For the young chanteuse MeenahMo, born Aminat Momodu, music began somewhere between an obsession with lyrics and the poetry she wrote for herself.

As a child, she would sit in front of the television memorising songs, sometimes pausing records to write down lyrics she could not find elsewhere. By 2018, after a friend suggested that she turn her poetry into songs, the idea of making music began to feel less distant.

She eventually made her official debut, in 2020, with Love on Drugs, after spending years writing over YouTube beats and recording quietly. Since then, the Nigerian singer has built her music around a loose RnB backdrop, stretching into pop, reggae and other influences across projects including Toxic and her latest EP, Clean — which attempted to confront expectations around what her music was supposed to sound like.

Outside the studio, MeenahMo lives a remarkably different life as a mechanical engineer, working long shifts while funding and building her music career. It is a balance she knows cannot continue forever, but one that remains noble to her goals for now. With new singles arriving and an album in the works, the singer is increasingly thinking about that point when music will have to become the main thing.

In this chat with Guardian Music, MeenahMo discusses her roots; finding songwriting, learning to trust her sound, relationships, her latest song, WIGD, life as an engineer and why she ultimately hopes to choose music.

When did music become something you consciously wanted to pursue?
It is very hard to say exactly when because everything feels like a domino effect. I did not consciously decide to go into music until around 2018.

I had always loved music. I know every single High School Musical song. When I was younger, I would sit in front of the TV and memorise lyrics. Back then, the internet was not as accessible, so for songs that were not in lyric books, I would play them, pause them and write the lyrics down.

Then I started writing poetry and one day my friend said, “You really love music and you write poetry. Why don’t you try writing songs?” I had never really thought about it. I tried it and I was like, “Wait, this is so fun.” I had also been singing for fun and even entered a singing competition in high school, but nothing became serious until 2018.

What were those early years of actually making songs like?
I would write music and look for YouTube beats that I liked, then sing over them in the study at home. I did not release anything until 2020.

I had recorded a couple of songs and I did not know if they were good enough. They sounded good to me — I would listen and think, “This is a bop” — but I did not know whether I actually had the musicality.
The first song I officially released was Love on Drugs. I really liked it, but I was hesitant because putting your work out there is daunting. Your creation feels like a part of you. That was probably why I stalled for so long. If I had waited any longer, maybe I would never have released anything.

You moved from Toxic into Clean. What changed between those two projects?
Toxic was basically me pulling together songs that I had been sitting on. I had not been consistent with releasing music and I was not very confident in my artistry at the time.

With Clean, I was in a different headspace. There was the obvious play on words: I was Toxic before and now I was Clean, washing myself off. But being “clean” also meant wanting to be free from expectations about what I should sound like, what the music should be or what I should say.

That is why there are different genres on the project. There is reggae, pop and R&B. R&B is still my parent genre; regardless of what influences a song, there is usually something rooted in R&B.

I just don’t like boxing artists into one genre. It does not give you the freedom to see how your sound can mix with something else. Clean was me challenging myself and challenging the idea that I was supposed to be one thing.

Are you still in that experimental headspace?
Not really. I think I have found my sound now. I know what I want to sound like, what resonates with me and what I want to say.

I still don’t want to be boxed into sounding a particular way. I want things to remain fresh. I want to draw from experiences, life and the different kinds of music I listen to.

So some of the songs coming next might not be pure R&B, but you will still hear R&B somewhere inside them. I am also putting an album together and I want to release a lot more music.

What inspired “WIGD”?
A man. God, that’s the worst thing to say! [Laughs.]
I think when you are experiencing relationships and navigating dating, you are not only trying to understand another person. If you are doing it properly, you are also learning things about yourself.

I used to feel like love was something you had to earn. Like, if I do this correctly, or become this perfect version of myself, then I will be wanted.

There was someone who was very avoidant, and I kept thinking, “What do I have to do to make you understand that I’m actually here and I want something real?” That is where the question came from: what do I have to do?

I learnt a lot about myself from that experience and about how I navigate relationships. My mindset is very different now. What do I have to do to make you love me? Nothing. I don’t want to prove my love or myself to anyone anymore. If you get it, you get it.

Away from music, what does an ordinary day look like for you?
My day job is engineering. I’m a mechanical engineer and most times I’m on the field. I usually work on-site from Monday to Thursday and work from home on Fridays.

I’m basically grinding so I can have money for the music because music is my ultimate goal and passion. I work around 10 or 11-hour shifts. Work starts around 6 a.m., so I’m usually awake by five.
It gets hectic. I try to find little pockets where I can write or record, while also trying not to burn out.

Outside that, I like yoga and moving my body. I love listening to music. I always have my AirPods in. I also used to read a lot. I’ve probably read every Chimamanda book; she’s literally my icon.

Do you see yourself continuing to balance engineering and music in the long run?
At some point, there will be a crossroads and I will have to choose one.

My hope is that I get to choose music. That is why I’m really keen on releasing a lot of music and pushing myself, just to give myself that fighting chance.

I don’t know if I would feel fulfilled if I did not choose music. I think there would always be that thought in my mind, some sort of regret. I just really love it.

What do you ultimately want people to experience through your artistry?
First and foremost, I try to live in my truth. I try to be honest and open.

I’ve realised that a lot of people don’t like the truth or confrontation. They don’t necessarily want honest discussions about real life. For my artistry, I want to bring some truth into it.

I don’t want to just be an artist performing for an audience. Entertainment is part of music, of course, but I want to bring my authentic self into what I do and speak about things that people genuinely feel.
We have more collective experiences than we realise. Everybody goes through things and sometimes we just power through them.

I want to represent realness and authenticity. I want to bring myself into everything that I do and maybe inspire other people to do the same. If people have called you weird, embrace it. Our differences make us more unique than trying to conform and be like everybody else.

I want people to look inward, reflect and find answers for themselves. I just want to be real.