Mercy Kosisochukwu Nwankwo professionally known as Just You, Not Everyone (JUNE) held spellbound, attendees at the JUNE Live In August show, which was held at the Ahava Cafe, Wole Olateju Crescent, Lekki, Lagos.
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The live performance marked a significant step for the alternative pop, ballads, jazz, and Indie pop singer who started her romance with music in 2018, performing at comic gatherings alongside Prof. Mc Abbey, Klint de Drunk among others.
  
Called AVR’s First Lady, June’s musical odyssey started in her church choir as early as five, and she continued to work on her endowment in her continuous search for self-improvement.
   
At the university, she joined a music group, a development that led her to meet different people who, in diverse ways, helped harness her gift and firming up the foundation of her music career. Her first song titled, A Song for You was initially made for her mother’s birthday, but she later decided to make it a song for mothers everywhere.
   
Inspired by the reception from her fans and admirers, she put out a project titled Juneisatale, where she talked about her journey, and carving out an identity away from who everyone construes JUNE to be. It was released in June 2021.
 
 Her milestones include being featured on Apple Music’s new music daily, and having slightly over 100 Shazam without promotion. Influenced by Billie Eilish, Mereba, Adele, JUNE said that she writes her best songs in the bathroom, listens to kids talk, and get inspired, watches movies, listens to the soundtrack, and creates her own stories out of the movies.
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Despite JUNE seeking a breakthrough in the Nigerian music industry, the 25-year-old singer said that she just wants to focus on her “thing, being herself and doing good music that will register her into the heart of every music lover.” 
  
A lawyer by training, she sees music as an avenue not only to tell her stories, but that of others.
 
“I have been performing since 2020. I studied law at the University of Lagos. I am doing music because music is me, and I am music,” she stated.  Speaking to The Guardian during an interlude as she performed, she said: “Seven of my family members are here for the June Live In August. I love the challenges, and the stories that come with it. It’s not so rosy, but I love all of it. I am ready for the global stage. My parents do not have any choice but to support her music.”
     
JUNE performed a total of 15 songs which include, The Sojourner’s story, Fly Away, Lonely, Hey June, DIY, Soon, Magic, Ulo, Jah Jah, Good Loving, Ole, Who You Are, 70, Healed, and God’s Monalisa
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One interesting aspect of JUNE Live in August, an event courtesy of The Alte Home, supported by Anthems & Vibes Records, and endorsed by Dark Cypha Entertainment, was the unconventional setting, as fans who graced the show sat on the mat and immersed in the melodious rendition.
   
Speaking on the growth and acceptance of alternative music in Nigeria, the CEO, of Anthems & Vibes Records, Francis Isichei, said: “We have diverse sounds in Nigeria that are still struggling. Afrobeats has been amazing, and it has positioned Nigeria well on the global map and people are making a living out of Afrobeats, but we can’t say that about alternative music. So, my vision is that we come together and create a structure around the genre alternative music) and encourage artistes, and they will start making a living out of it. Alternative music gives us something else to listen to, and vibe to. 
  
“I met JUNE over a year ago and fell in love with her music and I decided to sign her on. She is going to win Grammys; that’s how much I believe in her. We are dropping a body of work titled Anthems & Vibes Vol. 1, and the idea is to showcase the kind of sound that falls within the sphere of alternative music.
   
“I have invested a lot; we are looking for people who can share the burden with us, and make alternatives as big as Afrobeats,” he stated. 
Commenting on the setting, the Manager, Ahava Cafe, Bernard Franklin, said: “Our space is an intimate space that fosters communities of people that want to run intimate concerts, independent artistes, up-and-coming artistes that want to build an intimate audience. The connectivity, the fact that people are happy when they come to this space gives us extra joy.”
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