NATIVE Exclusive: Detailmadeit Is More Than Just Your Average Rapper
"I’m definitely recognised now. Now I’m aiming for Lagos, aiming for Nigeria."
The Abuja music scene has produced some of the most unique superstars in Afropop today. Among many, Tay Iwar, Psycho YP, Zilla Oaks and more stand out, making mainstream incursions with folk-tinged soul and vivacious raps, quite different but sharing the same individualistic drive that forms the core of their communities. The 26-year-old artist and producer Detailmadeit emerges from this tradition.
Born in Lagos, a young Detailmadeit moved around the country a lot because of his father’s police job. Yet, wherever he found himself, music was a constant part of his life. He played in brigades and in the choir, amassing knowledge which informs his versatility today. After high school in Nigeria, he moved to the US for further studies. His music found its footing during that period. “The music person is me,” he told The NATIVE earlier this month.
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Between his father’s profession and his mother being a professor in political science, Detail turned to his elder brother who shared a similar interest in music, and “showed [him] it was possible.” His early loves included famed icons Michael Jackson and Fela Kuti, while his gruff-inflected melodies were influenced by the incandescent music of rappers such as 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G, Ja-Rule and 50Cent.
Detail although makes it clear he listens to pretty much everything else. “When people ask me what genre of music I make,” he says, “I find it quite difficult to answer, because I make what I feel.” We linger a bit on this when he mentions Kanye West as a major influence, choosing ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ as his favourite in West’s catalogue. The Jeen-yuhs Netflix documentary being a natural side-topic, Detail imagines looking back on his career from a similar level of acclaim. “For me, regardless of how much work I’ve put in so far, it still very much feels like the beginning,” he says.
“When people ask me what genre of music I make [because] I find it quite difficult to answer, because I make what I feel.”
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As a young Nigerian in the diaspora, Detailmadeit leaned into the communal aspect of music-making. “I used to record songs in my room and release on SoundCloud and people on my campus would listen to them and they’d big me up,” he recounts. “If they had little shows here and there, I’d perform. I was also deejaying a lot and I got paid for it. That’s how I mainly keyed into entertainment there and I know all the rappers on campus, all the singers, they’re all trying to come to my dorm room to record, to see what we can put together.”
In 2017, Detailmadeit released his debut project, ‘Summer in the Capital’, collaborating across the Abuja scene with explosive beats inspired by Hip-Hop and Caribbean styles, reveling in the independence of being his own producer. 2018’s ‘Scorpio Season’ was even better, with fuller 808s and vivid detail on introspective highlights such as “Life” and “Phases”, the emotive opener where he raps about life outside Nigeria. “Nothing was the same/ At sixteen, I had to leave my parents; I had to grow up and be my own man/ That’s how my life changed.”
When Detail returned in the summer of 2014, Davido’s “All Of You” was hot, its unforgettable beat produced by Gospelonthebeatz. 17-year-old Detail reached out to the producer through a contact number available on his bio. Gospel’s manager answered, and Detail somehow convinced him to invite him to the studio where he spoke to Gospel for the first time. He would be granted access to Gospel’s studio, met Speroach and a whole lot of music professionals during that time. “For them to have invited me in, it really did a lot for me, and now I can say so far as the industry goes in Abuja, I’m definitely recognised now. Now I’m aiming for Lagos, aiming for Nigeria, aiming for Africa, and then the world.”
Last year, Detailmadeit released “WAR READY”, “STEPPINGS” and “Talk & Do”, working to consistently put himself out there. Recently, he shared “Issa Vibe”, a bubbly collaboration with DJ Neptune and Baby Fresh, who uncharacteristically sang the record’s hook. “Not too many people know that because we wrote the song together so when we switched, you wouldn’t realise, unless you know my voice and you’re really paying attention to the song,” Detail explains. “It was a pretty good experience working with the two of them and it’s still ongoing, you know it’s a kind of ‘for life’ thing cos we’ve done something this great. Definitely many more things are still coming.”
If Detailmadeit projects confidence in his moves, it’s because he’s a practical individual and every bit a businessman as he is creative. Hours before we spoke, he was in a meeting that required his presence as the founder and CEO of Galaxy Records Limited, which he describes as “a one-stop audio-visual and branding solutions company”. The Abuja-based company opened in 2020, ideated as part of his Masters project studying audio production at the University of Westminster. “I’ve always liked music and I’ve always liked entertainment,” he explains, “and my passion for those two things really pushed me towards opening up a business like this.”
Last year, Detail also registered the clothing brand ‘Lifestyle’ as a business company. “I actually take pride in my dressing,” he says. “I like clothes a lot. And I was thinking ‘what could I really do that would be outside of music, but still be in entertainment. I said ‘okay, let me go into clothes’. My brother owns a factory in Lagos making clothes and I’m like ‘cool bro, let’s collaborate on this.’ Cos also, a very key part of entertainment and music is merchandising, so ‘Lifestyle’ is pretty much my merchandising aspect of my music. Cos las las, it’s my lifestyle. Everyone has their lifestyle.”
There’s a number of forthcoming stuff from Detail. Exciting videos have already been shot for “Issa Vibe”, directed by Lucas Reed while he’s looking to get more strategic partners to support the music. He’s sure, as he said during our interview, “[that] Detailmadeit doesn’t disappoint. Wherever you put him, he can play. He can do something and you’ll be wowed.”
Featured image credits/Instagram: Detailmadeit
