For The Girls: Efe Oraka is making music for cool black girls
My genre is called cool black girl because I make music that cool black girls make.
To commemorate Women’s History Month this year, we will be spotlighting a different female artist every day of the month. Some of these women you may know, others you may have heard of and some will be entirely new discoveries. The aim is to shine a light on the remarkable young women from around Africa, who are finding their feet through music and giving women a voice of their own.
Written by Adaobi Ajegbo & Tami Makinde
Every day this month to celebrate Women’s History Month, we have profiled a female artist to showcase the diverse range of talent there is in the industry, which is often overlooked thanks to the patriarchy and set standards. Some of the artists we’ve highlighted are relatively new discoveries, while some others you’ve already heard about.
Efe Oraka happens to be in the category of the latter, with several releases that cement her position in the industry and make her one to keep close tabs on. Over the last two years, she has become an interesting talent to watch over the years and it’s very clear where she’s headed in the game. Just this year alone, she’s bagged a feature from Chocolate City heavyweight, M.I Abaga and performed alongside other talented female artists on International Women’s Day at Femme Africa’s latest showcase.
The Abuja-based artist has been actively releasing music for three years. Her first single on Soundcloud, “Gbe Mi”, dates back to 2017, where she lets her buttery smooth, yet strong vocals shine through. Sampling Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam”, she introduced us to what we’re now seeing from her all the way back then, and has stayed true to her craft all this time.
Following her latest release, “Zion” and the announcement of her upcoming EP, ‘Magic’, which will feature the pre-released “Zion” , “Wonderland” and an exciting Tay Iwar feature. Since we’re indoors thanks to Miss ‘Rona, we got to speak to Efe in her safe space via Facetime, while she was presumably ready for bed in a headscarf and glasses, and it made for a very enlightening conversation about her craft. We got to speak to the talented singer about her inspiration, her steady incline, personal life and women’s place in the music industry.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwJzcTCh1IY/
NATIVE: How are you doing in these uncertain times?
Efe: I’m doing okay mostly, taking one day at a time.
So what should we expect from your upcoming EP, ‘Magic’ ?
The EP will have five tracks and an intro. So it’s “Comfort Food”, “Wonderland”, “Love Galactic”, “Zion” and “Dive” but I’ve been wanting to add one more track just because it’s been so long I’ve made everyone wait. I wrote most of these songs between the time I was 17 and 18. I’m turning 21 next month, and there’s been a lot of growth in between. I’m not ready to put any song I’ve recently written, so I have to look for another song from that time.
What’s your selection process like? How do you know which songs you want to put out?
I am definitely really picky; I am my biggest fan and also my biggest critic, so most of the time when I’m just creating a song I think it’s the most amazing thing ever. When I take it to the studio though, I get a beat and I lay out vocals, which gives me time to get out of that initial excitement and really process the song – sometimes I start to feel like “Ómò this one is not really making sense oh”.
But I’m very picky because I just want everything at every point in time to not necessarily be a true representation of me but a true representation of where I am and what my mindset is and what I’m trying to do. And I mean, everyday I’m growing more, learning more, stretching more and my taste keeps changing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ZRB09BSKo/
Tell me a bit about being a woman in the industry? What has that been like for you?
It’s just the thing of constantly being forgotten or left in the shadows and having to fight extra hard to carve a niche for yourself. You’re never really a part of the conversation sometimes. We thank God for artists like Tems and Lady Donli, who keep showing us that you can be a part of the conversation at all times, but it’s also like a lot of times when people refer to female artists they refer to them as female artists as opposed to just being an artist. It’s a lot, it’s just a lot.
Do you have anything else that gets in the way of your creative process?
Yes definitely, I don’t want to go to school anymore and I feel like I’ve always wanted to be the champion – like stay in school and do the right thing, but I’m generally in a phase of not caring, especially when it comes to the way other people perceive the things I do.
Uni is not it for me, and that’s a lot for me to say because I do very well with academics, I always have, but at this point in my life allI do is think about all the things I would rather be doing apart from uni. I study law and I’ll be reading statutes and cases, Law is not easy and its like wow I could really just be doing something else. In a way I’m also grateful for the fact that I’m in school, because it’s a good distraction from when music is not necessarily working out the way I want it to.
If you had to, what genre would you categorise your music as?
I really liked that you asked me this question, because when I first started creating music – even though I wouldn’t have called it this then – I was very much a pop girl, I used to listen to a lot of Imagine Dragons, Avril Lavigne, Coldplay, Radiohead & Pink. I was really in my pop/alternative rock/soft rock phase but now that I am growing, the type of music I’ve been listening to in the past few years has really really changed.
