Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayox joins Nandi Madida via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about his latest single, the Qing Madi collab, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.” He also discusses his EP, ‘WHEN NOBODY IS WATCHING,’ finding his purpose, and representing loners through his songwriting.
Nandi Madida shares the hottest new African tracks of the moment. This week’s selection includes new tracks from Gyakie, Fido, Twitch 4EVA, Yung D3mz & Uche B, Gemma Griffiths & Peruzzi, and Sam Deep, Thatohatsi & Nvcho.
Ayox Tells Apple Music How He Found His Purpose in Music
I listen to a lot of music, and I got to understand that there’s literally no kind of music that you can make, that other people cannot make. It’s not [about] how good of a singer you are. There are so many great, amazing singers in the world. My purpose is to come into this world, tell my own story, [and] share my own perspective of life through my own music. I feel like that helps me stand out—and regardless, whenever I grow old, someday my story will still be told through my music. [I won’t be] just another artist that came and went.
Ayox Tells Apple Music Why His Music Remains Deeply Personal
I mean, it took me seven years of dreaming music to having a project and an EP. I’d always dreamed of having a project where it is not just about me, but about a lot of people that are like me—the loners. I feel like sometimes you need a song that connects with your mood. If there’s anybody feeling down or feeling like, “Oh, life is going crazy,” I feel like I wanted to have a project that [they] could always go back to. That was my first project, ‘Last Son of a Widow,’ which was inspired by my dad’s death and my mom going through the process of being a widow.
Ayox Tells Apple Music About His Track, the Yinka Ayefele Collab, “AYO”
Yinka reminds me so much of my childhood. I lost my auntie in 2016, the same year my dad died. That’s the first time I realised what death was, because you don’t get to see the person again. And my auntie used to be the one who played Yinka around the house. I used to go to church with her. And every Sunday we all plaeyd Yinka because he was very, very huge when we were little, and he’s still huge. I was just making this song on a random day, and I told my producer, “I feel like Yinka would do good on this.” A year later I texted him, [and] he did the song! He sent his part in 24 hours. Big love to him; he made my dream come true!
Ayox Tells Apple Music About His Track, “LONELY NIGHTS”
The EP had to end with “LONELY NIGHTS.” “AYO” displayed Joy and triumph [over] my enemies, but “LONELY NIGHTS” is a reminder that regardless of where I am progressing in life, there’s still going to be who I am as a person, [and] what I represent, which is being a loner. So I just wanted to remind people that there’s still times where I feel down in my lonely night time.
