Music And Moments with Egertton

Issue 16.0   Sep. 2026

Interview conducted by: Kolade Motirolaoluwa

Design: Chiagozie Mbuba Tochukwu  

Q: To fans,lovers and even people that are meeting you for the first time,who is Egerrton?

A: Egertton is a musician and an all round creative. But basically,I am into music.

Q: Your style of music one would say isn’t normal as it can be seen as unique. How do you describe your music?

A: I feel like my music is unapologetic and there is no direction to it. When I wake up in the morning,I always thank God for versatility. I listen to a lot of songs and I realize that I am able to take things I need to take out of each genre and form  something. Also,at the end of the day,I am a Benin boy which might make my music to be termed as Afrobeats. But apart from that,I feel like I can’t be boxed in my music because I do whatever I want with it.

Q: You are from Benin, Edo State, a place known for hustlers. Would you say this has shaped your music style in any way?

A: Definitely because the times I spent in Benin were very questionable. It was at a time where I understood little to nothing that was happening around. Benin also has various rules and regulations that govern it. So,being a Benin boy definitely made me want to work harder because where I used to stay,by 5-6 am,people are already up for their daily hustle and this definitely impacted me.

Q: You recently dropped your self titled mixtape “Egertton”. It is perceived that any project titled after the artist tends to carry an even deeper story. What is the story behind the mixtape “Egertton”?

A: The main purpose of the mixtape was to reflect on myself. Before the mixtape,I already had singles but I felt like people didn’t really know who I was. I should have dropped the project since but I kept pushing it. However,the main purpose was to focus on me and make people see me for me. Basically,it was me being unapologetic.

Q: What do you intend for your fans to feel when they listen to Egerrton?

A: My spirituality. I feel like music is deeper than you think and I want my fans to feel that. I don’t know how to half bake things so depth is definitely one thing I want my fans to feel.

Q: Is there a song you desperately wanted to make it to the Final Cut of the mixtape but it didn’t?

A: Yes,there was one but I was in a back and forth with my team but then I realized that I shouldn’t add it. It was a freestyle titled “Bad baddie baddest” and it was just a song I made off vibes in the studio. I don’t regret not adding it to the mixtape though because I feel like the project is perfect the way it is.

Q: Although artists often tend to say they love every song equally,we know they often have secret favorites. What is your favorite track off Egerrton and do you have a particular reason for liking it?

A: It changes but right now,my favorite track is “Gangster”. I like it because it is so unapologetic and it reminds me of 2016.

Q: What is your favorite “Mama,I made it” moment?

A: Hmm,that is actually deep because I have so many instances. I would definitely say times when I am out with my mom and fans come to meet me or times when I give my mom bundles. 

Q: You are a diverse artist that likes to dabble into different genres and emotions,however on two tracks on Egerrton,we saw your lover boy side more. Tell us more about this.

A: It was actually three: 16 missed calls,Body Sparkle and Midnight. 16 missed calls was basically just about me being too busy with my music career and ignoring my dating life. With Midnight,It was a song with Indi and although it wasn’t our first song,it just felt like that song and it is a plus that it gives me Disney vibes. Body sparkle was however recorded about 2 years ago but I definitely knew it was going to be on this project.

Q: What was the post production process of the mixtape like? 

A: The post production process wasn’t chaotic. I mean,I can’t really explain how I pick my songs but I feel like my team and I have an understanding with regards to the songs that need to go on the project. I have also learnt how to nurture music and realize that at the end of the day, post production doesn’t have to something too serious. It is more about fun for me.

Q: We know you are proudly a Benin boy but you now stay in Lagos. Tell us a bit about your journey as a Benin boy now surviving in Lagos.

A: One thing about Benin boys is they have a third eye. Benin boys are always active and hustling and I feel like that is why when you see most Benin boys in Lagos,they are always rich. It is a case of no one can really run you street.

Q: When you dropped Egerrton,what did you think the reaction from your audience would be like? And did their reaction differ from the one you had in your head.

A: I feel like everyday,I keep hearing people speak about the project. I mean left to me,I would want the project on a hundred million streams right now but apart from that,I wanted the listeners to see the depth in the project and this has been the case because my core listeners have been hooked on it from first listen. So I feel like they took it the way I wanted it.

Q: You are perceived as a very stylish person,reflects both in your person and your music. If you were to describe your style in three words,what would it be?

