Abefe’s page on TikTok is a collage of videos of the newly minted artist doing what makes him happiest: recording music. The 18-year-old broke out this year after submitting a cover to Amma’s open-verse challenge for “I Love You,” then following it up with his rendition of her “Where Did You Go.” Despite ultimately losing that contest, he gained a fanbase that has cheered him on since then. 

TikTok commenters can be supportive to an almost exasperating degree—as he depicts on the intro to his debut track, “Romeo and Juliet”—and the wind they have provided to his sails has been nothing short of propulsive. In under six months he has released four singles, most reworked to some extent from his covers, to good reception.

Now, with over a million Spotify monthly listeners, a song with the popstar Joeboy, and cosigns from Davido, BNXN, and more, Abefe has grown from TikTok hopeful to a proper artist, complete with a distinctive style and a loving fanbase, Abefeholics, that gains momentum every day.

While music was always Abefe’s passion, it wasn’t always his path. Before the start of the year, he harboured a very different ambition: to gain admission to the university to study architecture, graduate, then get a good job. He says all of those plans are still in place, but music provides for him an alternate pathway and reason to dream. It hasn’t always been the smoothest transition. He has had to adjust to working with producers for the first time, navigate the business side of the industry, and make music for an audience bigger than his core fanbase. His passion for the craft means every barrier is an exciting one.

‘Abefe (Begged To Be Love),’ his eponymous debut EP, announces the start of a new chapter. Where, once, his foray into music could have been considered tentative, this debut solidifies his intentions to showcase his artistry. The EP lives up to its title, placing the young singer in the corridors of romance in which he is most familiar, from asking for a romantic interest’s heart on “Achalugo” to begging for another chance on “Orekelewa.” Each time, he combines earnest songwriting with deeply nostalgic reimagining of Folk and Fuji music, crafting earworms that make their way to the heart.

Over Google Meet and a fairly stable network, the artist joins the call from Lagos, where, like a true studio rat, he is tucked away in the recording studio making even more music. He is a man of few words, but his love for music shines through in every answer, as he goes over his music influences, his new EP, being a lover boy, and more. 

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Were you influenced by older genres growing up? 

Yes, yes, I was, like Fuji, like Apala. And other sounds too.

Did you have someone around the house playing them, or did you discover them yourself? 

There was always someone around playing the music. My mom always played some Fuji music, and in my environment they used to play all kinds of songs. So, I picked up one or two from there. 

Was music something that your family always encouraged right from the start? 

Not really. They didn’t push against it, but it’s not something they put all their support into. My mom is someone that wants me to go to school, so for my mom, I have to go to school, very very important. Music is something that I want to do for me.

Let’s talk about the covers, and particularly the cover for Amma’s song that brought you the most attention. Did you think that particular cover was different from every other one before you even released it? 

Not really, I put it out as part of my normal stuff. I just heard the song, I liked it, did my thing and posted it, and boom! I just love to record. When I like a song, I feel like I hear my part in it. 

Can you remember how it felt like when you saw, or perhaps someone showed you, that Davido and BNXN had posted your music. How did that feel? 

Nobody really showed me anything because I’m always online when it happens. I posted the first video, and I knew that it was going viral. I was always on my TikTok. Everything that happens, I see it immediately. I am always the one to give myself the news that these things are happening, exciting things. When Davido posted, I had to check and recheck again and again. 

Can you walk me through how an Abefe song is born? Do you get the lyrics first? Do you get the melodies first or the beats first? 

I just need a beat. Once I find a beat or when they send me a beat, I do my thing. I put things together in my head, then record. And I don’t write lyrics down. 

I think “Romeo and Juliet” was your first proper song out. And then it got over five million streams. How did it feel to get that with the first try? 

I was not expecting it at all. I knew something was going to happen, but I was not expecting it to be that much. You know it was first a cover to Kidd Carder’s “Big BumBum.” And when it went viral and crazy, the fans on TikTok asked for it to be a proper song since I could not release the cover out there. So, we had to redo the song, get the verses, new beats and everything. 

One thing about TikTok commenters is that they will encourage you. How do you feel to get so much support?

Very nice. “Abefeholics” are my family members, for real. 

Your debut EP, ‘Abefe,’ is out. Were there any nerves at all going into the release? 

Yes, there are. I am very nervous because it just has to do well. 

If you could only recommend one song to someone from the EP, that tells them who Abefe is, which would you pick?

That’s “Abefeholics.” I made that from everything that was going on around me at that time [when I started blowing up]. I put myself into it. I just put my fanbase into it, and everything that was going on. Everything was happening so fast, so I wrote a song of thanksgiving. 

Love is a big part of your music and it’s a big part of your themes. Would you say you’re a lover boy in real life? 

Yeah, I am. I am, definitely 

Can you share something crazy you’ve done for love? 

I left my house for a girl before at a very young age. It felt weird and crazy but I did it.

On this EP you have put out two of your biggest covers. Does that feel like a full circle moment, like everything coming together? 

Yes, everything is coming together, it feels so special. And nobody is expecting it

When people listen to your ‘Abefe,’ what is one feeling or thought that you want them to take?

I want them to know that Abefe is here.

Listen to ‘Abefe (Begged To Be Love)’ here.