INTERVIEW:TOLANI
Known for her soulful sound, heartfelt lyrics, and genre-blending style, Tolani has steadily carved a niche for herself in the ever-evolving world of music. From captivating audiences with her unique voice to pushing creative boundaries, she continues to define what it means to be an authentic artist in today’s scene. Whether you’ve followed her journey from the start or are just discovering her music, you’re in for a real treat.
Let’s dive into the story behind the voice – Tolani, welcome!
INTERVIEW BY: GRACEY MAE
Congrats on ‘Sh*t I Nvr Finished’; it sounds like an anthem for a perfectionist or procrastinator. Tell me what that statement means to you?
TOLANI: I remember when I first talked about the project, I had said, “Hi, my name is Tolani - I'm a recovering wallflower and perfectionist. I think that perfectionism is this negative thing that people carry. Essentially, it's really about fear and I decided that I didn't want to be a perfectionist anymore. It was robbing me of life as a person, as an artist and I was done with it. I had a page in my notes where I wrote down “Sh*t I Nvr Finished” so when I was thinking about sharing these unfinished pieces of music, I knew that was the perfect name for the playlist.
You were vulnerable enough to share seven tracks that aren't complete singles to form this playlist. Was there any apprehension or anxiety about how the public would receive it?
TOLANI: Yes there was but I had to squash all of those thoughts. The bigger concern was the fact that I'd been quiet for so long! I got tired of the “Tolani, you're not making music anymore” remarks, because it wasn't true. I make a lot of music, I just don't put it out or it doesn't get to the finished stage - then I use that as an excuse not to release it. One of my friends challenged me; I had him come to the studio and listen to my music. He asked me, “What's your job as a musician?” I replied, “Make great music”. He says, “No, your job is to release music. It's only half done every time you create a song. Even if you spend 20 hours in the studio, if you don't put it out, your job isn't complete”. I guess even if the pieces are unfinished, there's a level of completeness in sharing them with the world. Once I decided to do it, I was ready for whatever that looked like. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren't any negative reactions.
Thank God for honest friends. With this playlist, you've been dropping some crazy content. Are you the creative engine behind it?
TOLANI: For ‘Sh*t I Nvr Finished’, I made a spreadsheet with examples and descriptions. Since it was my first foray into content creation in a really meaningful way - something that I was quite shy of in the past – I wanted to have a hand in it. I have very strong ideas of what I want which can be hard to transmit over to people so I was the creative engine behind these ideas. I knew exactly what I wanted to tell with each song and with each piece of content. That being said, I had a great team making my ideas into reality.
What have you learnt about yourself from releasing the playlist? How do you feel now that you've done it?
I feel amazing. I think that it's really important to create if you're creative. I also think that everyone's creative. I think that we are most God-like when we create something. The feeling of having completed this is all the encouragement I need to keep going. It's a sense of self trust to have an idea and do it. We set a target, we met the target and I'm happy I did it. My advice is when you do things to completion, you do it for yourself, and it's a huge engine for growth, for self trust and for self agency. You're a better artist and a better human for it.
Doing it for ‘self’. That's beautiful. So, who are you?
I'm a regular girl who has passions. I like to eat. I love fruit. I like my friends. I like tea. I don't think that I'm anything special. I'm just a human who loves to share my experiences, my life, myself through music. The question, “Who are you” always throws me off because it's so vast, and I don't know if people are asking me “what else do you do outside of music”?
Okay foodie, if I say the word ‘pepperoni’, does that remind you of your debut single ‘Tenderoni’?
Of course. Oh my gosh! It’s such a throwback.
Take us back to the beginning of your journey with this launch that featured Skales.
Skales is so incredibly talented. It goes to show that it's not just about talent. He's an excellent writer and an excellent vocalist. I'm very happy he's having a really incredible summer.I wrote ‘Tenderoni’ straight out of music school. I'd gotten a job and made a lot of connections with fellow artists. I was working with two guys from the UK as my team, it was the three of us. I was doing a lot of gigs in Camden. We wrote ‘Tenderoni’ in the studio of one guy who was also a producer.His name is Martial Music. I knew that I wanted to enter the Nigerian space because at this point I was living in London, out of University and out of work. I knew I needed to get a Nigerian on board. I don't remember why I chose Skales but he was the perfect person. The song was challenging. It was my first recording that I shared with the world. It was the beginning and for that, I love the song. It's a reminder of the start.
Knowing how the public sometimes perceive your artistry because of your affluent background, how were you received at the start, and did you feel like it was fair?
