The crowd was shrill with excitement as he clutched the mic. Donning a stylish two-piece jumper and Timberland boots, Laime (pronounced Lah-e-meh) stole the hearts of his ecstatic fans, on Tuesday, as he performed his songs back to back at his ‘Naughty by Nature’ live concert. Cocooned under the cozy lights at Kevwe and Cam’s set at Grenadines, in Victoria Island, Lagos, the friendly crowd was steeped in the enigma of the Port Harcourt native who’s made a mark in Nigeria’s pop-fusion scene for over a decade.
Born Bennibor Onisolaime, Laime has been an active player within Afrobeats, best known for his gritty vocals and emotive pop tunes. Like in his latest EP, ‘Naughty By Nature’, Laime has soared with a shining musicianship, where he fuses the nostalgic vintage pop similar with the sonic shift of the 2000s and soothing instrumentation of new-age Afro-fusion.
Signed to Apex Village, the young popstar unpacks an exciting delve into his experience with love, friendship, survival, depression and general life, in the 8-tracker record. He taps fellow industry mavericks including Psycho YP, Odumodublvck, DanDizzy, and Lojay, to curate a euphoric tracklist that reverbs with energy from top to bottom.
In this chat with Guardian Music, the Nigerian superstar peels layers on his creative muses, his come-up journey, making bathroom bangers, and racing to become a force majeure in the next chapters of Afrobeats.
How do you feel about dropping this project right now?
To be honest I feel good. We thank God that I got it done and dusted because it was a long process, I made like two versions of particular project and a lot of people don’t know about that. I did one version then I had to do another one because I started working with Spellz. So, I just picked some certain songs that I liked, and I replaced some songs from the last one.
How long have you been on this project?
To be fair I really don’t know how to answer that particular question, the right question is how long have I been working on each version. The first version, I have been on the first version for a year and some months. But the last particular set of songs that I picked, were over the course of five months or six months, but let’s just say the course of a whole year. It’s not as long as the first initial one, the first one had Buju on it, and that was a song from last year earlier but I took it out and put it on another project for later. So, those type of changes were made while I was trying to get everything together before I put it out.
I like the whole creative directions for the vibe, it’s like this is your vibe, the whole art direction.
Yeah shout out to Bidemi Tata. Bedemi Tata is the one that did the art designs, he is very good.
What is the vibe with “Naughty by nature” first of all Why is it Naughty by nature?
Speaking from my own angle, I’m very stubborn normally. Naughty by nature is like a term where, I heard it somewhere when me and my friend was having a conversation. He was trying to define me “oh don’t mind Laime he is naughty by nature”, I told him to say that again. I have heard it before, but I haven’t heard it in this type of line, let me do something around that particular concept. I have had it in my mind for three years now to be honest. I always wanted to record a project and the name of this particular EP I’m going to work on, make we do am like this.
There are some songs like “Wednesday” that gives me that vibe, you have this sort of range where you still have songs like “Seven in the Morning”.
Personally, the way you listed it, that “seven in the morning” those are the types of songs I would like to listen to. But you know you can’t really forget that man Dem still dey and you want to listen to wedding day, All my life, all the time. When there is Seven in the morning, Science, Ololufe, that’s my type of songs. Me and babes na five and six, I see a lot of things with different people I get in situationship with (3:48). Those type of sounds, this type of sound that gives you that type of good vibe. It sounds like something you can play if you are in South Africa driving, and you are seeing the water. That type of song that makes you travel with your mind. I try to intentionally make sure that I make music in that particular line, that “Seven in the morning” is a whole journey about how, it has it’s own story line basically about how my last particular relationship went. And it’s very relatable at the same time, because every boy has that particular quarrel by seven in the morning and things like that I did put Lojay on it. Because initially that “Seven in the morning”, the funny story about that song is not even my own song, it was a song that Lojay recorded two years ago in my former house.
You know one of this songs when your friend just record and does not rate the song so, I had it in my brain for the past two years because it was two years ago. But it feels so long ago though, it’s like two years and some months it was a while ago this was before Lojay was doing any dropping. Me at that point I told him this song is nice, but I know Lojay I’d going to forget about that song for the rest of his life, so I linked with the producer again Mike misan this year. And told him how far, I sang the melody for him, he said song wey dey no care about the jam, I say wetin una dey talk you want to sleep on the banger. I told him let’s redo it, I disturbed the producer for about one month because I don’t want to do it somewhere else. Then he said okay let’s do it, and I recorded the song by myself and sent to Lojay, and he said this one na banger make you just dey come my house here, I don come back from Yankee just dey come my house before you go blow with this jam now. So I pulled up to his side and we did “seven in the morning”.
Yourself and Lojay have this chemistry, how did you guys meet?
Telz was actually speaking to Lojay. I didn’t know where Telz knew Lojay from. One day Telz told me, “E get this guy I wan make you meet I fit see una go vibe.” He played me his stuff and I followed him online. But I still didn’t even go to see the Lojay. Then one day Telz was around our house in Ajah, and he took me to Lojay. From there we found ourselves always vibing.And at that point, I knew Lojay could sing. I’m the type of person that, if I jam person wey get talent I go know.
