It was almost as if we were partly, in 2007, and this was some alternative version of Paul Play Dairo’s ‘Angel of my life’. Or this was somewhere far out in the United States and we were hearing Justin Timberlake for the first time.

“I feel like I am a storyteller,” an elated YKB echoes. “My music is about relatability. I am an artiste for the people and I try to tell my own stories.” Bred in the bustling suburbs of Ketu, in Lagos, YKB, real name Yusuf Oluwo, blooms as a young Afro-fusionist, whose music retains the vintage story plots of the ‘90s, while still coated in contemporary sonics.

His voice represents a powerful renaissance of a golden era in Nigerian music, and with every new release including his latest magnum opus, ‘Yusful Music’, he spins this critical shift forward towards an inevitable full-circle moment.

Taking a kaleidoscopic view of the Afrobeats-to-the-world movement right now, one can see a massive paradigm shift sweeping across the industry; every emerging artiste aims to compete globally. And from the likes of Fireboy, Joeboy, Asake, Rema, Victony, Lojay, among others, we have seen a stealthier vanguard of musicians who defy public scepticism while creating catholic art. And with an industry that is expected to cart at least $44 million (N20 billion) in direct yearly revenue, at the end of the year, it’s never been more important for its stakeholders to ensure that the songwriting remains as evergreen as Cactus plants.

Crafting The Concept
“This project is my most musical project, because I have stories to tell. The reason it is called Yusful Music is because I am seeing life through my lens,” YKB tells Guardian Life, during a sit down. It’s a few days till the public release of the album, and with the streak of records dominating the RnB space, including Joeboy’s Body and Soul, Nonso Amadi’s ‘When It Blooms’, among others, ‘Yusful Music’ is a strong contender for multiple accolades in this year’s awards season. “It feels like an upgrade of everything I have been doing. My approach to art and creating is the same; I want to tell my own stories – something that you do not know about more than me.”

Replete with hits including the fan favourite, ‘San Siro’, YKB’s five-tracker EP carries a bohemian aura that has long been missing from the Nigerian music scene. It’s a sturdy follow-up to his pandemic-era debut, ‘Before I Blow’, which got co-signs from global entertainers including Damson Idris. And it’s one of the most brilliant sophomores since Ayra Star’s ’19’ and ‘Dangerous’ to surface in these parts.
Hacking the right concept for your music is akin to writing a novel, a poem, or even an academic paper. It’s all got to start from within, YKB, who’s also a songwriter, explains. “I discovered that music is something that, no matter how you feel, you need to enjoy it. As an artiste, I always want to translate things that are palatable to humans.”

And this reality reverberates across all genres in Nigerian music, from Pop to Rock. Scouring through your music libraries is no longer an affair of exploring ‘popular playlists.’ Modern music streaming and discovery platforms have placed the power of choice in the hands of the fans, and Nigerians have never been more voracious consumers of music than presently. With over 60,000 new songs added to some of these music streaming platforms daily, it’s actually a necessity to pay attention to storytelling in songwriting.

‘Afro-Emotions In Afrobeats’
With artistes like YKB, whose music epiphany came during his childhood, it’s hard to separate the art from the artiste. In a society where masculinity and showing emotions work like Amala and peanut butter, it really could be a brave pill to swallow sometimes. Yet, for the art to stay authentic, it has to be sauteed in relatable emotions, experiences and perspectives, YKB agrees.

“I just like to be relatable with my music. I had to sit myself down and decipher the music style. I gauge it by how good it sounds to me. I don’t think I can classify my music, because I mostly create from a place of feeling, and I try to avoid bothering myself with technicality. I want to evoke a feeling from the listener,” he says.
And this is why he throws away all shyness in singing about his depressions in ‘Pressure’, or his romantic insecurities in ‘Traffic’, or his burning love desires in ‘San Siro’, among others. He creates a sonic palette that is easy to snuggle into, and exciting enough to evoke communal euphoria. Given that it worked for Victony, BNXN, and, most recently, Libianca, then it definitely signals that this formula is a step in the right direction for the 28-year-old musician.