I would say that throughout my entire career, some people still don't know whose child I am. Obviously, now that's changing but I tried very hard to distance myself from the fact that I am Femi Otedola’s daughter; I was nervous of people having notions of me before I even walked into a room. Like I said, I began my music career in the UK so I didn't face a lot of that at the start. Not in the studios in London or pubs in Camden. No one knew and no one cared. I don't think Skales knew. We didn't lead with that. After ‘Tenderoni’, I did my very first showcase in Nigeria. There was a year of planning how we were going to manage now that my dad was going to come with my mum and my sisters. My managers at the time, did a great job, and my dad was very supportive. What was amazing was that I had practiced for months because it was, and has always been, really important to me that my talents speak over anything else. I performed exceptionally, the reviews and feedback were great, and people were really excited about me as an artist. I feel like how I went into it allowed for some balance. The first experience people had of me wasn't just me being a rich man's daughter on social media. I did the music first, and then people started to find out who I was. I think that made it slightly easier, and the reviews weren't as harsh or as critical as I perhaps thought that they would have been
Has shying away from your background had more pros than cons?
Absolutely. I have sisters who are also in the same field of entertainment. There is the external idea, with probably some truth in it, that they're both more successful than I have been. This is because they embraced it in a way that I hadn't previously done. First child syndrome, you want to do everything by yourself without anyone's help. I fought a lot of internal pros and cons but I think that the job of a human is to be able to walk in the pros and leave the cons behind because there's pros and cons in everything. There's good and bad, yin and yang. I think the ability to embrace the entirety of who you are is also what I was doing with this project. I really wanted to walk into my identity, including my family name, my ADHD and being diagnosed with PTSD in 2020.
How did you come to terms with your diagnoses? Did you find the labels liberating or limiting?
It was very freeing to a level. Before my diagnosis, I had a lot of self doubt. People who knew and loved me would say, “I'm not sure that you can do this music thing. Your personality doesn't really cut it for you”; or harsher things like “ I think you you're lazy, you just sit at home all day. Where is your head?” There were a lot of things I had to grapple with, about who I was, how my brain worked, how I approach people, and how I'm different from other people. I used to wonder “why it so hard for me?” For example, finishing stuff was incredibly difficult, I lost managers over it. I had shutdowns and had to tell myself, maybe I don't have the personality. I remember when my diagnosis for ADHD came and I fought it. It didn't make any sense to me. However, it was something that kept coming up in therapy with my therapist urging me to do the test. I am an anti-medication person. I believe a ginger shot and the right Chai tea can solve everything but alas, I've had to change my tune, because the diagnosis made me feel seen and understood. It gave me a better understanding of myself and who I am. I'm not unique. I'm not this weird lazy individual. I just have to figure out how my brain works and work in its rhythm. It was challenging before, but post diagnosis, it definitely helped me understand myself better, because then that's why I got the strength to release “Sh*t I Nvr Finished”. Now I understand why I didn't finish it. It doesn't feel like failure. It feels like a part of who I am and something that I'm challenging. I'm hoping to be better and do better.
Recently, rapper Giggs came out saying that he lives with autism. The more artists speak their truth, the more it helps everyone feel a bit more normal.
There's no such thing as normal. There's just human beings trying to get by.My little brother's autistic. We have a family history of neurodivergence. My dad's neurodivergent, the way that man's brain works is not normal. So is my sister. It's good for people to know themselves, and to feel supported by a system.
You studied psychology before going into music. Was that ever a path you were realistically exploring or was it more “I'm Nigerian. I have to do something academic”?
It was a bit of both. I remember when I finishedGCSEs. I had a friend who was also a singer. She told me “I'm going to go to RADA in America to study film”. I went home and I told my parents that I want to study music. They just silently stared at me. I explained that music was the future but they didn't understand what I meant. So I knew I had to go to university. I knew that there was no option. The next best thing then, was to do adegree that I genuinely liked. I went to a fair; most schools have a fair where you have to choose what degree you do. I'd always been extremely interested in the human mind. For the longest time, it fascinated me.Psychology is something I've always loved. My favorite TV shows are shows like Criminal Minds and CSI. If I wasn't an artist, I'd probably be a criminal psychologist or a crime scene investigator. In fact, at the moment, I'm doing a supplementary course because I would really love to be achild psychologist. I adore children and I don't feel like children are supported the way they need to be.
I will be backing you 150% especially if you launch an initiative in Nigeria - we need it!
Before my little brother was diagnosed, my sisters and I were in school in the UK but, we hadn't fully moved at that time. When we realised that there was going to be no support for him, we moved fully to the UK and settled here as a family. You're right, there isn't nearly enough support. There's hardly enough support even in the UK. Once they hit 18, they age out of the system but autism is something people have for a lifetime. So there's a lot of need indeed and I would love to take some of that and give back in my own little way.
More power to you!
What final message do you want to share to your friends, family and following?
Don't be a perfectionist. Whatever thing in your heart that you really want to do, just get up and do it. I love to share myself in my music; I hope that people enjoy it!