The Lagos-born multidisciplinary artist, Yusuff Aina is a world shaper and masterful storyteller. Through his colourful and thorough interrogation into his own psyche, he’s crafting a visual world that visualises his feelings of escape. To portray this, he utilises his self-invented character, Eniyan, which he describes as “human beings, persons, everybody, nobody, man and woman at the same time.”
Eniyan has been featured as a fictional character in most of Aina’s recent work including The Escape Room, a multidimensional exhibition which explores varying mental states of mind with themes such as solitude, anxiety, bliss and more. Aina admits that Eniyan is a visual manifestation of his unique form of artistic expression known as Ainaism. “Ainaism means life. I incorporate it with my art form which is Eniyan. It’s the body that tells the story and journey of life in Ainaism,” he shares with the NATIVE.
Everything crafted within Aina’s world is not without reason or place. Right from the early stages of his career, Aina has paid close attention to his linear motion techniques for crafting his vision. It was this curiosity for tracing where it all started that led Yusuff Aina to take a closer look at his culture and history which enabled him to reinterpret this for contemporary audiences. “Eniyan is the medium to explore the journey of human beings and Ainaism represents that unseen pattern and form of navigation in life. All works I create through Eniyan possess a uniqueness in form, compositions, symbols, language, connection to being and spirituality,” he shares.
Aina’s building is a result of his experimentation with different tools and mediums over the years. He tells the NATIVE that he believes that human beings are connected to the earth and can utilise resources around them to craft beautiful concepts. “You’ll find that in my works; a lot of sand, stones and cracks. My paintings symbolise the expression or mental state of us as beings,” he shares.
Aina reflects these themes through the lens of mental health and “state of mind” in colour-coordinated rooms categorised—Red Room, Blue Room, Yellow Room, White Room, Green Room and Black Room. “There’s one that shows sadness and depression. The same work shows me needing a hand because I felt helpless. There’s a work showing how I started taking charge and form of my situation. There’s another work showing where I am right now, where I’ve found bliss,” he shares candidly.
His latest exhibition ‘Eniyan: Escape Room’ is a return to his current state of mind. He shares that the exhibition is an attempt to form a connection with the world around him. As a child from a large extended family, he never really had a close-knit family unit which left him longing for connection and interrelatedness. “The Escape Room focuses on different states of mind that influence our choices. I’ve been longing for connection with myself and the people around me,” he shares candidly.
In a NATIVE exclusive interview, Yusuff Aina dives into his two-year long curatorial process for the exhibition, while looking back at his journey into the art world as well as expectations for the future.
Our conversation, which follows below, has been lightly edited for clarity.
NATIVE: Talk me through your journey leading up to this moment. What pushed you to start creating professionally?
I’m from Abeokuta but based in Lagos. I have been creating art since I was four—primary one. I wanted to be a dancer and a goalkeeper but art was the thing that gave me the most promise. Art has been a passion and a journey. It has been my backbone. Whenever I’m having difficulties with human beings, art has never left me and that made me really want to study art more. As I was creating my patterns and motions, I decided to call my kind of art Ainaism—from my name Aina. In my second year of College, I designed the character I’m currently working with. I scribbled something out of boredom. A year later, it became a recurring joy in my pieces and compositions.
Compared to when you first started in 2016, I’m sure you have experienced some growth. How would you say these past years are different for you looking back?
Crazy growth. In the last 7 or 8 years, I’ve gone through different transformations and phases and I’ve expressed my kind of art in many ways; through charcoal, drawings, paintings, designs, graphics, and animation. I’ve transformed from creating in different ways to where I am right now. The journey has been tough, battling low self-esteem, depression, moodiness, solitude, [and] rejection from different angles of life. I’m glad I experienced those things even though they weren’t fine. I guess it’s just meant to be for me to be where I am right now. I appreciate it, especially the grace of God. My faith in him is really powerful, and I don’t second guess him.
Who are some of your early art inspirations?
My older brother was an inspiration to me as a child. We used to draw together but he stopped doing that after a while. I always wanted to do better than him. In the professional area, I was inspired by David Akinola, a very good multidisciplinary artist. The way he combines lines and composition and his portrayal of figure drawings is fascinating. I have been inspired by KAWS, Pharrell Williams, Daniel Arsham and a few others. Ken Nwadiogbu was also my mentor. He helped me understand how to position [my] work in the art scene. Also, I’m my own inspiration. I’m inspired by where I want to be, what I want with my life, my calling and my kind of work.
