An upcoming Nigerian Afrobeat musician Tobechukwu Ukairo, also known as Dopeman Twizzy, is aiming to take the Nigerian music industry by storm.
The 23-year-old, who has a B.Sc in sound technology and digital music from Oxford Brookes University in the UK, told Daily Trust that his music is unique and is appealing to most Nigerians.
“My style is Afrobeats, I say this because it is rooted in African music,” he said. “But my personal experiences for example; places I have lived [UK, Canada, Nigeria], studying music professionally etc. Things like that influence my style and make it unique to me. You can’t find my vibe anywhere else.”
Dopeman Twizzy, who has been in romance with music since when he was 11, recently dropped a single, titled “Solo“, which he said is doing well in the market.
He has other tracks like; Bumbastic, Have sense, Tonya Tonya and Tonto which are equally enjoying playing time.
“I have had a lot of good feedback and I see myself further than when I started putting out music just over a year ago.
“My target has been to be consistent over the last few years. I aim to make visible progress consistently as far as streams, following, reach etc. It is all accumulative,” he said.
The upcoming star, who acknowledged that Nigerian artistes are doing well, however said none of them inspires him, adding that his style is mainly influenced by that of Michael Jackson, Future and Led Zepplin.
Speaking specifically of Davido and Whizkid, he said; “they are both hard working and talented artistes but I often look outside of Nigeria for inspiration, it’s a way of making sure my vibe is unique.”
Dopeman Twizzy, who is from Abia State but resides in Lagos, urged the Nigerian government to invest more in education in order to improve the country’s entertainment industry.
“Perhaps, because I am Nigerian myself, for me I think it’s just a matter of catching up in terms of utilizing the internet to spread music. A significant percentage of the population is not really technical savvy yet and that may take a little time.
“As for the government, the more the country progresses in terms of education and financial equality, the easier it will be for music to travel round quickly.”