Nigerian singer FAVE spotlight is about to get much bigger, but it’s a well-deserved reward for her work. The 24-year-old has notched plenty of big moments in the early moments of her career. One of her biggest moments came last year thanks to “Kante,” her collaboration with Davido for his Timeless album. FAVE has also worked with the likes of Phyno, King Promise, Simi, Ajebo Hustlers, and more. It all comes off the strength of her debut EP Riddim 5 released in 2022.
Now FAVE is back with her second EP Dutty Love. With seven songs to its name, FAVE uses the new EP to examine and dive into the various relationships in her life — both platonic and romantic. The highs, lows, and confusing middles are things FAVE pulled from to create this new project which graces ears with a strong blend of R&B, afropop, afrobeats and dance. “I know how hard it is to pull yourself out of a love situation that doesn’t work anymore,” FAVE said about Dutty Love. “I hope people relate to the stories in these songs. I hope it’s a wake-up call to know when to let go. And when you reach that point, put on this EP.”
With Dutty Love out in the world, Uproxx found some time to chat with FAVE who is this week’s Uproxx Music 20 artist. Scroll down to learn more about FAVE’s inspirations, aspirations, and influences.
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What is your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory of music is from way way back, I can’t remember what age exactly, but church would probably be my earliest memory of music, been in the choir since I was six and then my father also had this old school collection of music in his laptop that I’d always sneak and go listen to or sometimes he would listen to them, songs like “Give Me Tonight” by Shannon.
I listen to Shannon a lot and “Jam On It,” I’m trying to remember the artist name. I think I always attribute this song by Sky B “Am calling” as one of the very first Nigerian secular music I ever listened to or remember listening to, it formed like such a foundation.
Who or what inspired you to take music seriously?
No one, I don’t think anyone inspired me to take music seriously, I think I inspired myself to take music seriously. I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t going to let anything slow my decision. But I can say that I definitely got a couple of inspirations from artists that I listened to growing up. I think I’d say I inspired myself to take music seriously because I knew for a fact that I had a talent, I knew that I had a voice, and I was super super confident in myself and I guess the thoughts that I needed people to hear me, hear the things that I had to say, hear my voice. I think that’s what inspired me to take music seriously. Although I had music inspirations, artists that I got inspired from like Adele and Sia. Although I had these people to look up to, it would only have inspired me to start music in the first place, but taking it seriously that was all me.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
I don’t know how to play an instrument, I would love to know how to play the guitar or the piano or the rumba. I don’t know if that’s a type of instrument but the rumba drums.
What was your first job?
I was a makeup artist, I went to school, learned how to do makeup artistry. I took classes and when I started up in the university, I’d take jobs for makeup.
What is your most prized possession?
My voice.
What is your biggest fear?
I guess my biggest fear is being an underdog forever.
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
I would probably rest, let me put it this way, I’d stay indoors, watch movies and binge-watch shows, cook and eat, and totally be away from my phone or social media or better still, I would go to the cinema and watch all the movies for that day. Oohhhh with unlimited resources??? I’d probably order a lot of snacks, a lot of food, and watch a whole lot of movies.
What are your three most used emojis?
😘, 😡 (because I express so intensely, so even if I say I love you, I have to use the angry face emoji), and ✨.
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
That Adele feature, I need that so bad because she doesn’t just hop on like anybody’s song.
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
Bridgerton because I just love how dramatic the show is, anyone who knows me knows I like a little bit of over expressiveness where someone could say one sentence, in Bridgerton that same sentence could be said in five different ways and then there would all these emotions from the music that is playing in the background or from their eyes or from how long they let moments linger. So definitely Bridgerton because I love love.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
I respect and admire Lady Gaga so much. I feel like she’s an icon, I feel like she’s a culture mover, a culture maker and a culture shaker. She is one of the custodians of culture I guess, she’s a whole movement, she inspires me so much, in her performances, the kind of music that she makes, it was very different, very raw. I just used to feel so connected to her art and personality. I feel like she feels things as deeply as I do and she’s not afraid to say whatever she’s thinking or to say her mind.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
No one can ever change my mind about indomie being the most terrible food ever or I could say I would always die on the hill that we should all try new things and experience new things rather than staying in the comfort of culture or habits that we are familiar with because how does one ever really know if they love something, if they never really try anything else and if that’s the only thing that they know and this goes far and wide for even the simplest of things like trying new food, picking up new hobbies etc.
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
I wouldn’t say it’s the best song but it’s one of the best songs, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. The first time I heard it was in Stranger Things and I just could not, not Shazam the song. It’s such a beautiful song, it’s such a holy song, it’s such a righteous song, it’s just so deep. I feel like it gave me goosebumps the first day that I heard it and it never stops giving me goosebumps and it also inspires me to make the type of music that talks about the God factor but not in a religious way.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
I’d say that I had one of my best shows in Kampala and it was a show that I headlined, the energy was amazing. Then a city that I’d really love to perform at but I have not performed at yet is Paris. I would really love to perform in Paris because I feel like I have a lot of fans in Paris.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
Eminem has to be there, Adele has to be there, Drake has to be there, Nicki Minaj has to be there then number 5, I honestly don’t know who this spot is going to, oh Rihanna.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
I would be getting ready for law school and to write the bar exam or in addition to that, I would also be doing something creative on the side.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
I would love to see 5 years into the future because if I pick to go 5 years back and redo my mistakes or try to do things that cost me problems or issues, if I choose to do stuff like that differently there is no guarantee that it still would not result in a fucked up situation or there’s no guarantee that the outcome would be better than it previously was before I came back. So it’s like it doesn’t really change anything, that’s still a gamble but if I’m able to go forward in the future to see what my future would be, like the things that have brought me to that point then I would be able to make better decisions and better choices for my future.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
I’d say because it got my heart broken, I’d remind my 18 year old self to not be too quick to give your all to someone just because I got my heart broken, that’s all I’d tell my 18 year old self. Besides that I don’t think there’s any advice I’d give to her that she didn’t already know when I was 18 or when she was 18, oh yeah when I was 18 or when I was her.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I’d probably feel on top of the world because that would mean that I made it and my dreams came through.
Dutty Love is out now via Bad Habit/Atlantic Records. Find out more information here.