Ainaism is derived from the name Aina and it’s a child born with the umbilical cord around the neck during childbirth. It was a life-threatening situation that my mom and I went through. When I discovered my mom was an Aina, I started digging deep to learn more about this name and how it’s linked to my art. I started creating my lines and patterns without knowing what they were. I later realised that my lines symbolised the umbilical cord which is the connection between life and birth. So Ainaism means life. It means birth and the lines in my work are called linear motion. I incorporate it with my art form which is Eniyan. It’s the body that tells the story and journey of life in Anaism.
Eniyan is the medium to explore the journey of human beings and Ainaism represents that unseen pattern and form of navigation in life. All works I create through Eniyan possess a uniqueness in form, compositions, symbols, language, connection to being and spirituality. Eniyan stands as the body to represent human beings in this journey of life that I’m trying to express through my work. There’s a language to it as well that I am building and over the next few years, I hope to have been able to compose a lot of like symbols.
Why do you feel like these chosen mediums are the best ways to best translate your ideas and thoughts?
I am very connected to the earth and I believe that we are all from the earth. You’ll find that in my works; a lot of sand, stones and cracks. It is a metaphor for where we are now as human beings. As we were created from dust, over time, we shall return. Our choices and behaviours are affecting our form and that’s why the cracks are in my work. Sculptures represent a stillness to express motion and movement once of human beings. From a still sculpture, you can see different types of motion. My paintings symbolise the expression or mental state of us as beings. The colours also represent emotions or stories which I’m trying to make people feel through my work. I want people to be able to look inwards and discover themselves. Everything is linked to the genesis of human beings.
Would you say that these creative processes for each medium differ in any way?
They have different approaches because of their nature. For paintings, I either work with a brush, paint, my hands, sand, palette knife and so on. Sculpting is different. I keep in line with the general approach to creating forms and the basic elements, principles and forms of design. So there are different approaches.
A lot of the works scale very large. Is this a design preference and what inspired you to make your works in such larger-than-life sizes?
Most of my paintings range from four to eight feet but my murals are the largest. I don’t always think a small canvas is enough to explore what’s in my head. It also gives people the full experience [of] the piece on that scale. I even want people to see my work from afar and get drawn closer. The world is big enough for us to express and I’m down to explore all those areas.
What have these moments been like for you? How have you been feeling leading up to the opening day of the exhibition?
It’s been intense. I’ve been working on this particular show for two years now. This current project, Escape Room, started with paintings in January 2022. I’ve been exhibiting in showrooms across the world. I’m learning about myself. I learned through my art, conversations, passion, mindset and visuals. COVID-19 also triggered me to be able to reflect on myself. All these years, I’ve been building ideas and concepts.
This exhibition explores a lot of themes such as alienation, trust, and various ideas of belonging as well. Why do these themes stick out to you the most?
I’ve been longing for a connection with myself and the people around me. I did not come from a close-knit family and the relationships are very distant. I’ve been creating and living my life alone, and my solitude has really rubbed off on my interest as well. My work is there to show people they’re not alone and the significance of being there for one another.
The Eniyan stands as a medium to show people this. That also contributed to my interest in the psychological patterns of human beings. The Escape Room focuses on different states of mind that influence our choices. I’m using it to allow people to become aware of this and have these conversations, especially in a world where we pretend to be all fine. A lot is going on with us and it’s to encourage people to allow themselves to be vulnerable with one another.
Let’s talk a bit more about Eniyan and why you decided that that would be your design trademark.
It was becoming a recurring pattern in my work and I was encouraged by Ken [Nwadiogbu], and some other friends of mine to look into it further. Indirectly, they were telling me to look within myself. I think Eniyan is a self-portrait for me, as much as it is a self-portrait of everybody in the world. Eniyan just feels right. It just feels like the real thing.
Talk to me about your selection process for the works you are showcasing in the exhibition. How did this come about?
