By: Bamijoko, Favour

With a vivacious or free spirited melody, a soulful lyrical delivery permeated with an afro-consonscious percussion, Segun Akinola, a final year student of the Faculty of Arts and singer, popularly called Shegundo, debuts his first single. 

Titled Come to Me, Shegundo’s afropop single, heavily draws from the theme of love, a sort of reassurance about the love he has for the object of his affection. 

For as long as about four months, Shegundo has been working on his debut song. On June 14, 2024, he successfully released Come to Me, streaming across all music platforms. 

In this exclusive interview with Shegundo, a proponent of afro-fusion, his latest song, musical career as a student amongst other things were discussed.

Kindly introduce yourself to us and tell us about what you do.

Shegundo: My name is Akinola Segun Samson. My stage name is Segundo, that’s what people know me as. I am a musician and an artist and also a final year student of Theatre Art, University of Ibadan. I do music, I play the guitar, music has always been something I love from the start, even as a kid. So, all through my childhood there has always been a period of music in my life. At one time it was drums, at another time it was guitar, at another point I started singing in the church.

So, you follow the trend of the many artists whose musical journey originated from the church?

Shegundo: Literally all good musicians, especially Afrobeat that you see – Wande coal, Wizkid, most of them — had a church background. Church music actually enlightens your music sense, even in other genres of music. Trust me, like in terms of melody that’s why you see that most of these guys with background in church, melody wise, vocal wise, are much more than those without it. 

When did you decide to pursue a career in music? I mean for some people they, of course, like to engage in music as a hobby. But for some, there is a defining point when they decide to make it a career; what’s yours?

Shegundo: Yeah, I’ve always had a background in music, but I think the time I actually decided that I wanted to do this music as a career is this particular time that I did a cover like I normally do. And to my surprise I saw this particular white man who acknowledged my music; he said “you are good”. Seeing someone who completely doesn’t know you, reach out to you to acknowledge your work, it sparked a thing in me. The knowledge that truly your sound can be accepted all over the world. It just sparked up a light in me. I’ve always known that I would do music but I would say that kind of solidified the conviction within me that if a white man, someone who doesn’t even know me, could accept my sound, just a cover. 

Considering your background and how you started in church, which musician or artist influenced your musical worldview?

Shegundo  Ok. To be sincere, I have a lot of artists that influenced me. I would say a major artist that inspired me was Burna Boy. Apart from the fact that I really love his music, his background is that as an artist he didn’t just come out and skyrocket. There was a ladder, he had to prove himself to the world. I’ve been a long time Burna Boy fan. I wondered why he wasn’t popularly known at the time. But he sparked a thing in me by being consistent. At present, he’s number one, whether you like it or not, number one when it comes to Afrobeat in Nigeria. So he’s like a big motivation to me. And also his style of music, bringing different fusions of music into Afrobeat, you understand.

Could you speak more on your last statement?

Shegundo: He basically brought the Afrofusion. Afrofusion is like a mixture of different genres of music but having Afrobeat as a background or having it as a major ingredient. So he was the one that brought about the fusion. It’s something I really appreciate. I would say he’s one of the talented musicians. Another big influence is Chris Brown. As a child I’ve always loved Chris Brown, especially the way he dances. So those are the two major inspirations.

So how have you drawn from their style? How have they impacted your music significantly in what you do?

Shegundo: Yeah, in terms of melody, I’ll say Chris Brown has inspired me because he’s amazing. His is that genre of music that involves melody and its melodic tunes. Though I don’t really know how to dance.

He has also inspired me by thinking that I could involve other forms of art into music. It doesn’t just have to be singing only, you could put in dance, you could put in a drama presentation when it comes to performance wise. For Burna Boy, he skyrocketed Fela’s standard. The standard I’m talking about is performance wise. Fela was like the first that started this whole having this big band, like a seventy-man band on the stage. He was doing it great but I feel like Burna Boy brought it in our present age, he made it much more unique. To me I feel like he’s the greatest African performer we have. It’s a personal conviction.

Still about your music generally now, not just background, what challenges have you faced? 

Shegundo: A big challenge is still being a student. It’s a challenge but it’s also not a challenge – it’s an advantage but also a disadvantage. In the form of disadvantage, within this period I’ve released my song, I’ve had a show to which I was invited all the way to Anambra. When I have something to submit in my department, etc., I’m not so free to go to all those kinds of places, whether I like it or not. But in terms of advantage, I feel like it’s quite easier to build a fan base in school as a student. A number of people that use Spotify and other streaming platforms are students. So if I could build a fan base from the school, even when I’m outside it’s a big advantage for me. 

Any other challenge apart from studentship?

Shegundo:  Yes I won’t lie, financial challenge. Being a student and having to cope with other things, music is money. It’s not all about talent. There is the aspect of talent and there is the aspect of resources and that has been a very big challenge. Finances or resources are a big challenge.

What would you say about the musical scene on campus? What I mean is that you are not the only student artist, there are others. What would you say about the quality of music we have here and what you think other musicians should work on?

Shegundo: I feel like the UI music community has lots of talent. But I feel like we don’t have that background in UI to push us out. If you look at other schools, for example, OAU, they have like a playlist for their musicians. So that’s why you see that most big musicians are from schools like OAU. How many (I’m sorry to say) UI have you seen break that record. I feel like that unity is not yet there. I also feel that the social life is not there. One of the major ways we can push out what we have is through events, having back to back events in schools. That’s where the opportunity is for artists to come and showcase what they have. But in situations where things like that are not available it kind of kills down creativity. While we have great quality in UI, we just need that background like they have in OAU.