I’m very surprised about the fact that I listen to Young Thug now – not because I think the music is not great, but because I was scared and I was like this just generally doesn’t sound like what I should fit into. I then started to realise that everything comes from a source, and at the end of the day, who are we if not one another? We literally all imitate each other, some people just find new ways to extend or shrink or alter what has already been done. So I told myself “Efe, if you want to make music that’s timeless, music that cuts across all works of life and across all types of people you need to immerse yourself in absolutely anything”
Everything is fluid these days, and we need to be maintaining the real essence of who we are so that’s what I’m trying to do. I look more at creating a style for myself, than creating a genre because who is really sticking to one genre in 2020? We’re fusing baby!
So how do you think your fluidity affects the way you’re received by the audience?
I don’t think it hurts my brand, but I’ve definitely had a lot of experience where people have tried to put me in a box. I’ve been put in the Asa, Johnny Drille, Simi box, I’ve also been put in the Santi, Odunsi, Lady Donli box. I’ve been put in so many boxes that I’m just like “yo are you not listening to the music, how does it even relate?”
It used to stress me out a lot, but I literally from the bottom of my heart don’t care where someone decides to place me. The most important thing is that you listen to the music and you’re experiencing it. I feel like when people listen to my bodies of work they will understand that I’m really not trying to be put into any box and I will not associate myself with any particular genre. Do you know what actually? My genre is called cool black girl because I make music that cool black girls make.
That’s right! So let’s talk about “Zion”, what’s the story behind the song and where did you draw influence from?
So essentially, what a lot people may not know is that “Zion” is actually a continuation of “Wonderland”, that’s why i purposely made sure that the artwork was kind of like a darker version of wonderland. So “Wonderland” is a story of love, but it is also a story of uncertainty and not really being sure where somebody is about to take you, having doubts. I say things like it’s a twisted fairytale.
There’s annotations in that song that anybody who’s proper trying to deep the lyrics will grab that they’re coming from a place where they’re not really sure about a certain person, but because the person so interesting and different from what they’re used to, it’s like “okay let me get out of my comfort space and go into this relationship”. So we go to Wonderland together, and then you take me to one part that I don’t really know and now leave me there. So to continue, in “Zion”, I’m begging God to please take me back to Zion. Zion in the bible is a place where Christians, find like their strong place of comfort, a place of rest. But it was also inspired by Lauryn Hill and Carlo Santana.
How did you get M.I on the song?
I didn’t think of MI being on it because I mean it was 2017, I didn’t know anybody in the industry, and like how would M.I; Mister Incredible, Chairman be on my song? So I was just going to ask one of my guys that raps “yo how far, spit some bars. Then on Twitter, there was this thing where his [M.I’s] people said he puts on a lot of female artists, andI replied like “Omo, MI has not put on anybody if he has not put me on o” and he actually saw the tweet and asked me to send him the song. When I sent in the song, he texted me that day at like 1am and asked me what my thought process was for the song; half asleep I sent him a voice note explaining the whole biblical allegories and everything, and then he sent me back that verse. He ate up those biblical metaphors.
You mentioned being inspired Lauryn Hill earlier, which other artists or what else influences your music?
Well I would say it’s mostly from my day-to-day experiences, the conversations I have, the music that I listen to, the places that I go to, it’s everywhere. I used to think that my main inspiration or my driving force was from Abuja because I love Abuja so much, but after a while when I went to Toronto and moved partly to Lagos, I realised it wasn’t the city because I’m picking other things from other cities and the stuff I’m even making in these other cities sounds different from what I would make when I’m home so it’s really just everything around me.
With track titles like “Comfort Food”, “Love Galactic”, “Dive” and pre-released singles like “Wonderland”, Efe Oraka is gearing up to let listeners into her perfectly crafted lo-fi pop world and cement herself as an unmissable name in the music industry. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with.
Featured image credits/instagram
For the Girls Special: How women’s place in music has changed over the last decade
Skyla Tylaa Is Taking Off
For the next phase of her career, Skyla Tylaa is actively working on creating music while entertaining with...