There are 31 paintings and 5 sculptures. They [represent] different states of mind; the Red Room, the Blue Room, the Yellow Room, the White Room, the Green Room and the Black Room. I did not create the installation of the Black Room but I did paintings. The number of works in each room wasn’t intentional. I was just creating based on what felt right at that moment. Each wall has personal experiences in them. One is expressing how I’ve been entangled and overwhelmed with my life for the last eight to ten months and how I am trying to breathe. There’s one that shows sadness and depression. The same work shows me needing a hand because I felt helpless. There’s a work showing how I started taking charge and form of my situation. There’s another work showing where I am right now, where I’ve found bliss.
What do you hope audiences take away when they have a look at all the works?
That Eniyan is not just me, it’s everybody. It’s intended to be as subjective as it can to allow people to find themselves in my pieces. Any piece in the world that you don’t relate with, there’s someone else in your life that you know relates to it. I intend for them to find themselves, find courage and understand that they can do anything. Be expressive and loud and know that vulnerability is not a sign of weakness. To challenge our thoughts, challenge the contribution, the passion and know that we are bigger than what we think we are. We can actually find peace wherever we are. There is nothing under the sun that doesn’t find a resting place.
What can we expect from you moving forward? You already spoke briefly about Ainaism and how you want it, in the long run, to be converted to its own language and symbol of representation. What more can we expect from you?
There’s a lot I’ve been working on in the last eight years. Currently, as I’m exploring The Escape Room, there are different universes and dimensions in which The Escape Room can be expressed. I intend to release my Eniyan toys and sculptures in the next few months. I want to hold a second solo that’s more groundbreaking than this. I’m also picking up my fashion line. I have been creating fabric designs for the last 7 years. A lot of different things. One of my dream collaborations is with Pharrell Williams, especially Humanrace. I have a ton of designs and concepts for his skincare brand and if I can get that opportunity, it would be really sick.
“I know how to speak to women and I know what they care
For many viewers, Amazon Prime’s After 30 will register as the latest sexy Lagos-based romance to hit...
For many viewers, Amazon Prime’s After 30 will register as the latest sexy Lagos-based romance to hit streaming services, and one that gives a fresh voice (and look) to that beloved four-girls-just-trying-to-survive-in-a-big-city motif. But for the film’s director, Momo Spaine, and the legions of fans who have been clamoring for a follow-up to the original series that the film is based on, this project has been a long time coming.
Spaine first cut her teeth in filmmaking on After 30’s predecessor, Before 30. Released in 2016, Before 30 was a series that followed the love lives of four young women navigating the well-known, uniquely Nigerian pressures to settle down and get married before they hit 30. Now, armed with nearly a decade’s worth of experience and a sweet Amazon production budget, Spaine has brought the four women’s stories to the big screen, picking up eight years after viewers last saw them. And while there’s no shortage of stories about women navigating love and career life in Nigeria — think hit series like Unmarried, Smart Money Woman and Skinny girl in transit — Spaine brings an attention to detail that radiates as you watch its four lead actresses, Dami Adegbite, Beverly Naya, Ane Ocha and Meg Otanwa, reprise their starring roles.
From carefully curated color palettes to meticulous costume design to hair and makeup, the pages of sketches and decks that Spaine shows me on our late-May Zoom call are nothing short of a creative shrine to a very personal story. “I had hours of conversations with my [director of photography] and with our makeup artist, Lillian,” she says. “Talking about [things like] light reflecting makeup, what kind of underpainting we’re doing under the foundation so that when the light hits their skin it just glows and pops.”
Spaine’s filmmaking journey began when she was attending university in South Africa in the early 2010s. Back then, she’d assist her close family friend and veteran rapper, Sasha P, whenever she came to South Africa to shoot music videos. “That was like my first proper exposure to filmmaking, and I just fell in love,” Spaine recalls.
It was toward the end of her time in South Africa that Spaine received a script for the pilot episode of what would become Before 30. Soon after, she started an internship with the show’s producers, Nemsia Productions, who produced After 30, as well as other projects like Soft Love andthe AMVCA-award-winning Breath of Life. Spaine worked with Nemsia over the roughly four years it took to make Before 30, and helped build the story and the audience that helped make its follow-up, After 30, possible.
”People loved the characters, they loved that the story was relatable,” she said of the positive response to the show. “It felt different. It felt like something that was slightly more elevated in terms of the storytelling, [and] the character development.”
