Fame and Fortune comes with a lot of stress and inconveniences. It takes a lot of maturity, wisdom and spirituality to handle a Celebrity status and being a Public Figure. Many female artists in the Nigerian music industry have always been in one drama or the other. Only very few artists are able to maintain a clean reputation and live without drama. There is one artist who has caught my attention and her songs are topnotch too. This female Nigerian artist have really distinguished herself; suffice to say that she knows her onion. And she is honorarily known as the Queen of Afro-House; in my own perspective she truly deserves this title. You would ask: who is this artist? Her name is Niniola!
Niniola Biography
Niniola was born on born 15 December 1986 as Niniola Apata to the family of Rt. Brigadier General Simeon Olaosebikan Apata and Mrs. Margaret Apata in Lagos State. She is known professionally as Niniola, a singer and songwriter. Niniola is a Nigerian singer and sognwriter. She is the direct elder sister to Teni. Niniola began her journey to limelight after she participated in the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa in 2013. She released her debut single “Ibadi”, and was nominated for Most Promising Act to Watch at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Education
Niniola began her education both primary and secondary school education at Apata Memorial High School, and she earned a bachelor of education certificate from the University of Lagos.[8] She comes from a polygamous family where she was the sixth of ten children, raised by three mothers and a father who was killed in 1995
Music Career
According to Niniola, her musical influences are: Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, The Cranberries, Madonna, Beyoncé and Angélique Kidjo. During an interview with Gbolahan Adeyemi of NGWide in 2015, Niniola expressed her fondness for singing in Yoruba, citing that it enhances the beauty of song delivery. As of 2018 Niniola’s style of music was described according to BET as “a mixture of afrobeats and house music.” Niniola released the Sarz-produced single “Maradona” in 2017. The song spent 13 weeks on South Africa’s Metro FM chart, retaining the number 1 position for 6 weeks. Niniola earned nominations at the 2018 BET Awards and SAMAs for “Maradona”. In 2018 DJ Snake teamed up with Niniola and created Maradona Riddim a remix to her previously released hit Maradona. She received nods from Canadian rapper Drake and American record producer Timbaland.
Some of the hit songs of Niniola which are actually my favorites are Designer and All Eyes on Me. These songs are truly a must watch and she displayed panache in the videos. Believe me, the video qualities of the videos are topnotch! I Another thing that makes me admire Niniola is the fact that she is able to sing in her mother tongue of Yoruba. Being able to sing in one’s mother tongue is another sign of being highly talented. I always enjoy playing Designer and All Eyes on Me on repeat. For example, in the song Designer; she said:
Awon kon like Gucci
Awon kon like Fendi
Awon kon like Seruti
E mi o like ehh
Awon kon like Gucci
Awon kon like Ferrari
Awon kon like Designer
Na the way you dey do me
Na the wa you dey do me
Boy I like the way you dey do me
I Like the way
Laarun Laarun La shi shey laarun laarun
Laarun Laarun La shi shey laarun laarun
Laarun Laarun jaiye lo laarun laarun
Laarun Laarun jaiye lo laarun laarun Let me kiss you kpa
Wine your waist jukpa
E mi man jerukpa
Wine your waist jukpa
If I am going to be honest with you; I would tell you that the lyrics of Designer by Niniola are enchanting and beautiful. The lyrics of All Eyes on Me are cool too. From the beat and rhythm of these In the song All Eyes on Me she said in part:
Ma kesekese wa sinu party yi now
Ma kesekese wa sinu party yi now
Tori boucner wa leyin ‘le kun wa ti ri
All eyes on me when I enter the party oh e
All eyes on me when I enter the party e (All eyes on me)
Ma kesekese wa sinu party yi now
Mo ni ma rin gbere gbere wa sinu party yi now
Won gbe, wan gba
Morire gba
On Being an Independent Artist
In a recent interview with TVC she explained why she has chosen to be a solo artist. According to Niniola she turned down offers from record labels to sign her because she is wary of the business side of music. According to her, various labels have approached her, but she chose to remain independent. She explained that being an independent artist gives her creative freedom.
“I have been an independent artist for 10 years. There are pros and cons of signing with a record label. I have seen the business side of doing music which a lot of people don’t see, they just focused only on making music. “Being an independent artist gives me the opportunity to also do what I want. I’m in charge of my creativity. A label wanted to sign me after my debut single but I was skeptical because I didn’t want anyone to switch my style. Because at that time, nobody was doing Afro-house. They can dictate what you do because they are the ones financing you. For me, creative freedom is one of the major pros of being an indie artist,” she said. Niniola also disclosed that she is an introvert but music brings out the extrovert in her.
For Niniola to be able to maintain her music career as a solo artist means that money is her servant. Trust me, she has had a very successful music career as she currently has over one million followers on Instagram. But above all, she has maintained a clean reputation devoid of drama like is common with many artists.
Kingsley Osajie 