From wallflower to rising star, Nigerian artist Yimeeka shares her story so far
If you ask Yimeeka what throughline pursued her throughout the beginning of her whirlwind music career, she will likely mention impostor syndrome. A self-proclaimed wallflower in secondary school, Yimeeka whiled away her free time in the music teacher’s room until she assumed her position behind the keyboard at assemblies. Yet she shied away from claiming the spot behind the microphone that she so deeply yearned for. Stuck in Lagos in the 2020 lockdown, she embraced music production with the help of her friend Cracker Mallo whose credits include Fireboy DML, Olamide and Amaarae. Still, she worried about the potential dissonance between her music dreams and her public perception as an introvert. “When I first started, I was like, how will people see me?” Yimeeka recalls. “Normally, I'm so quiet. I was very reserved and never really posted anything that had to do with music. Then I just woke up one day and said that I'm a producer.”
She made that announcement with the 2022 EP ‘Alter Ego’, which unleashed the complexity and expertise of Yimeeka’s art. In its first half, she flexes her soulful production alongside vocalists including multihyphenate D1wav, alternative crooner Joyce Olong and Yimeeka’s closest friend, Pheelz. The second half sees her finally realise her dream of taking to the mic as she waxes poetic about yearning and loss over spacey, vulnerable beats.
Since then, she’s adjusted to her rightful role as a music multi-hyphenate, singing and producing as well as doing sound design and creative direction (with the likes of Davido and Pheelz as her clientele). And she’s continued to refine her signature fusion of afro-pop, soul, and R&B, notably by incorporating amapiano into her arsenal with an intimacy that’s rare in the high-energy afrobeats scene.
The 2023 singles ‘Issues’ and ‘Tsunami’ primed audiences for this sonic shift, the former a dreamy number punctuated by a Yoruba-spoken hook, and the latter a Nigeria-facing iteration of ‘piano masterminded by producer Semzi. “‘Issues’ is very subtle and ‘Tsunami’ is more commercial. I was surprised that people were resonating more with ‘Issues’ so I was like, you know what? I want to bring people into my world.”
“I'm ready to work and I'm not here to play”
This year, Yimeeka made good on her promise with the release of her self-titled EP. Kicking off with a poignant oriki chant (a Yoruba praise poem) relayed by Yimeeka’s mother, amapiano then becomes the name of the game as she explores the genre in increasingly expansive ways. ‘In the Silence’ is a romantic track propelled by sultry shakers while ‘Away’, another stellar collaboration with Pheelz, is a hopeful testament to self-evolution. And lead single ‘Iro’ is a haunting yet danceable track with production Smeez & D3AN. ‘Yimeeka’ is emotional diversity yet finds cohesion through her grounding vocals and an overarching soulful warmth that has come to define her as an artist. “I feel like when you hear the project, you think, ‘Okay, this is who she wants to be, and this is the person we’ve been waiting for’. You can hear the growth. The person who was shy while singing at the end of 'Alter Ego' has finally found her voice.”
Outside of shattering her comfort zone and stepping into a bolder era of her career, Yimeeka’s newest project has instilled in her a desire for fans to embrace the plenitude that she brings to Nigerian music. “One thing I want people to take away is that I'm ready to work and that I'm not here to play,” she says resolutely. “I want to grow my catalogue as an artist, as a producer and as a songwriter. I want this project to put eyes on me.” Of course, to take eyes off of Yimeeka, an unrelenting force bringing depth and innovation to Nigeria’s music scene, is virtually impossible. With unending capabilities, Yimeeka’s light won’t be shying away from centre stage any time soon.