For me since school, since we were in Babcock BNXN was my bunk mate in Babcock, he was my junior by one year. And in Babcock I was already dropping songs, and everybody already knew me for music. Buju don’t use to actively record music, but under my bed, imagine say you dey wake up for morning you dey hear person say he dey sing, I would say guy abeg try go studio now, go live go sing. That type of thing was the same with Lojay, when I jammed Lojay I said omo this boy can sing o, he can go a long way. As at that time we just made so much music together, from one of those projects, there was a project that was meant to be a joint project with me and Lojay. But Lojay is this kind of person that, Lojay can hoard music and me I like to drop, so at that time he doesn’t think he wants to drop song and I said no wam. I’m going to collect three songs from your project, and our manager that time asked what I’m doing, you want to put someone on three songs, and I told him no worry this boy go blow one day no worry. I always believe in his sound, I have always have it in mind that Lojay will blow, and it’s not like we talk everyday it’s just always love-hate because we dey always fight, but na my guy.
When did you start picking up influences in music?
I would say when I started picking up influences in music is as far as back as Iceprince. Iceprince has always been my favorite Nigerian artiste of all time, not only music wise but, when Iceprince came to the game, there was nobody like Iceprince. Iceprince was the artiste that artistes wanted to meet and the fact that nobody can argue with this thing anytime I bring it up. Personally he is my friend and all but, he is that person who made me know I’m doing something right. From all that time I really liked MI and those guys. I like what chocolate city really did at that time; everybody wanted to be a choc boy. I’m sure even you, you will want to be a choc boy, I always knew that omo me I wan do music.
When did you start professionally recording music and dropping them?
Professionally let’s say maybe when I was playing not just professionally, I can’t really call those ones recording. But as far back as when I was in 200lvl, that is how many years ago? I should have been recording music in the past six years, if not seven. Yeah it’s a while ago, I have been recording since as far back as I could remember. I had to actually be good, and I didn’t have much time to write. I have never been someone that writes music, I no dey write song keep am. I rather you just play the beat and I just fix out something and everytime I do it continuously, I don’t like to write songs.
You are always reppin Port Harcourt. What’s the vibe like down there?
Portharcourt is a place where, if you from Port Harcourt e no get as far as you wan go, they will always know you are from Port Harcourt. The Portharcourt in you will always scream and that says a lot about the place, because it’s place that people don’t know much about if you ask me. Because there is so much that goes on in Portharcourt that the rest of Nigerians doesn’t even know what is going on, it’s a different place where na different hustle you gats dey serious. And at the same time everybody is smiling the situation of life is not that easy, that hustle spirit naturally is already inbuilt, that is the natural extinct of a Portharcourt guy, you have to hustle you no fit carry last.
I was born in Port Harcourt I grew up in Port Harcourt for four years, and I came to Lagos I have always been in Lagos till I started, till I grow up obviously I was going out of the country a lot to America, London and stuff. When I started growing up with my own brain to my own knowledge, that was when I started going back to Abuja, River State for video shoots. I have always seen a lot that is going on, and I come from a family where I have a lot of aunts, uncles because my grandfather had a lot of wives. I have just always been I just want to represent the set of people wey them dey tell you say you no fit do am, because at the end of the day everybody is going to have an opinion about you, or a million thing to say about you. I always want you to know that whenever you hear this particular song, you are going to feel so better about yourself you get what I mean.
My whole artistry is built around that, that is just basically how my life has always been. Because everybody is always telling me do this, do this one and that, this is how you should do it but there is no particular way on how you should do anything. Just know you have to let one particular light lead you and everything will be fine, and that is what I want my artistry to portray.
What’s next for you now in your career, this next chapter what are we expecting?
What is next, right now I have a lot of music obviously it is ready to be dropped and all. But it is “Naughty by nature” basically I don’t know what the future really holds and that is why I like my own particular thing. Because I just go with, something has to spite that particular inspiration for me to say okay, this is what I want to do. So, right now I know that this year or next year.
Finally, tell us three interesting facts about Laime that your fans would like to know.
Number one I don’t have any music platform on my phone, you know the way you have sportify or apple music on your phone, I don’t listen to music on my phone I don’t listen to music at all. Any song I hear is probably the manager that played it for me or, I heard it in somebody’s car. If you connect me to your car music I would fail you, I have no app except you want to hear only Laime, I have only Laime song on my phone that’s one fact.
Why?
Why I wan listen to another person, imagine person wey dey sell gala, you wan dey collect gala from another person when you can just eat your gala, that’s one fact. Second one is I went to Anambra state for a year, that was where I finished school from. I finished from a University in Anambra. But I initially went to Babcock so I spent a whole year there, imagine growing up in a Yoruba state all your whole life, I have been basically in Yoruba state. I have never really been in Igbo states like Anambra, I never too go east and at the time I went to east, I spent a year because a transferred from Babcock to another school in final year in the east to another school. I was basically banished into the east, because at that time I was telling my father I want to drop out and he throw me down there. I got to Anambra state and I had to learn a whole new culture and survive, for one year and that was one of the sweetest year of my whole years growing up. So, that’s one fact, I was banished. My third one is I don’t really know how to drive, if you give me your car I would bash it. I mean I can drive but I would rather be driven.