Spaine also attributes the show’s success to the fact that it took risks with the kinds of stories it told. “Back then, you were talking about a Muslim couple bringing women into their marriage for sex, about a sexually free character in Nkem. We’re also talking about a born-again virgin who wanted to use spirituality to reverse her past sexual relations. So it was a lot of edge for that time as well, that I think we got feedback on being very successful.”
Before 30 was re-released on Netflix in 2019, and then saw a resurgence during the COVID-19-necessitated lockdowns in 2020 that brought a broader audience. After two years on Netflix, Amazon commissioned After 30 to continue the women’s story with a look at where they are now. Spaine spoke to us about how her personal experiences helped shape the film, how she’s continuing to push the envelope in terms of what kinds of Nigerian stories are being told, and what she hopes
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m assuming there are parts of you that are in this movie. Can you tell me about that?
I struggle to think of a part of the film that does not have a piece of me in it. But starting with the characters, I’ve always had my favorites. I fancy myself a [Temi] in some ways, which is the lead character. I love fashion, I have that legal background, and I have almost the same relationship with my mom. But Nkem (played by Beverly Naya) is who I would like to be: that level of confidence, sexiness, just being this powerful woman that does what she wants and is unapologetic about it, but is still soft and honest at heart. Ama, for me, is an expression of who I think we should all aspire to be. The kind of good, pure-hearted, well-intentioned person, — that youthful, naive energy. And then for Aisha, it’s just that strength; she already has the security, but you also kind of have to show that being married does not mean all your problems are solved.
All these years after making the original show, how do you think the ways that you have grown as a person show up in the way that these characters have changed?
For [Temi], I don’t know, [Temi] pisses me off. She’s very confused. I don’t agree with how she runs her dating life. Like, I could not stand Carrie Bradshaw, and I love Sex and the City, but all she does is make bad decisions. And that’s kind of what makes a complex and dynamic character. With [Ama], I wanted to do a storyline where a character had to contend with their sexual identity, but from a very respectful place, from a true place that was not going to make fun of or minimize that experience. And for Aisha, the biggest thing with her is the conflicts that she has with Nkem. In the last eight to 10 years of my life, I’ve fallen out with friends that I thought we would die together. That kind of devastating friendship fight where you don’t think you can come back from.
Talk to me about the music for the show, Before 30. How did you put that together, and what decisions went into that process?
The music on this show makes me so proud. I was not as involved in the music of season one. We had no budget for music, so all we could do was approach people. After begging and pleading, maybe two people collected money; the other people just gave us permission. Bez, I think, just gave us permission because he was close with someone on the team at the time.I begged TeeZee for “Toyin” – we were just going around asking family members who had made music. But then there are ones that were chosen because they were so perfect, like Temi Dollface and Blackmagic. So half of it was just using our community, music from our existing community. And the other half of it was just begging, and everybody was upcoming at that time. Everyone was so willing back then to do things as a favor or to do things because they liked the idea.
What was it like securing music this time around for the film?
I’m really happy that the industry has boomed now, but even with what we thought was a comfortable budget, we could not get all the artists [we wanted] for the film.
Kaline [our music supervisor and the composer on the film], did a good job of going back to the drawing board like we did in season one, and just using our community. So, Kaline was able to pull together a bunch of songs from artists [who were willing to work with our budgets]. Everybody got paid, but it wasn’t a massive life-changing amount. They just did it because they believed in the story, and they wanted their music to be attached to the film.
What was your favourite part of making Before 30?
My favorite part was just getting to direct. Honestly, I spent seven years of my life producing thinking, “Okay, this is what I’m good at,” and I feel like I have a natural flair for producing, but I wouldn’t say I ever enjoyed it. It’s just something I knew I could do. Directing makes me so happy. I’m just like, “Why have I been wasting my life producing?” Every time I’m directing, I’m at my best professionally. I get to be creative, I get to tell people what to do because that is my favorite thing in life. So, just getting to direct in itself was a blessing and a journey of self-discovery. I realized: this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life, this is what makes me happy.
This film was produced by Nemsia, but you have your own production company called Blush and Slate. Can you tell us about that?
