Intervies & Hype: "I’ve Had Doors Shut At My Face" - Seyi Shay

She’s been tagged the next best music diva from Nigeria. Has she got what it takes to rock our socks? You might think she’s having it easy but Seyi Shay says she’s working the ropes just like any other artiste gunning for the top spot.

In this exclusive interview with our correspondent, the rising star details her journey into music, how the Nigerian music scene seems pretty different from where’s she’s coming from, her current relationship with former managers Flytime Entertainment and how she feels she stands out from any other female RnB singer in the country.

How would you describe your journey back home?

I left the UK early last year to come and explore the endless possibilities that this fertile nation has in store for me as regards music. When my former girl-band dissolved, I knew that I wanted to continue doing music, I packed my bags and flew back to Nigeria where my parents are from. It hasn’t always been so easy but thank God that I met some really great people that shared my vision and they put me on. They gave me a platform and the tool to work with and to continue doing what I love to do. I started recording songs and doing shows and put the songs out and people just started to take to it. Over the past year I have had really good experiences and some terrible ones too. I have done so many shows for free, I can’t even count. And finally I’m starting to get paid for my shows now. The transition from the UK to US and to Nigeria was a blessed one, I can’t lie because it could have been worse or harder. I had good support - Sound Sultan, Flytime, they stood by me and gave me what I needed to get this far.

Can you describe the difference between the industry in the UK/US and that in Nigeria?

There is a big difference between the industry in Europe and in the US with the one here in Nigeria. It is so disorganized out here. There is no real strategy nor structure. You just try your luck, if it makes people dance, then you have a hit, whereas out there it is very much more strategized. A really rubbish song has to really be pushed very well for it to blow and exceed the popularity of a song that’s really good. Here in Nigeria, people appreciate good music a lot more than out there, but it would help though if we had in Nigeria more strategy, more engines, ideas and more brand building so that we can compete with the Americans, Europeans and Asians on a music level and bring home Grammys.

When you arrived on the scene, a lot of people were concerned that you didn’t really start from the bottom of the food chain like everyone else. Do you think that it has been easier for you being that you had a lot of support from a platform that gave you the right push?

I started from the bottom. I started singing over ten years ago. I have slept in the studios countless days and nights. I have worked as a waitress, receptionist and other odd jobs. Just because I was raised in London people didn’t really get to see that side of my life. In a way, you can say I had it better than a lot of people back home, and that’s because of the territory I was raised in. At the same time, my ‘sufferation’ is different and it’s not like I didn’t suffer at all. I have had doors shut at my face. I have worked and struggled and hustled too.

Coming back to Nigeria, what has been your most terrible experience?

My most terrible experience in Nigeria is getting to a show where I’m supposed to perform and being told that I’m no more performing after I have changed into my costume because all the big stars have taken all the slots and time. That was really heartbreaking for me. At the end of day, I have put my work in and done hundreds of free shows. All this is after me having an album on an international level and me touring with Beyonce. After all of that, then I have to come back to Nigeria and start all over again. At the same time, I need to pay my dues, so I did that. I have been hustling for many years, so I didn’t just start.

What influences your style of music?

I’m a lover of Soul, RnB, Reggae and Afrobeat. If you fuse all of these sounds together, you might end up with what I like to call Afro-pop. I feel that is the kind of sound I do-Afro pop, popular African music. I don’t actually limit myself or my sound. I have different types of songs. I just like to sing what my emotions is telling me to do at the time.

How do you feel being always compared to Tiwa Savage?

I think the comparison between me and Tiwa Savage is actually dying a natural death.

Are you guys friends?

Yes, we are friends.

Have you guys actually sat down to talk about the comparisons?

Hmmm…have we spoken about that yet? We don’t really have time. We are both really busy. If we talk about anything, it’s more me asking her for advice or her inviting me to an event or occasion. But we just talk more about ourselves. We don’t talk about anything or anybody and that’s when we can because we are very busy people.

Back to the comparisons, it’s dying a natural death. We are both from London. We both spent time in the US and we both came back to Nigeria. We both encountered the same people that helped us in our careers. So, naturally you are going to have that comparison. Now I have rebranded myself, not because of the comparisons, but because it was time for me to shift from my comfort zone into challenging myself more. We have new pictures and new music now. I don’t imagine Tiwa singing the kind of music I sing and I can’t imagine me singing the kind of music she sings from what I have heard on her album. We are just different like that. As time goes on, people will see that.

A lot of people feel that when it comes to female artistes, there’s the ‘Big 3’-Tiwa Savage, Waje and Omawumi. Out of the hundreds of other female artistes out there, do you think you are the next one to join the ‘Big 3’?

I was very honoured when Omawumi asked me to join Tiwa, Waje and herself on stage at her concert. I felt like she saw something in me. The way the three of them accepted me into their trinity was humbling. But am I the next one or am I going to join the trinity to make a foursome? I don’t even feel like them being called the ‘Big 3’ is right. I feel that they are all individuals and they should be seen that way. At the end of the day, most people know those three names the most and I get that, but I don’t think they would like to be seen as the ‘Big 3’. I don’t want to be cast under that umbrella. I just want to be my own person and hopefully influence people in a positive way in my own right.

You come across as Soulful singer, but now you are in the studio and doing stuffs like ‘Irawo’ and others. Do you think it is the Nigerian sound that has affected the way you sound right now?

Yes it was the Nigerian sound that actually influenced my moving to Nigeria. Before I moved back to Nigeria, I had the opportunity to either go to Los Angeles and sign a record deal or come to Nigeria. Most people told me I was crazy for not going to Los Angeles. I have done that and I know how hard it is. Trust me, the pool is bigger which means there’s more fish and sharks in the sea. I did it for four years. Actually, the ground is more fertile in Nigeria. We could do more out here as artistes and I want to be part of that revolution that takes Nigeria and African music into the rest of the world. I feel that I have so much to offer because of the training and practice I have had for so many years since I was a child. I can tell you that my album will be a mixture of Soul, RnB, Afropop and Westernised pop. It’s my album so it can be a combination of anything I like and I’m sure people will be able to identify with it.

Do you write your songs?

I do write my own songs but also Harrisong, Del B and other people help. Del B is the one that wrote ‘Killing Me Softly’ with Timaya. I adore Timaya, everybody knows that because he’s just like the best. KCEE and I are from the same production camp that’s why the collaboration with him. Vector helped with the remix of ‘Irawo’. Whoever I sing with or work with, I always write with them, but the person that has helped me write songs the most, the person I always go to first for lyrical input is Sound Sultan.

Could you shed light on your relationship with Flytime?

Flytime and Seyi Shay are no longer working together in the capacity that I was working with them when I first came to Nigeria. They gave me some tools that I needed and have used to get this far. Without those tools I wouldn’t be here doing the things I’m doing. I’m eternally grateful to Flytime. That’s what they do. They promote artistes and they have done a good job with me I think. We are not going to continue our relationship in that capacity. I’m not a Flytime artiste anymore and they are not my record label.

You seem to come up as a very fashionable person. Who are your favourite designers?

I like and I wear a lot of CLAN. I love Grey to Mini Lee. These are Nigerian designs I’m talking about. Toju Foyeh, I started with her and I think she is elegant and classic. Her finishing is so perfect. I also love Deola Sagoe.

you are not in the studio or on stage, how do you hangout?

When I’m not doing music, I’m cooking, I’m cleaning my house because it is very therapeutic. I like to go shopping too.