Lagos is the cultural hub of Nigeria, a city where dreams can be brought to life. It\u2019s now home to Bloody Civilian (born Emoseh Khamofu), who featured in this year\u2019s NME 100; marking her identity with her unique fusion of Afrobeats, R&B and house music. Already catching Marvel\u2019s eye even before she released her debut single, a track on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack followed, before she was picked up by 0207 Def Jam \u2013 a label home to the likes of Stormzy and Adekunle Gold.<\/p>\n
While the accolades are mounting up, it\u2019s been a turbulent road to this point. Before moving to the capital city of Abuja when she was younger, Khamofu grew up in a rural village in northern Nigeria before it was taken over by a flurry of political unrest, its residents forced out by the violence that is alluded to in her artist name. Her recent debut EP \u2018Anger Management\u2019 traces this chapter of her life, produced as the result of a healing period that\u2019s been characterised by these intense emotions. \u201cEven just surviving hurdles fortifies you in a way\u201d, she tells NME over Zoom. \u201cThe pain isn\u2019t one hundred percent gone, but age has this way of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite this emotional hardship she has had to overcome Khamofu says she is inspired and motivated by the current globalisation of African music, which is seeing artists from across the continent hit new heights. Last month, Burna Boy became the first African artist to play a UK stadium whilst Glastonbury\u2019s Other Stage was headlined by Wizkid this year, who is soon set to take over Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n
Khamofu\u2019s message, delivered via a spritely Afrobeats-infused bounce with Amapiano flavours, has never been more poignant. NME catches up with her shortly after the release of \u2018Anger Management\u2019 to hear her story, from Abuja to Lagos \u2013 and beyond.<\/p>\n
NME: When did you start to work on \u2018Anger Management\u2019?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first lyric was written four years ago. It was a period in my life filled with question marks. I was kind of writing to free myself through expression. I just wanted to be able to let go. Whenever I write about something, it\u2019s the beginning of a healing process for me\u2026over the years it\u2019s evolved into different layers of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Your artist name directly relates to your experiences with violence in northern Nigeria. How has your upbringing impacted the music you make today?<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in a city called Abuja; typically we would go back home to my actual village for Christmas. As I got older and things got more turbulent up north, it became virtually impossible to visit home. My village technically no longer exists, it\u2019s sort of shifted because people have had to run away from their homes. Being from up north, it\u2019s in the heat of everything \u2013 the Boko Haram attacks. It\u2019s definitely a different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
When music first came into your life, did it serve as a form of escapism?<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a child, anything that could make me emotional could make me write. Now, being a grown adult, it\u2019s the same thing. Even if it\u2019s humour, anger or sadness, it definitely can find its way into my creativity in some sort of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
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FEATURESMUSIC INTERVIEWS
\nNME Radar: Breakout
\nBloody Civilian: the Nigerian star turning a thrilling Afrobeats fusion into viral gold
\nThis Lagos-based musician discovered a true sense of healing by creating her own dark, dizzying world of sound<\/p>\n
By
\nRishi Shah
\n5th July 2023
\nFacebook Twitter
\nBloody Civilian artist
\nEach week in Breakout, we talk to the emerging stars blowing up right now \u2013 whether it be a huge viral moment, killer new track or an eye-popping video \u2013 these are the rising artists certain to dominate the near future
\nLagos is the cultural hub of Nigeria, a city where dreams can be brought to life. It\u2019s now home to Bloody Civilian (born Emoseh Khamofu), who featured in this year\u2019s NME 100; marking her identity with her unique fusion of Afrobeats, R&B and house music. Already catching Marvel\u2019s eye even before she released her debut single, a track on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack followed, before she was picked up by 0207 Def Jam \u2013 a label home to the likes of Stormzy and Adekunle Gold.<\/p>\n
While the accolades are mounting up, it\u2019s been a turbulent road to this point. Before moving to the capital city of Abuja when she was younger, Khamofu grew up in a rural village in northern Nigeria before it was taken over by a flurry of political unrest, its residents forced out by the violence that is alluded to in her artist name. Her recent debut EP \u2018Anger Management\u2019 traces this chapter of her life, produced as the result of a healing period that\u2019s been characterised by these intense emotions. \u201cEven just surviving hurdles fortifies you in a way\u201d, she tells NME over Zoom. \u201cThe pain isn\u2019t one hundred percent gone, but age has this way of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
See also on NME
\nDespite this emotional hardship she has had to overcome Khamofu says she is inspired and motivated by the current globalisation of African music, which is seeing artists from across the continent hit new heights. Last month, Burna Boy became the first African artist to play a UK stadium whilst Glastonbury\u2019s Other Stage was headlined by Wizkid this year, who is soon set to take over Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n
Khamofu\u2019s message, delivered via a spritely Afrobeats-infused bounce with Amapiano flavours, has never been more poignant. NME catches up with her shortly after the release of \u2018Anger Management\u2019 to hear her story, from Abuja to Lagos \u2013 and beyond.<\/p>\n
