Singer finds meaning with music, healing the world with it one day at a time

3rty (pronounced ''Thirty"), a Nigerian singer and producer, one of those artists pulling fans on Soundcloud and gradually gaining a fan base in the Lagos music scene dropped by at the Pulse office.

Growing up, 3rty had a rather quiet childhood, not relating much with peers and siblings, but thankfully music helped him to make friends he tells Pulse.

“Music was where I could find an escape, where I could just be, music helped me make friends.”

On his influences, 3rty credits Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’ as that one song that spurred him to start making beats. This was in 2010 after he was done with secondary school.

3rty learnt the production ropes because he wanted to establish himself as an artist.

3rty took the music to Covenant University, where he started getting noticed for what he could do with music. Although the nature of the school tended towards gospel music, which was not the line of music he was planning on building his music career on.

3rty attributes Soul, Afrobeat and Western flows as his influences. He gets emotional, even once crying after listening to a particular song he confessed.

About the ongoing conversation about the so-called “Alternative music” and “Alternative artist”, 3rty is of the opinion that there’s no such thing as alternative music or an alternative artist.

“I don’t believe there’s any such thing as alternative music because everybody is different, what becomes mainstream doesn’t mean it’s not different, it’s just accepted.”

He explained further that just because a particular music has not gained a level of acceptance yet into the mainstream doesn’t make it alternative, and that sticking to just one genre is very limiting.

On his first major stage performance at a Cave wave event in Lagos, 3rty described it as pivotal for him, as he felt more confident in himself and his music.

On his songwriting and the inspiration, 3rty likes to pass a message and tell stories with his music, explaining that sometimes an idea for different songs come to him at different times.

“The stories don’t come to me in full at once, and when the inspiration comes to me it’s not always on the same song, I could be writing four different songs over the course of a month,” he explained, adding that the inspiration hits him at any time, so he has to be ready to put it down on paper.

3rty like many others is cautious about signing to labels who may want to change his sound to the so-called mainstream, to formulas that have worked in the past, but is keen on the music having a structure which is what he and his management Kohav are all about.

Speaking on the essence of his upcoming show “3rty And You” on July 1, 2017, the skillful creative said it’s about connecting with where he grew up which happens to be Isolo, a densely populated area in Lagos.

He sees it as an avenue to give back even as much as it gives him the opportunity to perform and be on stage doing what he loves to do – sing. He also talks about the sheer talent and energy that comes out from that area, the type of supportive audience that comes through for the love of the music, which he described as amazing and spiritual.

The budding singer on the structure of the music industry is grateful for the advent of social media and the internet which has promoted the indie artist’s career.

Another very important factor 3rty’s management noted was the fact that adaptation was being created for the foreign market at the expense of the local Nigerian market, advocating for more investment in the Nigerian music.

The need for  highlighting the need for infrastructure to bridge the  gap between, sighting for example that a fan in Nasarawa  state of Northern Nigeria should easily be able to travel down to the West of Nigeria in Lagos just to watch his favourite Nigerian artist perform at a concert.

3rty also describes the music he makes as organic and impactful on the lives of the listeners, which also embodies his vision for his music career, an also as well for making friends in the real sense of the word.

His “Magic” EP, is an awesome 7-track body of work released in 2016 after his graduation from university, which goes to tell a lot about 3rty's style and brand of music.

3rty talked about connecting musically with Kid Marley, a rapper who he has a joint album “The Grey Area” in the works with, narrating how they met up at the Cave Wave 3 event, during a rehearsal session, both of the acts billed to perform.

You can hear feel their chemistry  on songs like 'Monkey business' off 3rty’s "Magic" EP and 'The search' off Kid Marley’s "Days B4 Denim" EP. It only made sense that this synergy was used to create a full project, and so this is where the story is, at "The Grey Area".

‘Sunday morning’ is the first single off the upcoming LP which does not have a release date yet. The album, 3rty says, will have something for everyone and not be a one-dimensional project.