Interview Conducted By: Mbuba Chiagozie Tochukwu (agozieee_) & Mofiyinfoluwa Korede Olulana (finnnnix)

Artwork Design: Mbuba Chiagozie Tochukwu (agozieee_)

Photos Credit: Ashaolu Idowu (Young AI)

Q.

Can we get to know you?

A.

My Name is Ashaolu Idowu popularly known as Young AI. I am an Artiste who hails from Osun State.

Q.

Can we know the inspiration behind your stage name?

A.

The “Young” is very important to me as an artiste because I started music at a very young age as i was the youngest to start music among my guys and “AI” are the initials of my full names which is Ashaolu Idowu.

Q.

Can you tell us about your musical background and how you got started in the industry?

A.

Okay I started going to the studio with my elder brother who was making music at the time, I would watch him record, perform at shows and I was opportune to have a lot of musical conversations which developed me to who I am today. One day I wrote a song and I sang it to him & then he made me record a verse on his song. Ever since then it’s been a roller coaster ride for me.

Q.

Who or what are some of your biggest influences when it comes to creating music?

A.

Talking about who, I use to listen a lot of Big Wiz when I started and my dad usually plays a lot of old music records, the likes of Baba Ara and many more.

Q.

What has been your most memorable performance or gig and why?

A.

Also The game Konami , it’s a sport event when celebrities come to play football against each other , at the time I made a cover of DMW’s Aje so I was opportune to perform and it was great , met with Mayorkun and many more.

Q.

Can you walk us through your songwriting process? Where do you draw inspiration from?

A.

I draw inspiration for my music from God Almighty. I just feel connected to the music spiritually and it keeps coming.

Q.

How has your music evolved over the years and what do you hope to achieve with your upcoming releases?

A.

It has and I’m happy about it , my sound , my composition lyrically , the vibe , the style, everything and the list keeps going. I hope to get the platform I need to dish out my music properly to the world with my upcoming project, May God help me.

Q.

How do you engage with your fans and build a strong relationship with them?

A.

I created a community on my socials , so whenever there’s something new it goes directly to it and I make sure I do an event every year to make me experience how much they love my music and I.

Q.

What is the inspiration behind your latest project?

A.

So yeah there’s a song on my upcoming project titled “Folarin“ ,it says a lot about me but I’m actually speaking to every young human that’s trying to achieve his or her dreams , you need to listen to it , its a different record off the upcoming ep ,“sounds of AI” which will feature hits from my collabo with the likes of Elysiagupta and many more, yeah it’s a 5 record body of work.

Q.

How do you stay motivated and inspired to continue creating music, especially during times of writer’s block or creative challenges?

A.

There’s nothing good in this life that doesn’t have its challenges so I keep going regardless, thanks to my family , real ones & believers.

Q.

What artistes would you love to work with in the future

A.

Wizkid, Drake just to mention a few.

You Can Check out his new release "Folarin" which is available on all streaming platforms

"HELLO FOLARINNNNNN"

Stream "Folarin" Now

Interview Conducted By: Mbuba Chiagozie Tochukwu (@agozieee_)

Photo Credits: Miidiana

Q:

So can we get to know you

A:

My name is Odeyemi Olamide Boluwatife popularly known as Miidiana

Q:

What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and when did you first realize your passion for it?

A:

My love for music had developed since when I was in secondary school. I noticed that music was something I loved doing since when I was in SS3 when I would leave classes and move around from one studio to another to listen to various artistes and watch artistes during their recording session which I found amazing and exciting.

Also, my father had a profound love for music. He usually listens to music everyday of his life so that’s how I developed my profound interest and passion in music.

“I just choose happiness over success as music is my passion.”

My father is my biggest inspiration as he inspired me more and more to do music. Even with the passion I had for it, Passion is always not enough so my father as the inspirational figure that he is “gingered” me more to do music as he always supports me in both bad and good times so most times, I just choose happiness over success as music is my passion.

Q.

How would you describe your musical style, and what artists or genres have influenced your sound?

A.

I would describe my kind of music as a mixture of two genres into one : Afrobeats And Bounce which I call the Afro-Bounce. Most of the artistes that influenced my genre include Bruce Springsteen, Justin Bieber, Phora, Bob Dylan and many more.