A: I would say unapologetic,rebel and Egertton. I say rebel because I feel like what I wear,no one else can wear it. I mean my waist is a size 28 so I can wear anything I want to wear.

Q: You were a child model and you have now morphed into several other things. How do you think your early introduction into the showbiz industry has shaped you?

A: I hated modeling as a kid because it was always a long process. I just go,do my thing and leave but it was nice because I was getting paid. So it helped me loosen up and be more comfortable in front of the camera. I mean,I remember doing an advert for Haier Thermocool and just letting go of my shyness and actually just being myself. So it has really shaped me which is all thanks to my mum.

Q: Is there one thing about your culture you wish you could incorporate more into your music?

A: Yes,the language. I feel like Benin is such a complex language and even when I am speaking the language,I always try to exercise a bit of poetic license with it except for key words or phrases. It is funny because I used music to learn bini with my mom’s help.

Q: You held a listening party for Egerrton. What was the feeling like?

A: First off,the listening party was one of the most stressful days of my life. We had to change location about three times and it was packed. I even had to perform the project from top to bottom 6 times because more people kept coming in. But I was really grateful for that day and it felt really good.

Q: What is the craziest thing you have done as an artist:

A: I feel like working for crazy hours. I mean I have done a session for 10 hours then had 5 back to back shows in the same night. That is probably the craziest thing I have done because I fell sick after that. It also made me realize that body no be firewood.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being an artist?

A: Apart from recording music,I would say performing music. Right from childhood,I have always loved performing and it has translated into adulthood. I genuinely don’t believe there is a better feeling.

Q: What is your pre show ritual?

A: I would always smoke a blunt,then pray,then go on stage.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: That is actually a hard question because I would normally say fries but I don’t really eat that right now so I would say my favorite food is Yam and egg sauce.

Q: If you could say just two lines to yourself from 5 years ago,what would it be?

A: I would just say don’t be in your head so much and keep working.

Music And Moments With Obedo PF & Vicoka

Issue 14.0 May. 2026

Interview conducted by Chiagozie Mbuba Tochukwu 

Design by Chiagozie Mbuba Tochukwu 

Q. Let's start from the beginning. Port Harcourt. Anambra. Two different cities in the East, what was the common thread growing up?

A. Vicoka: The common thread is the hunger. Not hunger like you're greedy, hunger like you grew up watching your mother work herself to the bone and you told yourself her sacrifice cannot be wasted. That is an Eastern thing. Whether you are Igbo, whether you are Rivers, whether you grew up in the city or the village,there is this pressure that comes from home. From family. From knowing where you came from and what it cost for you to be here. Port Harcourt shaped everything about how I see the world. The streets there are real. The love there is real. And the pain there is real. I carry all three.

A. Obedo PF: For me, it was struggle and hope at the same time. Growing up in the East, you already understand early that nothing is handed to you. You either hustle or you stay stuck. That mindset shaped everything.

Q. What did music look and sound like in your household before it became yours?

A. Vicoka: Music in my house was church. That was it. My mum is a woman of faith, so the sounds I grew up around were worship songs, hymns, and gospel. That was the first music I ever truly felt not just heard, but felt in my chest. When I joined the choir at 13, it was not because someone asked me to. It was because that was the only place I felt like myself. Like I was allowed to be loud and emotional and honest all at the same time without anyone telling me to calm down. So before music became my career, it was my church. Literally.

A. Obedo PF: Music was always there church, street, parties. Different sounds, but all emotional. At first, I was just listening, vibing... but deep down, I knew it was more than entertainment for me.

Q. When did you first realize this wasn't just a hobby, that music was actually going to be the road?

A. Vicoka: There was a moment I cannot give you an exact date where I was in the studio and I played back something I had just recorded and I started crying. Not because it was sad. Because it was true. I had said something in that song that I had never been able to say out loud to anyone. And I thought: if this can make me feel like this, what is it going to do to someone who has lived the same thing? That was the moment. I stopped thinking about music as something I did and started thinking about it as something I was supposed to do. There is a difference. One is a choice. The other is a calling.

A. Obedo PF: When I saw that my words were connecting with people. Not just vibes real connection. I when I realized it was the only career path that gave me peace That’s when I knew this thing is bigger than me.

