There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. But for emerging artists, walking through that tunnel can take years, sometimes three or more, being in the dark, hoping someone, anyone, will listen to the song you made in that tiny apartment on your laptop with FL Studio. For some, it starts with that YouTube beat they asked a producer to recreate.
The tunnel is dark and smelly, and not many make it to the end; some stop the journey long before they can break out. And honestly, I can’t say I blame them. It’s how the system is built, especially if you’re Nigerian. It’s rarely in your favor.
There’s the challenge of finding your sound, figuring out how to market yourself. Deciding how much of the endless “Dear artistes…” advice circulating on Obasanjo’s internet you should actually take heed of.
And there’s the constant fear of not getting ‘ripped off’ by the label that is trying to sign you or by your fellow artists; sometimes, it could even be the very people meant to protect your interests, like your manager.
Or is it the moment you see what looks like a flicker of light slipping through that very tiny crack in the wall, giving you the hope that you are finally making it out, only for you to realise it’s just a dead end after having that one near-hit song you thought was going to give you your breakthrough?
We’ve also seen artists who made it out and struggled to surpass that one hit they made in 2021. We’ve had songs ‘blow’ and become bigger than the artists, gaining more visibility while leaving only faint traces of what seems like the face behind the music.
Or maybe it’s the reality that there aren’t many investors willing to take a chance on you if you’re not willing to ‘change your sound’ or scratch their backs so they will ‘blow yours out’.
Artists face a lot of challenges. To understand this better, I spoke with a few of them, creatives navigating the music industry at different stages of their careers, to talk about the challenges they faced during their come-up and what those challenges look like now.
Q: Do people ever refer to you as an emerging/upcoming artiste? If yes, do you have a problem with that term/tag?
Yimeeka: Not really. I only care about how I see myself. Whether I’m called upcoming or emerging doesn’t bother me as long as I’m recognized as an artist and my work speaks for itself; the titles don’t really matter to me.
Amore Holmes: Mostly ‘upcoming artiste’. I don’t really care for it, honestly.
Aema: Yes, all the time. I can’t say I do really because I don’t really see how that is a make-or-break statement. In every industry there’s a system. Referring to artists that are not “blown” as upcoming or emerging is part of the system. Personally, I do not call myself that because I am a complete artist; I create, I record, and I perform.
Tiimie: Yeah, people refer to me as an underground, upcoming, emerging artist, and many others. To be honest, there’s no problem with being called an underground artist; you must have made some sort of visible remarks for people to involve you in such conversations, to be very honest. So there’s no problem with it, I keep working and pushing harder so the status can change.
Musta4a: People definitely say that sometimes, and I understand why. In the grand scheme of things, I’m still early in my journey, but I don’t really look at things from those perspectives; I don’t think that artists are upcoming or emerging. I look at it as building and evolving.
Every day I’m sharpening the craft, writing better songs, tryna gain mastery of my domain, and getting closer to the vision. For me, it’s less about the label and more about the trajectory. As long as the growth is consistent, the evolution will speak for itself.
Danpapa GTA: I’ve never been referred to as an upcoming artist. I used to, but ever since I’ve been making actual music and having numbers, people don’t see me as that anymore. They just see me as underground; not everyone knows me as a mainstream artist yet.
Q: Do you ever feel pressured (from people or self-imposed) to hop on trending waves/sounds?
Yimeeka: To be very honest, the version of me now doesn’t feel that pressure. But I won’t pretend there wasn’t a time when I did. I think that’s part of why I took a break last year. During that time, I found my anchor: my friends and my mom. They helped me reconnect with why I started making music in the first place.
Amore Holmes: I mean, I pressure myself a lot, but it’s never about hopping on trending sounds. It’s mostly just been about pushing myself to be better at all times.
Aema: Pressure to hop on trends or waves, absolutely no. I live in my own world, and anyone who finds what I do interesting makes that conscious decision to come into my world and live in it. Anything outside that sphere isn’t my concern anymore. I cater to my community and their needs alone, and personally, I’ve never been a people pleaser; it’s unlikely for me to do things because I want people to like it or like me. Not my vibe at all
Tiimie: No, the music system has no designed formula or format as to how it should work or sound; whoever made the current trend just ended a previous trend from someone else, and that was a trial. It only becomes a trend because someone tries out an idea they had in their heads, and it works, so yeah. I don’t feel pressured; I keep doing what I do, but I constantly make sure I’m evolving with my craft so as to be in the conversation of the best.
Musta4a: I think every artist sees what’s trending and thinks about it at some point. But I’ve learned that chasing trends can make you lose the thing that makes you unique in the first place.
The songs that usually mean the most to people are the ones that are true to you. So I try to focus on making music that reflects what I’m actually feeling or going through. Trends change all the time, but emotions don’t. If someone listens to my music and feels understood, that’s what matters most to me.
Danpapa GTA: Not really. Sometimes I feel like trendy sounds help, but I just don’t feel like I want to be trendy. Personally, I just like doing what comes to my mind, things that make me happy. I don’t really care about what’s trending as long as money is coming in.
Q: What were some of the challenges you encountered early on in your career, and how do they compare to now?
Yimeeka: One of the major challenges I faced early on was people management. I was so focused on managing everyone else’s feelings that I completely ignored my own. I was scared of offending any OG or executive. It took me a while to realize that this is a business, and often, those same people aren’t thinking about your feelings the way you’re thinking about theirs.
Amore Holmes: Finding the right people to work with. I mean, not everyone you meet will align with the vision…. I mean, I’m thankful for all the people I’ve worked with, but right now? It’s just been better than it has ever been. The vision is clearer.
Aema: I had to overcome shyness, hearing my own voice on a recording, creating a brand, etc. Also, one of the toughest things for me then was creating music to find the right sound that can work for my audience. It’s one thing to make music for fun, and it’s another to make music to cater to a market. That would involve working on different kinds of sounds and with different kinds of people till you find what works for you. You will have to break and remake yourself several times, and that’s not really a very easy thing to do.
Compared to now, I’ve had 3 years of experience, and I’ve been able to master my art, and now I’m having fun and enjoying the journey.
Tiimie: One of the challenges I’ve encountered in my career earlier on would be visibility, and as of right now, things are not the same anymore because I have people from different parts of the world reach out to me, and they say, ‘Oh, I know your music, and I fuck with your sound,’ so yeah.
Musta4a: Early on, one of the biggest challenges was just believing in myself and trusting my voice. When you’re starting out, you’re figuring out who you are creatively, and sometimes it can feel like you’re trying to find your place in a very loud world.
Now the challenges are a bit different. It’s more about staying true to yourself while growing and making sure the music keeps getting more honest and more personal. I’ve realised that the journey as an artist is really about learning more about yourself and being brave enough to share that with people.
Danpapa GTA: One of the challenges I had while coming up as an artist was production; this was before I started producing myself. They were always giving me poor production, probably because I didn’t have a lot of money to pay. My social media accounts were always shadow-banned; I almost gave up on TikTok. Crazy how TikTok is the one helping me now. Then there’s finance; money is always something that tries to kill my career. Even without paying money for studio time, I still have to spend money on equipment, shoot videos, and all. There’s no way you want to be in the music space without spending money.
So, ‘Dear artistes’, maybe it’s not just about walking through that tunnel and making it out; it’s also about the lessons learned along the way, experiencing things firsthand, and growing from them. Navigating labels and management, searching for funding, and finding the right people to build with. But most importantly, finding your sound and staying true to it. It’s the decision to keep creating, to keep evolving, and to believe that your music will eventually find the audience it’s meant for.
The DIY Collective 
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