Pandamonae tells Pulse about his origins, finding music, Burna Boy, Blackmagic and more

Born Olayinka Okoya Fofah, he is an introverted extrovert. He lives in his head a lot, playing scenarios of past experiences and envisioning the future. He comes from a family that aids freedom of thought, conscience and life direction, regardless of whatever situation you find yourself.

He’s the last child and only son of his parents and he spent a number of years in Kaduna, Nigeria, where he lived with his mum and sister.

A few weeks ago, Pulse Nigeria spoke with the fast-rising artist who his managed by veteran A&R, Artist Manager and host of Listening Sessions podcast, Obinna Agwu, also known as The Angry MOB. Here are the best bits of the conversations;

What was Kaduna like?

Living there taught me a lot of values that I apply to my craft everyday. I moved back to Lagos in August 2010 to live with my father. He was a Chef and he had a whole lot of morals that I had to abide by everyday, even though some of them didn’t fit my values.

Away from music, what else do you do?

Currently, I’m in my Final year at the University of Lagos, studying Economics. Aside from creating music, I’m also very big on fashion and anything that involves creativity. To put it in a nutshell, I’d say my reality is usually black and white, but it also exists in a million shades of grey. My reality is what I make it; it’s a construct of perseverance, faith, pain, struggle & love and that is who Pandamonae is.

How did you find music?

I got involved in music at 15, when my father enrolled me in piano classes. I would then learn how to play stock music from my piano, carrying on lessons I learned more melodies.

In 2014 I got my first laptop and at that time I had a friend/neighbour who was a producer/singer. He was one of the first people to really inspire me musically. He also helped me install FruityLoops.

I began to produce but I later lost interest in that and I found my voice.

When did you realize music could be your career path?

Since I dropped my first song [Pull Up] in 2017, I would wake up everyday and the only thing that’d be on my mind would be how to make my brand better and how to make Pandamonae a standout. I also spent a lot of time researching music related stuff and how I could apply different things to make me better.

So through 2019, I was free-styling on other peoples’ beats and popular songs.

I’d flip the records and people would love them. Seeing the genuine love around me and how a lot of people started rooting for me as well as how naturally music came to me, I just knew I couldn’t really give up on this craft regardless of any setback.

I could only get better if I worked harder. So December 2019, I made that decision to become a professional artist.

Was it hard to make that decision?

Yes it was because I was fighting my own personal battles but I had to make that decision.

What do you think about your similarities to Burna Boy and Blackmagic?

I actually consider it a compliment - I'm not the biggest fan of theirs. I appreciate their genius obviously, but they're not the guys who influenced or inspired me the most to make music so I'm not mad at it at all. I’ve possibly heard my favourite TY Dolla $ign songs more than both of their music.

I'm ready to take on the world but I'm still working extra hard to keep fine tuning myself and my sound.

What's the origin of your stage name?

In 2014 I honestly just wanted a name aside from my birth name; something that represented me and my personality. I wanted it to be something that was black and I couldn’t think of anything that was black asides the animal Panda. So I decided to merge the ‘Monae’ with Panda with no deep thought to what ‘Monae’ meant.

The true meaning to my name revolves around the panda and it depicts my personality and how I just view everything and that’s in black-and-white with no sugarcoat whatsoever. The deeper meaning to my name is explained in just five words and that’s faith, pain, struggle, perseverance, and love. These five words are what I live by.

What's your creative process?

I start everything with a freestyle. I really don’t hold back, I just let it flow. So after a free flow I start to clip the melodies to make sure the stories connect. I love me a dope beat!

How did you create 'Hollup'?

The vibe and energy surrounding the creation of 'Hollup' was just pure. There were say fifteen people in the apartment the day ‘Hollup’ was created and everyone’s input reflected on that record. Big shout to RadioChef, Hitsound, Gcl3f, Shorae and that’s just a few names that made the record happen.

'Nice and Sweet' is a solid record.

Are you a loverboy?

Honestly, I am a lover boy.

Why are love songs so imperative to Afro-pop?

The need to always woo someone you love never ends. It’s like you always have to paint a picture to let your lover know just how you feel towards them. If you really look around the world, someone is always finding love, in love, heartbroken or in a situation of some sort that relates to love. Hence the reason that topic just stays around.

What other topics should we look forward to from you?

I’m a real life experience artist, so expect real life, expect real stories, heartbreak and everything in between.

What are the next steps for Pandamonae?

More experiences, more music, more exposure and most especially growth. My first real music video drops soon and that's for, ‘Nice & Sweet.’

I have too many nice songs (I hope) in the drive [laughs] so expect the EP early next year. Working towards my LP for next year as well. Basically, we're going crazy with this thing.