Tsuni is a Nigerian music artist and the queen of Afro Fusion. With an energetic blend of fun and humor, Tsuni’s music reflects her lively personality allowing her listeners to explore into her world and comprehend the depth of her character through the melodies she crafts. Despite her talent to dabble in different genres, her music retains a connection with her roots.
Her recent project, ‘Glory Days’, witnessed a tremendous change in sound, cadence, flow, and storytelling skills, creating vivid imagery on the walls of the listener’s heart.
When did you start creating music and what inspired you to start creating music?
I started creating music officially in 2018, but I’ve been making music longer than that. I made music covers without even knowing what it was called. People loved it, and I felt like I could do better, so I started creating my music.
What inspired your stage name?
My cousins came up with the stage name. They were like tsunami, but like “tsuni tsunami,” and I was like, okay, okay, it’s actually cool so shout out to my cousins.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
My music is fun and funny. It has a lot of my personality in it. If you listen to my music, you can guess the type of person I am through the music I create. Genre-wise, I would like to go with Afro Fusion because I like to dabble in different genres but also keep connected to my roots, so that Afro influence is always present in my music.
If you could collaborate with any artist in the world, who would that be and why?
Too many artists I want to collaborate with, but right now, I would like to work with YKB or maybe Ayra Star. YKB because he is a fun artist, his style of music is organic, and you can tell that he has fun with his music. Also, because he makes it sound like an experience, like he is directly singing to you. I like his songwriting and his fashion style. He is a cool guy, and I’ve met him a couple of times actually. I’ll say YKB.
In what ways do you think social media has contributed to the growth of your music?
A lot. Like I said, I started making music in 2018/2019 but started using social media a lot in 2020. I started posting music covers because during COVID, I didn’t really have much to do. So, I took advantage of that time to put stuff out for people to connect with. It did really well for me. At first, I was skeptical about putting out covers. I wanted to put out my songs, but once I started putting out covers and the reception was pretty good, it contributed a lot to my visibility as an artist. People know me a lot from social media, which is quite surprising to me. Sometimes I go out, and people will be like, “OMG, I love your covers.” I’m so confused like, “How do you know me? Who am I?” It’s quite shocking. You’ll be surprised how many people are actually paying attention to what you’re doing but not reaching out to you directly. But when they see you outside and you introduce yourself, they’re like, “Yeah, I know who you are.” And you’re like, “Oh, okay.” So yeah, I think social media definitely has contributed a lot to my growth as an artist, and I can’t deny it. It is one of the major factors.
What do you think about the evolution of Afrobeats in Nigeria and your role in it?
I’m hoping to play a bigger role in it definitely as the years go by. But I think the evolution has been fantastic. Who would have thought that we would be getting on big stages like the Grammy, getting our own category? You know artists like Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, it’s crazy because I grew up watching these guys, and to just know that you’re just one viral content away from Cristiano Ronaldo posting you on his Instagram story is actually quite insane. I think the growth has been fantastic, and I hope that it continues that way. Like I said, I hope to play a much bigger role in it. I’m not playing any role for now; I’m just in my own corner doing my own thing. Definitely, as the years go by, I’ll be able to contribute more than I am right now.
What lessons have you learned from working in the industry?
Definitely consistency is key. I feel like that’s the biggest lesson. Just be consistent in whatever you’re doing, being steadfast, and staying true to yourself. There is a way that you push yourself that people that didn’t believe before will look at you and be like, “Oh okay, I know this guy.” His name is Kobi Wolf; he is also an artist. Always posting his content, sometimes I don’t interact as often as I’d like, but by the time you see it for the fifth time in a week, you will just calm down and say, “Let me even watch this thing sef.” So being consistent, putting yourself in people’s faces like all the time works magic. It works more than you think it does. Definitely, hard work, emmm, it’s still consistency, to be honest, putting more into yourself than expecting people to put more into you, being that support to yourself before people go support you. Yeah, that’s my biggest lesson so far. Because I can’t say that somebody just came out from nowhere and said, “Ah, you’re talented. I want to help you.” It is because of the work I’ve always put into myself. I would not have known all these people that I know if I had not been consistent with my crafts and putting out covers, music as often as I have. So yeah, that’s the biggest lesson to me.
Tell me about your favorite performance in your career?
