In a country where majority of the thriving musicians are strictly into Afro-pop either because it is their desired genre or because it is a sacrifice they have to make to remain relevant in the industry, we often find ourselves lost in awe for the few artists who have remained true to their craft. These artists are like the Vibranium of the Nigerian music industry and we more than appreciate them for the gift of good music.
Our MCM this week is singer, rapper, instrumentalist, and producer Sute. He first won our hearts with his hit single Mainland Cruise, before going on to bless us with other beautiful singles.
Sute shares his views on music, fashion, movies and his growth as an artiste.
If you have listened to at least one of Sutes songs, then you know that his sound is somewhat distinct from the type of music you often expect from a Nigerian musician. He describes his Music style as:
A fusion of all the music I’ve learnt and been exposed to. There are elements of different genres in the music. This is because I want to make music that has the quality of international music so I can share stages with the biggest artists in the world and play on that standard. Usually I’m finding the balance between what my Nigerian audience likes and what my international audience will like.
Fashion means different things to different individuals; Sute’s philosophy on fashion is pretty straight forward:
Fashion to me is whatever you’re comfortable in and what makes you feel like the best version of yourself when you step out. That’s on one side, there’s also the aesthetic part of fashion that I think is very important. Making sure you have the right colours matching, picking the right fit for the silhouette you’re going for; all these tiny details. Personally, I really like accessories and you can always find me with rings, chains and bracelets.
Staying true to your art irrespective of your chosen carer field is on challenge almost everyone is faced with more often than not, especially if you find yourself in a space where what you are offering might be foreign from what is high in demand. But Sute has managed to stay true to his art by simply focusing on the big picture.
It would be easy to do the type of music everyone is doing for some short-term gratification but I think my music will become less interesting for it. So far, the response to my music has been awesome and I get a lot of love from my fans and we keep growing. This tells me we’re doing something good and we’re on the right path.
Everyone has someone whose creativity they admire and hope to work with someday. For Sute, a select few have earned his respect and we won’t be surprised at the news of a collaboration in the nearest future.
Nigerian artist I’ll like to work with are Adekunle Gold and Asa. I think they are really special and the music we make will be very interesting. Internationally, Kendrick Lamar & Anderson .Paak would be a dream collaboration.
Someone, somewhere, or something often has an influence on an artist’s craft, which helps them find their path as a creative and our MCM has no doubt been influenced by some of the G.O.A.T.
Being a real student of music and musicians, I try and pick up things I like from everyone I listen to (new and very old musicians). This means it’s a long list of artists. But current artists that I’m learning from are Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino, Miguel, Frank Ocean & Hiatus Kaiyote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BawkFQ4DScA/?taken-by=suteiwar
We all have that second profession we love and often see ourselves thriving in if we ever decided to branch out from our current occupations. Sute’s second occupational choice is still within the walls of entertainment and something he is also genuinely passionate about.
Probably be acting and making movies. This is something I will explore eventually. I feel like there are still many Nigerian stories that would look good on the big screen and I’m particularly focused on making period movies and sci-fi/fantasy movies. This is far into the future though.
Sute’s life is pretty simple and he describes himself as:
Someone who tries to learn something new every day and experience new things. I give into my passions because they give me joy but I also try to be very practical so I’m not blinded by them. I’m a huge film nerd and I just love the movie experience cause it’s a mixture of music, photography and moving images. Most days I’m working on music most of the day, catching up on tv shows, a movie or documentary later then crashing. I love to travel and I’m always looking for opportunities to see new places.
There is nothing like a true message to those who truthfully love and appreciate your craft. They make you want to become a better version of yourself and give you so much to look forward to. Sute’s message for his fans is:
To dream as big as possible and chase those dreams every day without distractions. I would also tell them to fight for their happiness because it’s important now more than ever to make sure they do. They fuel my passion to continue with music every day and we’ll all reach our destinations if we continue.