If you were to describe your music to someone who hadn’t heard it before, how would you describe it?

Shegundo: My music is Afrobeat. Although I only have one song out right now and it can’t really be used as a determinant because there’s still much more creative stuff I’m trying to bring in, you understand. But as it is, I’ll say I’m an Afrobeat musician but I see myself as a proponent of Afro-fusion because I will love to infuse different genres of music. I equally call my style Afro-soul because I love melody and I feel like soul music is a thing that I tend to infuse into Afrobeat. Afrobeat is about rhythm and melody. Lyrical consideration is not a very big factor. Lyrics are very important. Your lyrics should be meaningful, but Afrobeat is more on the vibe and the bounce. If you now want to go deep, you could be considering lyrics and how meaningful it should be. The surface of Afrobeat, I would say, is rhythm and melody for me. So that’s the style I intend to use although I’m lyrical as well, and still working on improving my pen game; but melody and rhythm are like the two major factors.

Alright. Let’s talk about your latest song now, shall we? Can you tell us about it and what inspired you?

Shegundo:  Yeah. So my latest single, ‘Come To Me’ is basically one of my happy love vibing songs. The title Come To Me goes beyond the literal meaning: all the dreams, all my goals, all those pictures I create in my head with all the big bands. I truly see all these things coming to me, becoming a reality not just tricks. So at the end of the day, all these things, all these pictures come to me, the goodies, everything. So that’s like the background of the song beyond the literal meaning. That was basically what inspired me. And the beat was also made by a UI student. Let me just pass that one. New Hope. He is from the department of Theatre Arts, Bolu. So this is why I really feel like we really have a lot of creative guys in UI but the platform is like everybody is just on their own. 

Is there a particular message you try to pass across through your latest song?

Shegundo:  Basically, we are creatures of love. We can’t exist without love. So if they like it or not, there is usually that one person that like those days that they always get together with. So this music passes the message of love across.

Could you describe the experience of recording the song? Like how it went from writing to finishing, when it was released, how long did it take?

 

Shegundo: It took a while; it was a very long journey; about 3 to 4 months ago.

 

This year?

 

Shegundo: Yeah this year. So initially it was for a competition. My friend and I first released a first verse for the competition though we didn’t win, along the way, I thought, why don’t we have it as a full song and put it out there and have a first single.

 

How has been the reception of the song so far? I mean, what have you heard people say?

 

Shegundo:  I’ve actually gotten a lot of comments. All good comments. People have been vibing to it throughout the weekend. So even people I don’t know have texted me to acknowledge the niceness of the song.

 

So far, based on this your current release and as an upcoming artist, have you received any negative remarks from anybody before? And if you have, how did you go about it?

 

Shegundo:  I won’t say it’s negative but at a time, my kind of music probably was not accepted by my dad before he passed on. He wanted me to be an accountant.

 

Did you come from a Christian family?

 

I come from a family with strong Christian roots, so, at a point it was strange.  But a major person that gave me encouragement and understood that I’ve got passion for what I did & do was my mum. And most times she wakes up in the night and sees me writing a song and I think it was along the line that something sparked in her and she was like this boy loves this thing he’s doing and all I can do is support him and encourage him.

 

That’s fine. Any particular challenge? Did you face any particular challenge in the process of writing and producing this song?

 

Shegundo: Before I actually wanted the song to be out since, but being a person obsessed with a level of perfection, I had a lot of back and forth trying to ensure it was somewhat acceptable. Having to source out the funds and the proper theme, the mixing and everything was also a sort of barrier. It  was kind of stressful but at least we thank God.

 

So how has your field as a student influenced your musical career?

 

Shegundo: I’ll say Theatre Arts in a way has influenced my music because theatre encompasses a lot. There is music, there is drama, there is directing, there is art, there is a lot, infusion of different types of art. So in a way I tend to go beyond my Afrobeat sound I can also vibe along to traditional songs. So it has widened my box of music.

 

Are there any forthcoming projects?

 

Shegundo: Yes. More than even one song. Before I leave this school, I plan on having like two songs. I even plan to have a lot of artists in UI collaborate with me. I would like that to happen during my period as an artist in UI. I would look forward to also having shows. At least, one in Indy. A very good, standard show, bringing artists to come and participate. Those are the things I have in mind.

 

Speaking futuristically, say, ten years time, fifteen years time, where do you think you will stand?

 

Shegundo: I believe it’s a process. Everything is a process. For some people, there is speed. For some people, you have to climb those stairs. I don’t know what would be for me but I would say I will work along the process and do my best; do it for the passion. I want to be popular but if that background is there then definitely your time will come. So I believe my time will come. I see myself doing great. I see myself being the future of Afrobeat cos I know what I have within me and I can’t just wait for me to have the proper tools and team for the world to actually hear me

 

Thank you very much. And I think the last question is how will you describe music to everybody? What reason would you say for which people should continue to listen to music? 

 

Shegundo:  For me, music is life. It’s not even about what people used to say. Music is life. For me, it’s a conviction within me that music is life. At times that I feel down,  it’s music that lights up my soul. In every form of life there is music. The birds of the air, they make sound. Even the waves, there is a rhythm that comes with it. Music is inherent in every human being so it is basically our life. It is a part of us. We can’t run away from it. 

 

Alright. Thank you very much. Thank you for granting Indy Press an audience.

Shegundo: I would like to give a big shout out to IndyPress. Even before now I’ve been hearing what you guys have been doing and I feel like you guys are great.