight” seems to be doing really well (~200,000 Spotify streams at the time of writing) — how did that song come about?
One day my Producer: Shola and I went to the studio and she did what she does best. She started making a fresh beat and as she made the beat, I kind of got a gist of what she was doing; I showed her what melody I was going with, then we put everything together and “Tonight” was born. What I loved about it was that we both have a really good vibe which helps to make music fun and exciting.
Was working with a female producer on this track a conscious choice?
My manager introduced me to Shola and I had never worked with a female producer before, however, it was something that I believe was a really good decision. I instantly felt comfortable when I first stepped into the studio with her.
The world has been waking up to music from Africa and music made by diasporans like yourself, who are some of your favourite new artists from the continent right now?
I really love Fireboy DML
If you were to make a dream song right now, which team of creators would you assemble to make it with you?
Singer : Burna Boy
Producer: Cracker Mallo
What can we expect from you for the remainder of the year?
You can expect a few more videos from me this year.
More music is on its way, a date has not yet been confirmed, but it will be out soon.
And lastly, what does success mean to you?
Success to me means to be happy within myself and in life; to be free and able to do as I please without being judged and to live my life.