Nigerian singer, Bella Shmurda, has revealed how his music style was highly influenced by the likes of Pasuma and Wasiu Ayinde (Kwam 1).
The singer made this revelation during an interview ‘The Afrobeat Podcast’ hosted by Adesope Olajide, in London recently.
In the interview, he talked about his childhood experience in the Okokomaiko area of Lagos State and how he achieved transition as an artist.
The conversation started with the Bella Shmurda telling the host about his journey from the streets of Lagos to finally visiting London for the first time.
He also recounts his path to finishing school in fulfilment of a promise he made to his mother.
The music star is one of the fast-rising artists in Nigeria with two extended playlists (EPs) to his name.
His chant-like voice gives his melody an almost-spiritual vibe that when accompanied with his street-heavy lyrics sums an artist who is inspired by his upbringing on the streets of Lagos.
The 21-year-old singer while speaking on his type of music, focused on the Fuji sounds of Pasuma and Kwam 1 as his major source of influence.
According to him, he applauded their music as “conscious sound”, adding that he ought to continue making such type of music “so our culture won’t die.”
He said “Those sounds are conscious sounds. And that’s my background majorly. Because when you listen to Pasuma, [KWAM 1] they take you back and encourage you,” Shmurda said.
“They let you know there’re better days ahead. And this is what I want to continue. It’s not typically singing Fuji, but I want to continue that conscious sound. I want to awaken people and make them happy and give them hope so our culture won’t die.”
The singer started getting International recognition when he dropped ‘Vision 2020’, his 2019 single, in which he talked about his quest to take the country’s music industry by storm.
In 2020, he began again with his outstanding race as he released ‘Cash App,’ a hit song, which featured Zlatan Ibile and Lincoln.
It was gathered that the song, not only shot him into the spotlight but also earned him special recognition, which included a nomination for the ‘Next Rated’ category at the 14th edition of The Headies.
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