By Emmanuel Daraloye



Music runs in the family of Miss Akinfolarin Ifeolouwa, my brother who happens to have mastered the art of drumming sent me the link to two of her songs two weeks ago. I was hooked on the first I song I streamed. Titled “Mo Duro," (Wait), Iyanya's “Kukere," might have served as inspiration in the opening seconds; the production took on a life of its own later on. It's a boisterous melange of guitar strings, piano chop, and talking drums. While she attributed the inspiration of the song to God, she was quick to add that it was also based on her personal life experiences.


Nigerians are known for their tenacity, so, I could understand Ifeoluwa's state of mind when she tells me “she was ambitious, driven, principled and doesn't like to be idle.” For anyone eager for success, these ingredients are veritable tools.

The church has been responsible for the development of artistes in Nigeria. Ifeoluwa joins that expanding list. According to her, her singing skill was noticed while she was in the choir “I am only enjoying God's Grace, though it's been from childhood as a little girl in the choir who always caught the attention of people while singing”. With two singles and numerous unreleased songs under her belt, she hopes to take singing to the next level with the help of God.

While comments and encomium have been on the rise for Ifeoluwa, she has been humbled about this, when I asked her how she felt, she was restrained, she attributed everything to God “I am created to worship God and this is the only way I can expressly do it more, It's a God's given gift, I don't own it, it has always been about God's love, His promises, personal messages, and message to others ....so that's the only means to express and connect with the supreme Being who's the owner of all (God)”.


Gospel remains one of the genres in the music industry, while Afrobeats dominates the scene, the gospel is still making headway, and the likes of Tope Alabi, Bola Are, Mercy Chinwo, and now Ifeoluwa Akinfolarin are topping the list.

When I asked her about the state of the gospel scene, she said “It is a powerful force in our culture and a cornerstone of the Christian Media. It has helped in soothing bleeding souls, freeing from slavery, gives hope from constant reminder of a promising future”. However, she appealed to the promoter to make life easier for independent artistes.

Ifeoluwa wasn't forthcoming with an answer when I enquired about her debut album, however, it's glaring that she is taking her time before formally announcing herself to the audience.