As a child growing up in South-east London, Skyla Tylaa had a natural affinity for the arts. Whether it was music or stage performances, she found herself exploring these interests intently from a young age. That devotion manifested in multiple ways – her attending the BRIT School and Sylvia Young Theatre School where she performed in a West End production of Annie or her fiddling with several musical instruments while she figured out her creative identity. Through it all, music was a constant, the backdrop to her home life where she grew up between Jamaican and English influences. She remembers being exposed to Drum & Bass, Funky House, and Garage. “I think that’s had a big influence in my DJ career,” Skyla Tylaa admits.
Progressing into adulthood, those musical influences persisted even if she didn’t always engage with them professionally. Things changed when she started DJ-ing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possessed by a visceral desire to experience the euphoria of interacting with people through music, she burrowed deeper into DJ-ing. “I couldn’t be in my room and just have people commenting,” she recalls. “I need to see people’s energy, and feel everything in the moment.”
Since then, she’s enjoyed a meteoric rise that has taken the world by storm. Mentored by DJ Tunez, she performed multiple times on the American leg of Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ tour and came out of the experience raring to go. “Opening for Wizkid on his tour was a transformative experience,” she says. “It taught me a lot about resilience and adaptability in my craft. I was still pretty much a start-up DJ when I went on tour and it made me really realise how important it is to connect with the audience. Touring from city to city with different crowds, it helped me to learn how to read the room and keep the vibe going.”
Almost as importantly for Skyla Tylaa, Rihanna was present at one of those tour stops and was impressed by her set, stopping by after the show to congratulate her. “After that I felt like I could conquer the world,” she says. Since then, she’s been selected by Rihanna to DJ at a Fenty X Puma Creeper launch event in London in 2024, marking a full-circle moment between the women.
Like Rihanna, Skyla Tylaa is inspired by music from the breadth of the Black diaspora, playing sets that take as much influence from the fervid restlessness of Hip-hop as they do the wavy melodies of House music, and the dancefloor summons of Afrobeats “I love partying! I genuinely love it,” she explains. “When preparing my sets, I’m always thinking of people having a good time. Whatever I can do to connect with them, I’m down to do it!”
In the last few years, few genres have shown the propensity for inspiring a great time with the regularity that Amapiano does. From Johannesburg to Windhoek, to Lagos, London, and New York, the log drums and mutating basslines of the genre have proven integral to a new Pop framework that is as amorphous as it is exhilarating. Since first hearing the genre while on a visit to Ghana years ago, Skyla Tylaa has been hooked. “It was the log drum, the sound, just the vibes that came with it,” she says. “I was like ‘wait – what is this?’ When you hear Amapiano, it’s one of those sounds that no matter what, you’re gonna dance.”
Diving into the genre, she’s picked up valuable lessons from important figures like Maphorisa, Uncle Vinny and Major League DJz while putting her youthful spin on the sound. It’s all coming together for the DJ who’s working with her sister, music heavyweight Jada Pollock, to figure it all out one step at a time. “When I found my passion for DJing, Jada was right there, urging me to dive into the ‘Made in Lagos’ tour,” she says. “I wasn’t sure I was ready, but she believed in me and knew I could handle it. My love for music has been with me since school; it just took some time for me to realize that this was the direction I wanted to pursue. Once I found my calling, her support became endless–she attended my early gigs and pushed me to perform at major festivals like Afro Nation.”
She’s since performed at leading festivals such as Wireless, Piano People and Australia’s Promiseland as well as selling out headline shows across London, London, and Ghana. For the next phase of her career, she’s actively working on creating music. This month, she released her debut single, “Bombshell,” a searing Amapiano banger that has all the hallmarks of a potential summer hit. “Bombshell” features Tanzanian Bongo Flava act, Diamond Platnumz, as well as South African acts, Tyler ICU, Khalil Harrison, and DJ Exit. It’s a blockbuster showing that sits well in the tradition of the genre. “The idea was initially played to me by Tyler ICU in March 2024,” Skyla Tylaa says. “He and I had a session while he was in London, and this was one of the ideas we worked on. Khalil was already on it, at the time, and I loved what I heard!”
After seeding it into her live sets last summer and starting live teasers with a dance challenge, Diamond Platnumz reached out about potentially working on the song and it was arranged. “I started teasing the new version of the song in my sets and then a whole new viral dance challenge came about online in December,” she says. “From that point, I knew the track had all the elements (features included) to be a big release in 2025 !” For DJ Exit, a chance to be part of a transformative song like “Bombshell” was an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up. “What drew me to this single was the chance to be part of something boundary-breaking,” he explains. “Gqom and Amapiano are both powerful in their own right, but fusing the raw, percussive energy of Gqom with the soulful, hypnotic swing of Amapiano creates a sound the world hasn’t fully experienced yet. This isn’t just another collaboration–it’s a cultural statement.”
