Singer is ticking all the right boxes of a promising music career

Bawa who is in his sophomore year is already building for himself a promising career pathway as a musician.

Prior to this, Bawa had started out with playing the saxophone in his high school choir, then playing the drums before singing came into the picture.

In secondary school, he was a member of a rap freestyle group which was just something he picked up as a hobby. This soon led him and his group, after raising some substantial cash,  to the studio where they recorded their first song with a producer who has produced for the Loud On Sound(L.O.S) music group that has the likes of Tomi Thomas, Zamir and BrisB as members.

Bawa says the group was inspired by Lil Wayne, so much the group was modelled after Cash Money and Young Money record labels, having sort of like two groups made up of old and new breeds.

They went on performing in other secondary schools and even clubs, which was made possible with the help of some ‘behind the scenes’ guys Bawa recounted. Emerging singer and producer Odunsi was a member of the group.

After secondary school, when the group members had to go their separate ways, knowing what he wanted out of life at that stage decided he was going to give music a shot.

So as far as he knows it was more like him and Odunsi that continued with the music. That had resulted in a fine tune ‘Faji' by Bawa featuring Odunsi and BrisB of L.O.S. The song was produced by Odunsi.

Studying Business in the university and heading into his second year, Bawa looks set to be on the right path to combining the art and business of music very well.

On the new wave of artists like him coming out, Bawa who describes his sound as Afro-fusion vibes, a mixture of Alternative, Hip-Hop and more says they are no longer afraid of being different.

“We are no more kids, we are no more afraid, if you take a look back then, it’s either we were trying to sound like a D’banj, or a Wizkid but right now nobody is afraid of trying new things and it’s working out, people are actually and listening” Bawa said.

Speaking on future plans, Bawa envisions himself launching his debut album, releasing music videos, collaborating a whole lot more and scooping award, get signed or start up his own company.

Bawa feels Burna Boy’s Spaceship Entertainment label would be a good fit for him when asked which Nigerian run label he sees himself signing on to.

“I’m feeling Burna Boy’s Spaceship label, I feel he might know how to handle his artists.”

He however points out how much he values his creative freedom and wouldn’t want to be involved with any label that does not respect that space.

Speaking of challenges, Bawa talked about not yet being a face to reckon with as an artist, recalling being sidelined at a gig where he had been initially scheduled to perform, but for some reason was left out for a ‘bigger’ artist to fill the last slot.

Bawa though says it’s just part of the challenges he had to face coming up.

“I think they are just normal challenges every artists face; it just tells you have to work harder to put yourself there.”

Bawa speaking on his creative process, says he finds it difficult to focus on his music while at school, so feels his mood and environment is a factor that affects how quick and easy he is able to work on completing a song.

Oluwabawa as his Yoruba friends like to call him, interestingly worked with young producers for his current singles released, some of them his schoolmates. Bawa had a lot of praise for the skillfulness of producers including Odunsi who have worked with him so far.

Bawa had something to say about the recent news about stopping the airing of Nigerian music videos produced abroad from being viewed on Nigerian broadcast stations.

He reckons that the need for exposure to best practices makes it not a bad idea to shoot and produce Nigerian music videos abroad, but also faults the government for putting the cart before the horse, not putting in place the necessary infrastructure.

Bawa advocates for Nigerian music creatives patronizing home to promote the culture, as he recounts a photographer friend of his telling him how beautiful the city of Kano is, and wonders why Nigerian artists are not taking advantage of locations thereon.

Bawa also revealed he has kicked off a show tagged “Live session with Bawa” which sees him performing with a live band. The next edition coming up in August he says will see guest artists like Yinka Bernie, Odunsi, Jinmi Abduls and probably a Tomi Thomas, among others, happening in Ikeja.

The singer believes live performances are essential to make an artist an all-round musician, hence his reason for initiating the show.

Also, Bawa plans to release a visual for song 'Small shekpe'.