I think maybe with Tiwa Savage. I did a show with Tiwa Savage in 2019, and while I was on stage, there were a lot of my people in the audience, like front row, so they were singing the song back to me, and it just felt really good. Also, I did a show with Wurld also in 2019, so those two were special to me because they were like my first performances. I don’t want to say ever, but they were like my first big performances. Like I said, I started putting music out in 2018, and to be opening for Tiwa Savage and Wurld in 2019 was kind of crazy to me. Also, I think I was pretty confident on stage, and I kind of convinced people that I knew what I was doing, so when I was singing the lyrics, they were singing them back to me. And I’ve mentioned two now; we’re just going to do top three. The third one is the Timeless Concert, Davido’s Timeless Concert last year. I opened also, and it was a really good crowd. The person who introduced me was really great at taking his time to get the crowd prepared. When I got on stage, I just did my thing, and they were really responsive. So yeah, those are my top three favorite performances.
If you could change anything in the music industry, what would it be?
Definitely the reception of female artists. I think that people need to be more open-minded. That’s something that I would like to change.
Why did you say that you would like to change the reception of female artists in the music industry?
I said that because we are in a very male-dominated industry. So, the reception, as in, I mean that I want the acceptance of more females, more women in the industry. I want more women to win, I want to see more women doing big numbers, I want to see more women dropping their own hits. I mean, it’s not like we don’t have those things, but compared to the guys, the ratio is not giving what it’s supposed to give. It’s not like they are being treated wrong; I think it’s a much deeper issue than treating people wrong or right.
What accomplishment do you see yourself achieving in the music industry in the next five to ten years?
Just growing as an artist basically, putting out my own record, putting out my own album. I’ve always wanted to have my recording platform, like a studio where people can come in and record and grooming my own artists, like my own little Mavin Academy. Definitely something that I hope to accomplish one day and obviously like the generic answers like winning awards, selling out shows. I just want to make music that makes people feel good, resonates with people, like the type of music where you can remember the exact time and place and how you felt in the moment when you first heard that song. Like when I first heard Wizkid’s “Holla at Your Boy,” when I first heard Davido’s “Damiduro,” when I first heard Tiwa Savage’s “Kele Kele,” I remembered exactly where I was, I remembered exactly how I felt when I heard those songs, I remembered how they made me feel and how that has stuck with me for years and kept me going. So, that’s the kind of feeling I want to evoke in people.
What do you think about a recording camp for female artists?
Yeah, definitely, I think it’s a great initiative for people to connect and balance ideas off each other, and I don’t think it is a bad idea at all.
Are you working on any new music that you’re excited about?
I’m always working on music that I’m excited about, to be honest. As an artist, the song you’re recording now is exciting, and then you finish recording it, and you’re onto the next one, and that one is exciting too. I think that’s one of the reasons why we find it so difficult to put out music because this one that you’re feeling now, now, now, you finished recording it and then you’re feeling the next one. This one you want to put out, and then you record that one, and then you are feeling the next one after that. So, I’m always making music that I’m excited about.
Can you give me a sneak peek of what we can expect from your new music?
My songwriting skills have definitely evolved over the years, my sound, my cadence, my flow. I haven’t put out my personal stuff since 2021. I have a new song with the producer duo called Happy Boy, it’s called “Glory Days.” So that’s a kind of sneak peek into how like my storytelling has evolved over the years and should be expecting more of that. Even though the song is Amapiano, I’m not going to say that people should expect Amapiano. I’m just saying that the vibe is different now.
Do you have other hidden talents aside from making music?
I’m very sporty. I don’t know if that’s a hidden talent. I play football; I’m not sure if that’s exactly hidden because I talk about it. I play football, so what else do I do? That’s pretty much it. I’m not really an interesting person like that; I just know how to make my music, and that’s it. I feel like I could have been a footballer if I had taken it seriously. I was really good at it; my school team wanted me to play for them, but I was not really interested in being a footballer like that. I was more interested in music.
Is there anything else you’d like your fans to know or any message you’d like to share with them?
I’ll just say that this year, I hope to put out more music because I’ve been putting out a lot of covers, and I just want to put out my own stuff. So all these processes, structuring, and all that. I just want people to hang in there because me too I’m hanging in there. The music is coming, and yeah, thank everybody for the support over the years, people who’ve been riding since when I put out my first single and people who just discovered me. The music is coming, and definitely, we are going to take over the world as they say.