Now that Before 30 is out in the ether, I am just excited to continue building a company that centers stories about women, because I really think those are the stories that I am best placed to tell. I know how to speak to women, and I know what they care about. I care that they come off looking the way that they want to look. Whether it’s commercial, reality, documentary, or scripted [stuff], I gravitate towards content that either centers women or is targeting female audiences. So, just continuing to be able to build my own style, my own company, and my repertoire of films with Blush and State is what I am most excited about. Blush and Slate is a vehicle that allows me to express myself fully creatively,
For people who have a story and don’t know where to start, what is your advice?
First of all, call Blush and Slate. If you don’t know where to start, hire a production company or a producer who sees your vision and believes in it and is willing to help you move it to the end. If you are that person and you have the time and resources, and energy to produce it yourself, then just get started. If it’s a documentary, book your first interview.
You don’t have to film the interview. Just figure out who the first person you want to talk to in your documentary is. Call them and have a conversation with them. Ask them if they would even be interested in featuring in a documentary. You just have to start. If it’s a scripted thing, write the first page of the script. You don’t have to write the whole script. Just write the first thing. For people who want to produce things, it’s very overwhelming because there are 2000 things that you need to do at the same time to really kick off a production. But there’s only one way to eat an elephant, and that’s bite by bite. So you still have to do the first thing that you can do and then build the momentum from there. Ideas in your head don’t do anyone any good.
Anthony Azekwoh’s new exhibition, The Stars I Followed Home, details the story of his career faithfully....
One Wednesday afternoon in May, mid-answer about the growing popularity of African art, Anthony Azekwoh...
One Wednesday afternoon in May, mid-answer about the growing popularity of African art, Anthony Azekwoh ponders the effect he wants his art–an intergral part of the rising wave of African art globally– to have on people. “I just want people to always look at my work and be in awe,” he finally says after quietly conferring with himself for less than a nanosecond. In a career spanning a decade of work, Azekwoh has found fresh ways to keep his audience engaged and enraptured, thanks to an engaging style that has seen him explore his interests in painting and sculpting.
More impressively, he has garnered global recognition for paintings such as “The Red Man” and “Yasuke,” which present a vibrant vision of African art rooted in mythology and urban folklore. It’s all part of his plan to create a visual databank of Nigerian and African art. “If I ask you who Thor is, there’s a mental image of him, but if I ask you who Sango is, it’s muddy,” he says. “It’s the same with Amadioha and other African folk heroes. I’m trying to add to the visual vocabulary that allows people to visualise our culture.”
Having turned 25 years old this year, Azekwoh’s focus is now on paying homage to the places, people, and experiences that have shaped his rise in the art world. A new exhibition, The Stars I Followed Home, details the history of his career faithfully, serving as a visual memoir of his journey. Divided into three sections, The Stars I Followed Home features pieces that offer a glimpse into the beginning of Azekwoh’s career, as well as portraits of a series of individuals who embody his interpretation of Lagos. The final section, aptly titled The Core, presents an intimate self-portrait.
Our conversation, lightly edited, follows below.
How did you get into art?
It started in December 2016. My laptop had broken, and my mind starts going wild if I’m not doing something creative, so I needed to find something to express myself. There were leftover A4 papers and pencils in the house, so I just started drawing designs and other things. A couple of months later, I was looking at the work of Duro Arts, Duks Art, and people like that, and I was like, “I’m trying to do this.” I started teaching myself how to draw with a mouse. From there, an American artist said he’d pay me $50 to do the cover art for his song. I did the cover, and I’ve just gone down this road since then.
You left university at some point. Did that in any way shape your artistic journey?
At some point, I found myself in a tough spot with school. I was at Covenant University, and the place didn’t make sense. I thought about it and came to a realization that this thing was bad and depressing me, and on the other hand, I’m making actual waves in this other field, and I can go the distance. So, I decided to pursue art and see if it’s a good fit.
You mentioned Duks Art and Duro Arts. Were there other people that you admired?
There were artists like Renike, Chigozie Obi, and Niyi Okeowo. They are people whom I liked, and I’ve disturbed them when I was around 17 years old. I would tell them what I wanted to do and ask for their advice. All of these people are now my friends, and they were always very helpful.
You started drawing on A4 paper, but now draw digitally. What do you think is the biggest difference between drawing digitally and manually?
What I did on paper was very brief. I taught myself to draw on my computer; that’s where I honed my skill. So, I didn’t have that transition because all I know is drawing on Photoshop and Procreate.