Q. Vicoka, your song "Port Harcourt" hit different because it wasn't just about a city; it was about your mother, your survival. Obedo, your EP is literally called Hope for Ghetto Youths. How much of your music is autobiography?

A. All of it. I do not know how to write any other way. "Port Harcourt" is literally my mother's story. Her walking from Borokiri to Trans-Amadi every day after my father passed not because she wanted to, but because we needed to eat and she was the only one left to make sure we did. I watched that as a child and it broke me and built me at the same time. When I wrote that song I was not trying to make a hit. I was trying to say thank you in the only language I had. The fact that it connected with so many people the fact that people in places I have never been heard that song and cried told me that pain and love are universal. You do not have to be from Port Harcourt to understand a mother's sacrifice.

Q. Talk to us about the moment you decided Lagos was where you needed to be. Was it a plan or were you chasing something you couldn't name yet?

A. Vicoka: Honestly? I was chasing something I could not fully name yet. Lagos was not a plan written on paper. It was more like a pull. You reach a point in your career where you have done what you can do within your current walls and you feel the ceiling. And Lagos does not have a ceiling or if it does, it is high enough that you cannot see it from the ground. I needed to be around people who were moving, who were building, who were hungry the same way I was hungry. Port Harcourt made me. Lagos is where I am going to show the world what Port Harcourt made.

A. Obedo PF: I was chasing something I couldn’t even explain. I just knew Lagos is where things happen. It wasn’t comfortable, but I had to come.

Q. Lagos humbles everyone at first. What did the city take from you before it started giving anything back?

A. Vicoka: Lagos took my comfort. I will be honest about that. When you are at home, even if things are hard, you have a context. People know you. Your street knows you. Your mum is somewhere nearby. Lagos does not care about any of that. Lagos meets you as a stranger and keeps treating you like one until you prove otherwise. It took my sense of certainty that feeling of knowing how things work. In Port Harcourt I understood the codes. In Lagos I had to learn everything again from scratch. But I think that is also what makes you grow. Discomfort is not punishment. Sometimes it is preparation.

A. Obedo PF: It took comfort. It took peace of mind sometimes. Lagos will test you mentally, financially, everything. But that same pressure built me.

Q. There's a particular kind of hunger that comes with being Eastern in Lagos, you're not from here, you have to prove yourself every time. Do you feel that pressure in your music, or do you use music to escape it?

A. Vicoka: Both. I feel the pressure and I pour it into the music, which is also how I escape it. When I am in the studio and I am recording, I am not thinking about who doubts me or who does not know my name yet. I am thinking about the truth I am trying to say. But that truth is shaped by the pressure. "Peace" exists because I needed peace. I was not writing from a place of having arrived I was writing from a place of still fighting. Still searching. That is what makes the music honest. I am not performing emotions. I am processing them in real time and letting people watch.

A. Obedo PF: Zero pressure though but if there’s one, i use it as fuel. I don’t run from it. That pressure is what gives my sound that edge.

Q. The irony is that some of your most Lagos-sounding music is still deeply rooted in where you're from. How do you hold both things at once without losing one of them?

A. Vicoka: I think the mistake people make is treating those two things as opposites. Lagos and Port Harcourt are not in competition inside me. Lagos is the stage. Port Harcourt is the script. The hustle, the production quality, the ambition that is Lagos energy. But the stories, the emotions, the specific way I describe my mother's walk or the specific grief of losing a father young that is Port Harcourt. That is Rivers State. That is the East. You cannot fake that specificity. And I think that specificity is exactly what makes the music cut through, because in a Lagos market full of music that sounds like everything, something that sounds like a real place and a real person stands out.

A. Obedo PF: Because I never forget where I came from. Lagos is part of my inspiration , but it didn’t change my identity. I carry the East everywhere I go.

Q. Obedo, you've got songs like "Road" and "Focus" that speak to the grind. Vicoka, "Peace" and "Spirit" feel like you're searching for something beyond survival. Are you two actually telling the same story in different keys?

A. Vicoka: I think so. The destination might be different but the road is the same. Spirit was me in darkness, trying to find God. "Peace" is me still in the fight, but fighting with more awareness now knowing what I am fighting for. Survival is where you start. But at some point survival is not enough anymore. You want to live. You want to feel still. You want to wake up in the morning and not immediately feel the weight of everything pressing down on you. That is what "Peace" is about. It is not a victory song. It is a battle cry for something quieter. I think any artist who has been through real things eventually gets to that point where you stop just asking God to help you survive and start asking Him to help you be okay.

