Duke Concept Launches Live Nation Joint VentureEach week in First On, we introduce a shit-hot artist you’ll see opening the bill for your favourite act. This week, TeeZee talks embracing self-love on his debut EP, working with his idols Skepta and Kid Cudi and the “mind-blowing” experience of playing Wireless
If you haven’t heard the news yet, there’s a new government in charge. Leading this regime is Nigerian artist TeeZee, who’s playing a key role in strengthening the position of west Africa’s pioneering alté movement. This alternative scene is home to a host of rule-breaking musicians and creatives, including recent Radar stars Tems and Amaarae, who are determined to break the mould with their work and their identity – on the world stage.
“Yes sir, new government in charge!” TeeZee proudly tells NME about his mission, which is outlined on the triumphant closing track of his debut EP ‘Arrested By Love’ (due early 2022). “It’s definitely a mission statement, so people know that there’s a new wave of young African artists who are sitting on the global space. We don’t want to be boxed, we don’t want to be limited and we don’t want to be put in the corner as just Afrobeat artists. We are artists of the world, but we are from west Africa. That’s super-important to communicate.” Then, to underline his point, he sings the hook from ‘New Government’ over Zoom to NME – TeeZee’s got our vote.
The self-styled ‘Fresh Prince of Lasgidi’, who currently splits his time between Lagos (his beloved ‘Lasgidi’) and London, is aiming to start 2022 with a bang with the vivacious ‘Arrested By Love’. Named after a Nollywood movie he stumbled upon on YouTube during lockdown, TeeZee is keen to spread Nigerian-rooted positivity through his all-encompassing Afro-fusion sound.
“The key themes that I’m addressing are self-love and the different kinds of love,” he explains about the EP. “It was heavily inspired by me watching a lot of vintage Nollywood movies during lockdown, and understanding Nigerian cinematography and how the music was used. The excessive, dramatic use of love in different ranges, too. To me, that’s very Nigerian, and that’s what I want to portray through the music.”
‘Arrested By Love’ is a vibrant, celebratory listen that’s packed full of vibes, voices and perspectives, linking together TeeZee’s alté affiliation with a strong cast list of guest collaborators. As well as Nigerian-American star Davido (who features on ‘Badi’), British-Congolese MC BackRoad Gee and cult London rapper Lancey Foux both feature on the thumping ‘DRK SKN’. 2021 NME 100 cover star Pa Salieu, meanwhile, delivers a typically bombastic verse on EP highlight ‘Ancestors’.
SOURCE : Nme