NME: When did you start to work on \u2018Anger Management\u2019?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first lyric was written four years ago. It was a period in my life filled with question marks. I was kind of writing to free myself through expression. I just wanted to be able to let go. Whenever I write about something, it\u2019s the beginning of a healing process for me\u2026over the years it\u2019s evolved into different layers of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Your artist name directly relates to your experiences with violence in northern Nigeria. How has your upbringing impacted the music you make today?<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in a city called Abuja; typically we would go back home to my actual village for Christmas. As I got older and things got more turbulent up north, it became virtually impossible to visit home. My village technically no longer exists, it\u2019s sort of shifted because people have had to run away from their homes. Being from up north, it\u2019s in the heat of everything \u2013 the Boko Haram attacks. It\u2019s definitely a different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
When music first came into your life, did it serve as a form of escapism?<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a child, anything that could make me emotional could make me write. Now, being a grown adult, it\u2019s the same thing. Even if it\u2019s humour, anger or sadness, it definitely can find its way into my creativity in some sort of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had to move to Lagos to basically be closer to all the opportunities and work here. The differences are very clear, they\u2019re in your face. Abuja was a small, intimate city and Lagos is a big city with a lot of opportunities and disappointments, excitement and sadness.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough the creatives are able to create in their various cities that they come from, Lagos is sort of like the Mecca, maybe the Hollywood of music in Nigeria. This is where you can really have life-changing things happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Wake Up\u2019 featured on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack even before your debut single. How did that come about?<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time when Marvel called, I was still wondering whether it would be worth moving to Lagos. It was no longer an \u2018if\u2019 \u2013 I knew I was going to have to move. When I got in there [the Marvel camp], it got easier by the minute. Everyone was very welcoming, down to Earth, it didn\u2019t feel like it was work. It felt like your favourite art or creative writing class, we were just experimenting and getting to know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are your experiences with anger that inspired the EP?<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much all my life, I\u2019ve felt different types of resentment, anger and frustration. This EP was a compilation of those different sentiments. Although another title I was playing around with was \u2018Cognitive Behavioural Therapy\u2019 but I felt it was too long. \u2018Anger Management\u2019 gets straight to the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was different topics, a lot of stuff; being a woman, growing up in a third world country where your heart gets broken every step of the way. I will specifically talk about drugs, because we have a huge epidemic here \u2013 and I\u2019m honestly one of the people that nearly slipped down that slope. When it comes to drugs, it\u2019s also something I had to haul myself out of at a period in my life and it\u2019s what inspired the first song \u2018Escapism.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What did it mean to you to sign with 0207 Def Jam?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what stood out about them was that they made a specific effort to hire women, Black women in particular. Just being able to see they had people on the label that looked like me, from where I\u2019m from, it would be a better decision to do business with people that I can relate to on that level.\u201d<\/p>\n
How do you feel about the level of globalisation African music is currently experiencing?<\/p>\n
\u201cI coincidentally fell in the demographic of people who kind of experienced it in real time. The year I went to college in the States was a very good year \u2013 the first good year \u2013 for Afrobeats. My first year of college, I felt like I was still in Lagos. There were so many huge Afrobeats parties, so many different races of people were going to these Nigerian parties and I was very confused. It was very interesting to see that happen in real time, to see other cultures vibe to the music.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up as a kid, there were people who looked down on those of us who listened to African music. But now, Nigerians are proud of their sound and their culture. Which is honestly the one thing that Afrobeats has done for Africans \u2013 it has given them a sense of pride of who they are and their identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
You fuse Afrobeats with a range of styles, particularly house. How did this melting pot of sounds come together?<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like specifically what the South Africans have done with their Amapiano sound; it became something very grand and timeless, now the whole of Africa loves that sound. We have our own drums in Nigeria, and we\u2019ve incorporated some of those into Amapiano from this perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just somebody way down the line that\u2019s fusing it with the stuff I grew up listening to. I grew up on Tame Impala, Kid Cudi. I just wanted to see how I could add that electronic effect back into the Afro-house and still keep it very African, very cultured but give it a modern twist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are you working on new music?<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that the EP is out of the way, I definitely feel I won\u2019t make anything like that again. It does feel like a letting go situation, writing a letter and putting it in a box or throwing it into the ocean. It\u2019s gone now, and I\u2019m glad to say goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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