A. Obedo PF: Yeah, it’s all one story growth. From survival to purpose. I’m documenting every phase.

Q. You've both worked with Wizard Chan. What does collaboration mean to you? is it community, or is it strategy?

A. Vicoka: Community first. Always. Wizard Chan is not just a feature on a song he is someone I genuinely respect as an artist and a person. When I called him for "Spirit" it was not because I calculated that his audience would add to my streams. It was because his energy matched what that song needed. He understood the weight of it. And I think people hear that they hear when a collaboration is genuine versus when it is transactional. The best collaborations feel like conversations. Like two people finishing each other's sentences. That is what "Spirit" felt like with him. You can hear it in the record.

A. Obedo PF: It’s both. Community first though. You need people that understand your energy. Strategy comes after.

Q. What does success look like from where you're standing right now; not five years from now, right now?

A. Vicoka: Right now? Success is waking up and knowing I made something honest yesterday. It is my mother hearing my music on the radio and feeling proud. It is a kid in Port Harcourt who has never left his street hearing "Port Harcourt" and thinkingsomeone said exactly what I feel. That is success right now. The streams are growing, the listeners are coming, and I am grateful for all of it. But the thing that tells me I am doing it right is not the numbers. It is the messages. It is the person who says this song helped me get through losing my dad. When that happensthat is the whole point. That is everything.

A. Obedo PF: Growth. Real fans. People connecting to my music. That’s success to me right now.

Q. What do you want someone from Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha; another Eastern kid who hasn't left yet, to take from your music?

A. Vicoka: I want them to know that their story is worth telling. Exactly as it is. Not cleaned up. Not Lagos-ified. Not made smaller so that people outside will be more comfortable with it. The specificity of where you are from the way your street smells, the way your mother calls your name, the way poverty looks in your specific neighbourhood that is not a weakness in your art. That is the power. "Port Harcourt" did not go viral because I made it universal. It went viral because I made it specific. And in that specific truth, millions of people found themselves. You are not too local. You are not too Eastern. You are enough. Start from where you are. Tell the truth about it. The world will find you.

A. Obedo PF: Hope. That it’s possible. That where you’re from doesn’t limit you.

Q. Last one. If Lagos is the destination, what's the Eastern in you that you refuse to leave behind?

A. Vicoka: My mother's walk.

I will never leave that behind. That image her on foot, early in the morning, Borokiri to Trans-Amadi, no complaint, no self-pity, just movement that is the Eastern in me. That is the value system. You do not wait for conditions to be perfect. You do not wait for someone to open a door for you. You walk. You show up. You do the thing because the people who love you deserve the result of you doing the thing. Lagos can have my ambition. Lagos can have my work ethic. But that specific understanding of sacrifice of what it means to keep going not for yourself but for the people who walked so you could run that is Port Harcourt. That is the East. And I am carrying it everywhere I go.

A. Obedo PF: The Igbo blood in me My hunger. My resilience. And the way I see lifer aw, real, and unfiltered. That can never leave me.

 

From The Studio To The Spotlight With Anabel Rose

Issue 7.0   Mar. 2026

Interview Conducted by Kolade Motirolaoluwa

Designed by Chiagozie Mbuba

Q. Can we get an insight into who Anabel Rose is?

A.  My name is Anabel Rose, and I'm half Filipino and half Ghanaian. I categorize myself as an alternative pop artist because I love experimenting with the genres I grew up with—I don't like being boxed in. My music focuses on emotions and vulnerability, especially my own. I grew up in Ghana and have only been to the Philippines a few times.

Q. You are what a lot of people would call a young prodigy as you started singing at the age of 8. What would you say led you into the creative space?

A. I started singing at 8 because, as someone with Filipino roots, singing is just in our blood. I loved Celine Dion and all the classics as a child. I was already enrolled in guitar classes at a young age too. Although I was performing, I didn't really see myself heading into the creative space until I became an adult. My first dream was actually becoming a scientist.

Q. As an artist of two nationalities, do you think your growing up as a part of two cultures influenced your craft?

A. It definitely has. Growing up with two cultures in my house gave me an early appreciation for both, and that translated into me fusing a lot of different influences into my music. It also helped add depth to what I create.

