Naija’s Got Talent and Leading The Pack of This New Generation is… TLO!
Ever heard of the Country called Suriname? No? Well, I guess we all are in the same shoes. But come to think of it, how did DAVIDO get an invite to perform there in 2019? That Billion Dollar question is yet to be answered till today! That’s the power of the Afrobeats genre and the testimony of how far it really has gone.
From Accra to Addis Ababa to London. From the Kenya city of Mombasa to Cape Town to New York, all things could sound and look so different from each other except for the sound of the latest world revelation… Afrobeats! If you begged to disagree, please ask CKay, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage and the rest.
With the abundance of natural resources at Nigeria’s disposal, it’s safe to add ‘Afrobeats’ to that long list as Nigeria’s finest talents have exported the genre to the unlikeliest of places in the world, selling out concert arenas and making even the ‘Oyibo’ people jump at every sound of the music.
And as Nigeria enters a new phase of music revolution, a new crop of emerging talents are taking up the baton and one person leading that line is TLO (real name Ogheneochuko Orugbo), a 25-year old Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer.
One thing that strikes about TLO is his unmistaken identity and ability to do all things all by himself as an artiste and a producer, writing his lyrics in his own way and on his own terms. It’s also worthy to note that TLO’s rhythmic abilities is none that cannot be compared with any other. “My songwriting, rhythm and having a good ear for beats are the things that stands me out from the rest”, he says as we sit down to have a short chat over some cups and drinks inside his studio.
Having dropped a debut single ‘Heartbreaker’ in 2021, TLO spoke about the uniqueness of that record and says ‘being different’ from every other artist is the goal as he does not want to see himself being boxed into the corner of one genre. “I am versatile and I don’t want people to see me as a one-way artist. I could rap on a record now and you’d forget I am even a singer. That’s how versatile I am”, he says.
The burgeoning singer talks about his early days of rapping, taking influences from the likes of M.I Abaga and Lil Wayne before switching to singing and he’s never looked back since. Having grown up in a family of music lovers, TLO talked about how he was fully supported by his parents and siblings in the journey to stardom, “a rare thing for parents these days”, he says.
“We still dey hustle o” were the words when asked about how he promotes his music in conjunction with Slesh Music Worldwide, his affiliate record label. For TLO, pushing and promoting his music has been one of the major challenges for him as an artist, something he’s gradually getting a hang of.
When asked about what his dream collaboration would be in Nigeria, there was a long silence and a chuckle before the name WIZKID popped up and in his words ‘Wizkid is the one I’d really love to have on my record” while he also picks out Bryson Tiller as his dream international collaborator.
A New single and possibly a debut body of work (An EP) will be dropping from the artist in the coming months and he’s really pumped up for what is to come. “I really cannot wait to share all the music I’ve been working on”, he says even as he continues working in the studio.
As he steps out of the studio, TLO has one final thing to say to everyone in the industry “please, treat emerging artists with respect and support them”, the singer as he reiterated the singles and projects dropping from him as not something anyone should me. “Stay with me, guys and thank you for the support”, he says.