The Xhosa word, ‘basazomangala,’ meaning ‘to be shocked,’ is uttered several times on “Bombshell,” and it reflects the message that Harrison was trying to pass on the track. ““Bombshell” is really about letting people know that there’s still so much more to come from me,” he says. “It’s a celebration of the present moment, but also a reminder that this is just the beginning. We’re all dancing to what’s happening now, but there’s an energy in the air that says the best is yet to come.”
In light of Amapiano’s rise to global prominence and the international acclaim it enjoys, Harrison is right about more things being on the horizon, and Skyla Tylaa agrees with him: “When I was introduced to Amapiano, I fell in love instantly and that time it was just on the verge of global appeal. It’s global now and still growing and that makes me appreciate it even more! I love it, and the world loves it! The feeling is mutual ! We can all enjoy it together!”
For Tyler ICU, having DJs from the diaspora like Skyla Tylaa engage with Amapiano and its culture is a win for the genre. “This shows the power of the genre–it’s not just a sound, it’s a movement,” he says. “When someone like Skyla, who appreciates the culture and brings her own flavour, plays Amapiano in places like London, New York or Toronto, she’s not just playing music, she’s building bridges. That’s how we grow–by letting the world feel it in their own way, but staying true to where it started. It’s important that the roots are respected, but the branches can reach far.”
Just a couple of weeks since its release, “Bombshell” has crossed over 650,000 thousand views on YouTube and continues to be a sensation on TikTok. Like everything Skyla Tylaa has done up till now in her career, it’s shaping up perfectly and has shown that she has a knack for the right collaborations. She intends to keep making music. “This year, my focus is all about music,” she says. “I recently signed with Robots and Humans (Sony) in the UK and Epic in the US, which has given me a different level of drive to really want to create good music. I’m also looking forward to exploring the Afro-house genre and collaborating with other talented artists.”
Keep reading...
What OdumoduBlvck’s Greatest School Tour Could Mean For Touring In Nigeria
The rapper’s decision to embark on a local university tour of this nature could go on to become a...
There’s no denying that OdumoduBlvck’s 2023 mixtape ‘Eziokwu’ established his musical genius. While the half dozen projects that preceded ‘Eziokwu’ almost served as target practice, largely showcasing the early iterations of Okporoko music – his unique melodious rap fusion – it was his major label debut that truly grounded the rapper in Nigeria’s rich Hip-Hop lineage. The album’s far-reaching success culminated in a historic joint tour with fellow 2023 breakout star Shallipopi, which saw the two share the stage across 9 cities in the United States. Similarly, riding the high of his latest mixtape, ‘The Machine Is Coming,’ the Anti-World Gangstar head huncho recently announced a new tour. This time, however, instead of taking his new collection of infectious bangers to stages abroad, the rapper decided to visit different universities across the country for what he calls the ‘Greatest School Tour Ever.’
Touring in Nigeria is a subject that has become somewhat controversial over the last few years, splitting opinions amongst many fans, industry experts, and artists themselves. Back in the mid-2000s to early 2010s, local touring was very much the norm. Platforms like Star Music’s ‘The Trek,’ as well as a few prominent local promoters, enabled some of the biggest names like 2face, Olamide, and M.I to hold annual nationwide tours. These tours included stops in cities like Warri, Makurdi, Owerri and many other places that artists are less likely to visit today. University tours were also popular as they presented an avenue for these artists to connect with their younger audience, who mostly served as the bedrock of their fan base.
The rise of digital streaming platforms, which has partly informed the industry’s rapid evolution over the past decade, coupled with other economic and infrastructural issues, has, however, forced a sharp decline in local touring, making it an almost altruistic endeavour in today’s Nigeria. Afropop gaining global exposure meant that the international market immediately became more viable and lucrative to our biggest stars, and this reshaped their priorities. The extensive, multi-city shows became reserved for diaspora fans, while the local audience, in most cases, are treated to a solitary annual show.
OdumoduBlvck looks to buck this trend with the ‘Greatest School Tour Ever,’ prioritizing his primary audience before tending to those abroad. In truth, the Lagos-born rapper is not the only one who has embarked on this type of tour in recent times. A couple of years ago, UK-based rapper Kida Kudz and Ckay also went on similar campus tours, with the latter making stops at 10 different universities across the country. Llona, one of the breakout stars from last year, is also currently on a nationwide tour coming off the success of his impressive debut album ‘Homeless.’ The ‘Greatest School Tour Ever,’ is however, peculiar and momentous because of its timing and OdumoduBlvck’s standing as one of the biggest names around.