Q. As an Alternative Pop Artist,what influenced your style of music?

A. I'd say it's just the music I grew up with and trying to stay true to all the things that shaped me. After coming back from school abroad, Afrobeats would have been an easy route to take, but it wouldn't have been me staying true to myself. I love experimenting with my music.

Q. You are set to release a new song titled “Imperfect Daughters”. The title of this song speaks volume,so would you like to share with us the inspiration behind this title?

A. I grew up with music always being in my life and with really supportive parents. But I was chasing the dream of being a scientist because of societal pressure—I needed to make people proud of me. I ended up figuring out that science wasn't for me, although I still pursued computer science. At that point, I had to make a choice between what I felt people wanted and what I actually wanted. The greatest battle I faced was an internal one between myself and my younger self. That's basically where the title came from.

Q. Your style of music as you have always said is to tell a story which I believe was done perfectly on this song. How did the inspiration for this song come about?

A. I wrote this song early last year. My producer sent me a guitar loop, and I immediately recorded a freestyle to it. I think that's what gave it such raw emotion, coupled with the fact that I was in a really volatile space after quitting my 9-to-5. I had so many emotions, and music was simply my only escape. That's where the song came from.

Q. Pieces of Artists are often found in their songs, the melody and the lyrics. Are there pieces of you in “Imperfect Daughters"?

A. Yes, "Imperfect Daughter" is more than just a piece of me, it's literally me opening myself up to people in a completely vulnerable state.

Q. The emotions on “Imperfect Daughters” was raw and heartfelt,even if I say so myself. After writing the song,how was your post recording phase? Were you extremely picky with the beats and all of that? And how did you come up with the finished masterpiece?

A. It was a pretty straightforward process. After the guitar loop was sent, we went to the studio, and I told the producer what I wanted and how I wanted it. So it wasn't really hard to bring my vision to life. From the demo to the final masterpiece was a lot of work, and I'm really excited to see how people receive it.

Q. To all the daughters out there who think they are not enough or think they are a disappointment but are looking forward to listening to Imperfect Daughters,do you have any words for them?

A. Yes, I'm already getting some traction from the snippet. What I would say to anyone is: always put yourself first and listen to that voice inside of you. Even if your dreams feel scary or like they're too much, just keep going.

Q. The cover art and rollout for “Imperfect Daughters” has been impeccable so far. How did you come about the idea for the cover art?

A. I knew the song needed to lean heavy on nostalgia since I'm telling my story. I usually like to do random things for my cover art, but this song felt so raw that I knew I needed to use an old picture of me. The cover is an old photo of my mother and I, and I think it really drives that nostalgic feeling. There's also brown paper in the design, which reminded me of childhood.

Q. Being an artist is hard. However being an indie artist is even harder. How do you cope with the everyday struggles and pressure of being an artist?

A. I think my team grounds me because I'm an overthinker who's always spiraling about the voices in my head. But I'm also the only one who truly knows myself and my journey, which is quite easy to forget. So I always remind myself who I am, and I'm always learning.

Q. You are an artist with an impeccable discography,an amazing talent but has there ever been times when you felt like giving up and how did you handle it?

A. Yes, I've definitely had those moments for different reasons. As an artist, you're playing a long game where the results might not show immediately. Quitting my job and other random thoughts get into my head. Although I don't necessarily think about giving up, I do wonder how to be smarter about my journey.

Q. Writing Imperfect Daughters, what was the hardest emotion to translate into this song?

A. The hardest emotion was acceptance. I don't think anyone ever gets a warning before becoming an adult—we're just plunged into it. So writing this song took me through a lot, but it eventually brought me to a point of acceptance and made me see it as a moment of triumph.

Getting out of my head to write. Most times in studio sessions, even when I have ideas, I often keep quiet. But I'm trying to get out of my head about that.

Q. If this song was a movie scene, what would it look like?

A. For "Imperfect Daughter," I've imagined it in coming-of-age movies—in those scenes where everything is going wrong, and then the song plays and the female lead gets that kick to pull her life together and be where she wants to be.

Q. What should your Fans and lovers be expecting from you in the future?

A. "Imperfect Daughter" is leading up to my second EP, which is coming out in the middle of the year, and I'm really excited about it. I'm also working towards my own show at the end of the year.