How did you settle on a style that works for you?
For me, finding a style has been the byproduct of experimenting and figuring out what I enjoy. I try not to concentrate on what I think people might like or what I think might sell; I concentrate on work that I fuck with.
“Yasuke” is one of your most famous paintings. How did you approach making that? How did you react to the acclaim it received?
For context, I had made the “Red Man,” and that had gone super viral. It was kind of fucked because I’d just turned 20 and I didn’t have a strong sense of self. I kept trying to get another hit because, using music terms, you just want to have another hit because everyone is asking you for it, but that’s just not how it works. I kept on thinking, “Damn, am I a one painting wonder?” At some point, I sat down and just told myself to do what I know. So, I painted this story I’d heard of this Japanese samurai who came from Africa. It seemed very interesting to me, so I did something in that style. It was just one of those things where you’re like, “Let me just see,” and it went viral again. At this time, I was more ready and secure. I didn’t panic and I was just chill
You’ve been learning how to sculpt digitally, how much effort does it require of you to lean into another medium?
I’ve always wanted to sculpt. I just didn’t have the money for the tools, but two years ago, I was at a point where I could start it. I was able to get the tools for it, and nothing was stopping me. It was very frustrating at first, but over time, I’ve been able to get to a point where it’s like this is what I want to do. Right now, I’m working on a big project, there’s a lot that I’m trying to say and tell in terms of African storytelling.
You mentioned your work being inspired by African folklore and mythology. Where did that influence come from?
As a child, I was always fascinated by our stories and culture and how they interplay with who we are and how we relate with one another. So, I’ve just grown into it. For example, if I ask you who Thor is, there’s a mental image of him, but if I ask you who Sango is, it’s muddy. It’s the same with Amadioha and other African folk heroes. I’m trying to add to the visual vocabulary that allows people to visualise our culture. With the Owambe series, sculpting the Nigerian culture in marble is something that nobody has ever seen. The minute you see that, you can recognize that there’s something here.
Transformation is a theme that is regularly referenced in your work. Is it deliberate, or is it just something that comes up?
I feel like, as a human being, as you grow up, you experience transformation. When you also get the chance to represent your community or something huge, you have to transform into something bigger, and that plays into my work. For my journey, I’ve had to transform into something stronger than who I normally am. I’ve become more focused, disciplined, and wiser than I was before.
You recently turned 25. How does that feel with the knowledge of where you started from?
I’m just happy to be here. It’s been a very crazy and long journey, so I’ve just been resting and preparing for the show. I’m just content with where life has been.
What inspired The Stars I Followed Home?
It came from a need to showcase how I’m feeling artistically. I want people to see where all these influences have led me. I wanted people to be able to step into that, and at the heart of the exhibition is my new collection, Children of the Sun. It’s 25 new paintings, 25 editions, all priced at 25,000 naira. As an artist, I feel like if Nigerians don’t own my paintings then I’ve fucked up.
What did working on The Stars I Followed Home show you about yourself?
Back in 2020, I used to be very militant. I would just wake up and be like, “This month, I want to write a book,” and I’d be able to see it through. I’d write 3,000 words every day, and if I failed on one day, I’d pass it on to the next day. I used to be very militant when I started drawing, too. I’d draw different studies to fix my art. It was a very disciplined approach, but over the years, my life got more complicated. There was family and salaries to think of, and I felt like I didn’t have that edge anymore. Working on The Stars I Followed Home made me realise that I still had that edge because I was working on many projects from January to April. By the time I locked in to work on this series, it was the last week of April, and I essentially had 10 days to pull off the paintings. It was insane, but I learned that I still had that edge and it hadn’t gone anywhere. It was really beautiful to bring forth beautiful work again.
You reference Lagos a lot in your work. How central to your artistic vision is the city?
Lagos is in everything that I’ve done. I was born and raised in Lagos. It’s rough, dangerous, and it can be insane sometimes, but when you look at the people of Lagos, it amazes you. Despite the city’s madness, there are still people pushing, and that’s the resilience that I want to showcase. My parents are resilient, my siblings are resilient, and my friends are resilient. That strength is something that I always want to showcase in my work.
What’s happening next for you?
We have a plan to release a drop of new prints. We are working on a sculpture show that I’m trying to push and that I’m excited about.
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...
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.”