At the recent 17th Headies Awards, the rapper became the latest recipient of the Next Rated award, a highly coveted plaque that’s historically reserved for standout acts whose music defines the zeitgeist at a given period. He received the award just two days after he gave an electrifying performance at Afe Babalola University. His latest mixtape, ‘The Machine Is Coming,’ a precursor to his highly anticipated forthcoming debut, currently sits at the No. 2 spot on the Turntable Top 50 Album charts. It is unheard of in recent times: that the Headies Next Rated act, who has one of the top projects in the country, is on a local university tour. The Abuja-native has, however, shown on numerous occasions that he has never really been one to abide by existing standards. The famous opening lines from his breakout single “Declan Rice” (I can do without their Policy I Know), did not only serve as a message to gatekeepers and naysayers but also as a manifesto that declared his mode of operation going forward.
At the time of this writing, the rapper has only made two stops on his ongoing tour, but his decision to embark on a local tour of this nature already looks to be paying dividends. The first two shows have produced viral clips that capture his star power, the hysteria of his headline shows and his rapidly growing influence, especially amongst younger listeners. The viral clips have already created an increased demand for shows, with many young fans harassing the rapper to add more dates to the tour. With the release of ‘The Machine Is Coming’ and his recent crowning moment at the Headies, it’s safe to assume there’s more attention on him now than ever. While it is, of course, still early days, the rapper’s decision to embark on a local university tour, especially given that he’s currently experiencing a career high, could go on to become a significant moment, one that potentially inspires a shift in the touring landscape in Nigeria.
Keep reading...
NATIVE PREMIERE: Tanika Is Stepping Out On Her Terms With The Kida Kudz-Assisted “FAST FWD”
From working her way out of London’s Myatt’s Field, Tanika is now setting her sights on the bright lights...
Across a career that’s in its second decade, Tanika has proven to be a force in her own right, holding her own on collaborations with Black British stars like Stormzy and Wretch 32, as well as popular record producer Naughty Boy–working with the Grammy-nominated beatmaker on his acclaimed ‘Hotel Cabana’ album.
Following a stint as an actor, she returned to the studio in 2021, releasing a new extended play, ‘333,’ in 2023. The project carried all the hallmarks of Tanika at her tantalising best: lilting cadences, well-paced narratives, a songwriting that reaches for the heart of the matter.
On her latest song, “Fast Fwd,” she’s growing into her own and stepping into a new era. In many ways, “Fast Fwd,” a hypnotic, sultry anthem, is landing just in time for summer revelry. Produced by her longtime collaborator, Naughty Boy, her silky vocals land effortlessly on the mid-tempo instrumental and pulsates with her desire for her love interest.
Joined on the song by her fiancé, Kida Kudz, they make an interesting duo and replicate the synergy they had on “Nobody,” off Kudz’s 2021 ‘Top Memba.’ Distinctively marked by use of neon lights, the video for the song captures the effervescence of romance that Tanika hums about throughout the song.
From working her way out of London’s Myatt’s Field to becoming a star with millions of streams, Tanika is now setting her sights on the bright lights of superstardom. Ahead of the official release of the single, we had a brief chat with Tanika about her career, the influences for “Fast Fwd,” and working with KIda Kudz on it.
Her answers, which follow below, have been lightly edited for clarity.
How would you describe where you are in your career right now?
I’m just enjoying the journey.
What does the release of “Fast Fwd” signify for you?
It signifies love.
Why is Kida Kudz a fit for the song? (
To be honest, we didn’t plan to do another song together. I have worked on two records with him before (“Nobody” and “Tasty Time” ) but we never thought to shoot a video for it.. “Fast Fwd” felt like a real testimony of our present moment in the relationship.
You’ve worked extensively with Naughty Boy and he’s helped with “Fast Fwd,” what’s your relationship like and why does it work?
Naughty Boy knows me very well. We’ve known one another for over 10 years, so he knows what fits me musically. We gel. I think him knowing me and being a fan of Kida’s music made it all work. Naughty Boy does his listening before he makes a beat for you. A lot of producers don’t really understand the importance of knowing the artist musically but he does.
What were you aiming for with the video?
To be honest, I’m aiming for nothing. I’m just enjoying the journey. It’s been a very long road and I know I still have a long way to go.
Catch an exclusive view of “Fast Fwd” below.
Keep reading...
