The emergence of Neo-Soul in Nigeria is creating waves. Neo-Soul is a genre the combines sounds from various genres such as Funk, R&B, Blues, Hip Hop, African Music, and Rock. Artist like Lady Donli are carrying the torch. You can find Lady Donli at the forefront of youth culture in Nigeria and UK. The landscape of youth culture is shifting and Lady Donli contributes to the narrative. Her music embodies a sense of soul, truth, non-judgement, and passion.
The electric Neo-Soul artist is making her mark in 2018. Lady Donli just successfully completed a major tour and shot an iconic music video in Los Angeles. The singers song Games is currently trending across the net and the music video is set to premiere on Nov. 2 in London. The global release is scheduled for Mid-November! Lady Donli has an original sound based on multiple genres of music. Lady Donli is on a steady stream climbing up the industry and making her name known globally. Her infectious lyrics and instrumentals were recently featured on A-List Africa on iTunes! I got the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with her! Let’s take a look at what drives this star!
You’ve just wrapped your summer tour! Is it break time or back to the studio?
⁃ I never take real breaks. I rested for a bit, but now I’m mostly writing music and trying to finish my album. Working on visuals as well and planning roll outs, next year is going to be intense for me.
What was it like filming your first music video in Los Angeles?
⁃ Loved it, it was my first time out in LA so the experience was a bit surreal. From the palm trees, to the coordination of the shoot. I felt like I was doing something big. Lol, cause most times when I’d shot a video or attempted to shoot a video, we’d just plan a little bit then go with the flow. Here, there was a proper structure. It felt good.
Musically who do you take influence from?
⁃ Initially I was into a lot of hip hop, OutKast probably my best group ever. Loved them, also heavily inspired by Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, Lauryn Hill. Then there’s the African artistes – Brenda Fassie, Fatoumata Diawara, ASA and Nneka. The list goes on and on, there are loads of African artistes that I look to.
As a woman in the industry what ways to push to change the current global culture?
⁃ Empowering the women around me. I try my best to work with women, or share ideas with other women. Creatively and other wise, the entertainment industry especially where I come from (Nigeria) is heavily dominated by men. I’m trying my best to encourage the younger girls that talk to me, giving them tips, helping them push in ways that I can. On my next project I’m definitely trying to work with more women, from the videos I shoot, to the instrumentation of the pieces I compose. There’s power in numbers, if there’s more women at the forefront of our industry then there’s better representation and in turn there will be some form of balance.
What is next for Lady Donli?
⁃ The album. I think it will give people a different view about my music. I’ve been boxed a lot when it comes to the perceptions of what my sound is. Now, I’ve finally understood my vocal dynamics and now I know how I want to present my music to the world so I’m really excited about it and more excited of the tour that will follow after it’s dropped.
What is something you want all your fans to know?
⁃ To always expect the unexpected from me. Lol, they probably already know this but I can’t be boxed.
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