LadiPoe: Private Life, Outspoken Music

With the weather in Lagos so hot, amazing, was being picked up by LadiPoe at the bus stop. Interesting was having the interview session in his car. Striking about his clothing was his cap which buttresses when I say he is an acutely private person.

“My private life allows me to create good music, keeps me sane”, he says, “and giving people a window into that life may ruin it”, reminding you of the sensitive plant, touch me not. A directory though will be his music ‘it is difficult to create art that doesn’t have you in it.”

Unlike most rappers, Poe’s music career was never a premeditated thought. It started out in his college years at North Carolina. The people there and the assortment of music in Nigeria influenced his not conforming to a particular genre, “I am a Nigerian, we have, so many sounds here and I don’t want to stick to just one.

Poe definitely brings a breath of fresh air to the rap industry which needs tapping into.

How did you arrive at the name Poe?

My roommate in school at the States could not pronounce my name, mispronouncing it as Ladipoe and because of that, he says, I’m just going to call you Poe, just the end of the mispronounced name. It became so common and took on when my family came to visit and hearing the name, they too called me Poe.

What was it like getting a call from Mavin records?

I find it interesting that people create the idea that being signed to a label is like saving you. However, if you don’t sign a good deal, if you do not know what you want, nobody will have that idea for you. I was however excited to have attracted the attention of Don Jazzy and what he represents.

LadiPoe. Photo: AccelerateTV

What about the future are you most worried about?

Going into the music industry was not something I expected I would have done. Did I make the right choice going down this road? To be doing this, I’m sacrificing something which many people don’t see. We rely heavily on people who don’t fully understand us to be the ones to say if what we do is good or bad.

Finish the sentence, life is too short to tolerate…….

Life is too short to tolerate it. Tolerating life is not living it and being here, sometimes, makes you forget because we are so worried about surviving. Around the time when I was creating T.A.P (Talk About Poe) was a very tough time for me with a lot of stuff going and the project weighing down on me, I told myself that I needed to create a song that would remind me to take time and enjoy life. I feel like I’ve made it, haven’t released it though but will do so this month.

Any bad habit you feel you need to let go of?

Asides procrastination, I need to let go of entitlement that stems from my being talented. I use to believe that my talent alone is enough for me to achieve my goal. But I’ve realised that to do so, you need to have a high level of determination, work ethics, good business acumen and savvy as well as understanding the industry which allows you create the right team which helps you power through bad times.

Thoughts on the election?

Yea, I’m worried about my country. There comes a time where you do not get excused for messing things up and I feel like Nigeria is at the point where, the age we are at, we have to get it right sooner or later because we do not have that many opportunities to getting it wrong. I don’t want us to keep pushing the limit. We need to get it right.