YKB’s vintage-modernist approach to music seems to work, exactly like it did for his music mentor Wande Coal. Like ‘Mushin 2 Mohits’, Wande Coal’s legacy was birthed heavily on being able to tell stories with his song, even with the most crude of sonics available to him. With tech advancements, especially with sound engineering leaps, better song qualities have started to deceive a lot of musicians into abandoning creative songwriting. Who knows whether with the wake of Artificial Intelligence, it might become an Apocalypse of mediocre music? Who knows? It’s not really enough to hide your flaws in Amapiano or Pop harmonies, can you extend their potential like YKB did on the highlife-fusion ‘Komplete Riddim’?

“I just record every day and I listen widely. In the past five months, I have been listening to stuff I would randomly not listen to. I met a producer called Spax who told me that I had to expand my palate. So, if you want to be knowledgeable in this space, you have to listen to it as much as possible,” YKB tells Guardian Life, giving away just another hack he lives by.

While one might be wondering what sort of music he listens to, it’s quite exciting to know the type of music he grew up with. And the circumstances surrounding his music consumption at the time.

“One time, my elder sister would come back from school and be playing celine dion. I learned all the lyrics. There was a particular cruise I used to catch then where it was like I would increase the volume of the music to the highest and still be singing along out loud. I did it because I was enjoying the music and I wanted people outside my window to also enjoy it,” he cites as one of his core memories.

“I had one bad experience, also, where I was listening to Wande Coal and someone obtained (stole) my phone right outside my secondary school. I was so angry, because I was always listening to Wande Coal on my way to school and back. As they obtained my phone, I felt the absence of his music in my life. I just realised that I needed to start making music, because I wanted to be what Wande Coal was to me to other people. It just helps me get through the day, because that part of my life was not cool. I had just switched schools and the school used to have a lot of student fights. Wande Coal’s music was something that got me through,” he lists another core memory, circumferencing his earliest influences.

Soul Survivor
Another enigmatic part of YKB’s artistry is his ability to eclipse his anxieties – which are eternally present for emerging artistes – with a simple, childlike but puritan hedonism that sees him take life one second after the other.

“You have to forgive me, because the concept of time does not really register with me. I just live life as it comes,” he chuckles. He cannot remember exactly when he decided to go into music, but he remembers sojourning into the visual arts first, where he made his mark as a photographer and design professional because he needed to find a way to survive.

“I had to make do with what I had. As a photographer and graphic designer, I had the knowledge of lighting, compositions, and all of that. Those were what were going for me. I feel like everybody would have that. Until later, I discovered that people actually rate those efforts. Up to this project, I still do my graphic design. It started out as me not being able to afford all of those things. I know exactly what I want and I feel like it is a lot of stress to communicate my ideas too so I rather just do it myself.”

After a lucky link-up with Zlatan, successes started to spiral even more vibrantly for YKB, whose Zlatan-assisted ‘Dey Your Dey’ shot him up into the mainstream limelight, in 2021. “I did not really know what kind of person Zlatan was. He just sent me a DM out of nowhere. It felt like some sort of validation, especially because as an emerging artiste there are often lots of self-doubts with your music. So, his message was like, ‘Yo bro, that your song is fire. If you ever need a verse, I got you.’ He did everything in his power to make sure that the song got all the strength it needed. He believed in me,” he reminisces.

Now, after a barrage of barriers, YKB is compelled to remain consistent with the same philosophies that helmed him to his present acclaim. And it is definitely not the typical primordial career purpose for every emerging artiste. But it is definitely one that keeps him rooted in originality. And definitely an important ladder for Afrobeats’ continuous ascension.

“The truth is that I am just having fun. I am just enjoying myself. I only like to do what I enjoy. If I feel tired of the music tomorrow, I can leave it. Yusful Music is for you to use the music. I hope you find it amusing.”