Q.

Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and producing new music?

A.

I am a kind of artiste that usually gives myself assignments like composing a song in 30 minutes and also the process depends on my mood and the sound that is passed across to me. Like for example, if I am given a sound for a love song, I could compose a song in 30 minutes and also if it is talking about Real life, it can also take me only about 30 minutes to record the song. I usually love being left alone in the studio because I don’t really like people around me when I am recording so that they don’t disrupt my sound like saying that “this sound is okay”, “this sound is good”, “this is good”. I just love to being alone when recording i.e recording with my producer so when I am done, I just send the song to my manager so he can send his reviews and feedbacks.

Q.

What has been your favorite performance or tour experience so far, and why?

A.

My favorite performance should be when I perform in schools, universities, Polytechnics, like Yabatech, University of Ilorin, University of Ibadan and Unilag as it gives me more energy and more wisdom to keep doing my thing and most especially, I hope to make good use of the tour I am with Ckay so it will make me very happy to be able to share the same stage with him.

Q.

What can your fans and people who haven’t heard your music before you expect from your performance?

A.

They should expect a nice performance and energy as I am a big lover of energy. A lot of people always vibe to my songs but they don’t know the face behind the sound. So when I tell them that I am the “miidiana”, they are always in shock like so this is the guy behind that vibing sound. Even though they might not know about all the lyrics, they shall still vibe and sing along because i mix my sound and performance with massive energy. That’s why I am always grateful to my fans both those that know me and even those that don’t know me but still feel the vibe and the energy.

Q.

How do you stay motivated and inspired to continue creating music, especially during times of writer’s block or creative challenges?

A.

Instead of setting up for another day of “work,” I change the pace a little bit and I just set aside some studio time to “play” without objectives or goals. I explore some of my tools, try out crazy techniques, and check out processing chains that I’ve never normally consider in my music.

So If madness is “doing the same thing and expecting a different result,” it’s time to take a closer look at workflow when creating a piece of music.

Q.

How do you balance your artistic vision with commercial success and the expectations of your fans and industry?

A.

First of all, I always shoot a lot of content which is always posted on either my TikTok or Instagram handles. Now you can see TikTok has popularized approachable, low production content, and has become a great tool for getting new music discovered out there.

I always Engage with my friends, fans, industry peers, and people that inspire me. I Don’t just post about my music, I let people know what’s going on behind the scenes. If I have a show, I will let people know in at least one post before the show. So that I am able to get video and pictures of the show to post afterwards.

And again I also let people and my loyal fans know that I’m releasing music or a new project at least a month before it comes out. Count downs, pictures of the recording process, or track previews are great examples of ways that I use to get people excited for my new music.

Q.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians trying to break into the music industry?

A.

First of all, you must know that is not easy to break into the industry so you should be ready to make connections. Prepare for the process, create an online presence, Perform often, Find a yourself mentor, Gain internship experience.

Don’t also forget to embrace your passion.

Just keep doing what you’re doing, when it’s your time you will know.

Q.

What do you think sets your music apart from other artists in the same genre?

A.

Like I mentioned earlier, if you listen to my sound, you would be assured that my sound is unique as it is far different from your common genre. My vocal is always unique and the same goes to my sound which is bounce as it aligns with my type of genre which is Afro-Bounce.

Every Artiste can come out with their various genres like Afro-Juju, Afro-alive and so on but my genre sets me out from the crowd. Whenever I come up on stage and people find out that it is “miidiana” performing either from my intro or presentation, they definitely know that this is my sound and they just vibe and we have fun on stage

Q.

How has your music evolved over the years, and what changes can fans expect in your future work?

A.

I have been working on my self for over a year now, creating and working on different sounds with different artistes and I am so happy with what I have been able to accomplish during the past year. Right now, my next project is ready and I can’t wait for my fans to listen to this one as this project is gonna be really special.

Q.

What can we expect to see from you in the near future, and are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about?

A.

Expect good things from me this year, I have new projects coming in hot but the date of release isn’t yet ready. Just expect the best as usual.

Q.

Thank you for your time, we really appreciate your presence in our digital publication.

A.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate.