Nigerian born singer, Nneka, isn’t a household name the U.S. yet, but with an incredible voice, uncompromising lyrics and a passion in her music rarely heard nowadays, she’s well on her way.
Born to a Nigerian father and German mother, the young singer first gained recognition for her talents while in Germany, where she relocated to study at the University of Hamburg. With a string of critically acclaimed albums, sold out performances to packed audiences across Europe and incredible word of mouth, Nneka is steadily showing that true talent can still succeed in this day and age without a huge marketing dollars.
Now, on her first American tour, Nneka will be touching down in University City’s World Café Live for what is sure to be an amazing performance. We were able to catch up with her in the midst of her hectic schedule for an interview in which she candidly discusses her adjustment to the German lifestyle, the artists that inspire her and the challenges of carrying a socially conscious and political message in her music.
N: Hello. Good evening.
P: Good evening. Thank you for doing this interview. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your hectic day.
N: My pleasure. Thank you for your support.
P: How long have you been in the US?
N: So far, for the past four or five days.
P: Is this your first time here?
No, this is my third time. I’ve never performed before, though. The day before yesterday was my first time performing, in New York.
P: How has performing here compared to the shows you’ve done in Europe?
N: Difficult to say because in Europe I do bigger gigs and bigger venues. I performed at Joe’s Pub, which is a very intimate place. You have people sitting there drinking their wine and eating food and at the same time listening to your music. My music is not that entertaining; it’s more social/active, political and that kind of music. Conscious music. I must say, for the fact that you had those guys there drinking their wine and eating their food, I had the impression that they were very attentive and Joe’s Pub is a place that gives you space to express yourself and talk and develop a personal connection or relationship to the audience. Actually, it went well I must say. Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve been that close to my audience.
P: Compared to the shows you normally do at the bigger venues, do you prefer the smaller ones? How big are the shows you normally do?
N: We play 1,500 to 2,500, so yeah, big things. We used to do a lot of smaller stuff back in the days when I was not that big in Europe. For instance, in Nigeria, I played a lot of [shows] similar to Joe’s Pub. I play in small places. I think it’s actually more effective because then you’re able to express yourself and people understand who the person is behind the music.
P: What originally got you into making music and how did that evolve into what you’re doing now?
N: I used to do music back home in Nigeria but not professionally and I didn’t really have the opportunity financially to go into music. For the first time I travelled out of Nigeria, that was in the year 2000, and I left for Germany. I moved to Germany on my own so that kind of made me more independent and triggered me into getting to know myself better for the fact that I was alone. I had to understand the German mentality, their system and their way of life. I was very much on my own so it made me find a relationship to myself and at the same time use music as therapy, to maintain my mental state of mind. To keep me going.
P: Would you say that was a pretty difficult time in your life then, to be alone in this new place?
N: Not that I was never alone before; I was always alone. I’m a very lonely person whether I’m with people or without people and I think that’s one thing that makes me who I am. I thought I would find freedom, you know? Freedom in the sense of getting to know myself and getting to live my life where I would not think of what I was going to eat the next day. Where I would not think of if I would survive. That was the main thing on my mind and I thought it would be easier in Germany. I think you were right in saying that was a difficult time in my life because I never had anything to do with Germany before I moved. For me to learn the language, to understand their mentality and to cope as a Black person was very, very challenging. Yes, you’re right. It was difficult. It is.
P: You’ve expressed in past interviews that it was a sort of culture shock moving to Germany. I know you’ve only been here for four days and had a few trips in the past, but how would you compare America to Germany and both of those to Nigeria?
N: I think in America…people are very outgoing here. People like family things. They like being with their families and are very jovial and friendly. Sometimes I don’t understand if the friendliness is honest or just for show, but they are more outgoing compared to Germans. Germans are very reserved, very for themselves. Nigerians on the other hand are quite similar to Americans when it comes to family and celebrating festivities and sharing. That is something I kind of miss despite the fact that in my own family, personally, we did not have that too much even back in Nigeria. But I have friends who experience that kind of life so I was able to tap a bit of that experience from the families of friends.
P: What artists would you say inspire you to create music?
N: There are many of them. Fela, of course. Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Afrobeat legend. People like Bob Marley, of course. Then you have other Nigerian singers like Victor Olaiya or King Sunny Adé. These people are very straightforward in their music. Very political, very direct to the government because Nigeria is known as a very chaotic and corrupt place, so you had these people stand up and speak to our government, speak to the common man and take the message across Africa, outside of Africa. And also, how do I say, they were more like activists. More conscious. Those are the people I did look up to. Of course there are more influences. Nina Simone for example. I love hip-hop. I love Mobb Deep.
P: Mobb Deep?
N: Yeah. Despite the fact that they didn’t have a political message and they’re quite brutal in their raps. But I understand. I understand them; I understand where they’re coming from. There’s a lot of love within their music.
P: You recently released an EP, The Uncomfortable Truth, in the United States and also have a full-length album coming out here early next year. Can you tell us a bit about those records?
N: The tracks from the EP are going to be on the album as well. The album is called Concrete Jungle and it has 12 tracks. It’s very full of love. It’s very simple and authentic. You have tracks such as “Heartbeat” that stress issues such as exploitation of Africa, what role America and Western World plays when it comes to Africa at present. Then you have tracks that have to deal with the Naija Delta, that is the area that I come from, and the oil conflict, the role and the responsibility of the companies like Shell and the corruption that happens, the bribery within that area and between Africa and Europe. Then you have other issues that have to do with love in general, how to make change, being part of change. Not just talking about change alone but being an active part of it and so on and so forth.
P: Considering you speak a lot about change and dealing with issues of corruption, it would seem that there would be people in positions of power that wouldn’t want you to get that message out. Does anybody ever tell you “oh, you shouldn’t say things about that”?
N: Yeah, I’ve had many of those conversations. Even the press, sometimes they’re very careful with me because they’re like, “do you really want to say that?” or “do you really want us to publish that?” etcetera, etcetera. So yes, I do have my challenges, but this is something I do passionately.
P: For people in America just getting a taste of your music or for those who haven’t heard it yet, how would you describe it?
N: My music is very simplistic and honest. It’s unfiltered, it’s undiluted. It’s unpolluted, it is heartfelt and it is love. For you to be able to categorize it the way the world would want to categorize it, it’s a mix. There’s Afrobeat, there’s hip hop, reggae, there’s soul elements, there’s African traditional influence as well. It’s very versatile and very diverse.
P: Well, thank you again for this interview and I look forward to seeing you perform in Philadelphia.
N: Thank you. One love.
You can catch Nneka tonight at World Café Live. Tickets are available online and at the World Café Live box office for $13. The show is 21-plus and starts at 10:30 p.m. For more on Nneka, check out www.nnekaworld.com.
Buy "The Uncomfortable Truth"
