Ebunoluwa Akinyele is a British-Nigerian singer who refuses to settle for an ordinary life. Raised in an environment steeped in music and dance, Ebunoluwa’s inclination towards the arts was evident from an early age. Her dedication was so strong that she even considered forgoing university to audition for The X Factor. Though her father’s influence led her to pursue higher education and enter the workforce, her true calling never faded. One day, while at her desk job, she thought, “This isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Crafting her stage name by combining the first four letters of her first name with the last four of her surname, Ebun Yele was born. As an indie Afro-pop artist, she sings about love and human emotions through her music. Her positive outlook and fearless attitude shine through in her philosophy: as long as she’s passionate about her work, that’s all that matters.
In her conversation with Culture Custodian, Ebun Yele discusses her background, what drives her, and her vision for the future.
Talk to me about your childhood. How did your upbringing shape your journey into music?
I grew up in both Nigeria and England. I did primary education in the UK, secondary education in Lagos, back to the UK for university, and I’m back again in Nigeria for adulting. When I was younger, I was very much into music. I used to have vocal lessons in primary school. Then when I joined secondary school in Nigeria, I was in the school choir. We did like musicals in school and stuff like that. I feel like I have always been singing, even when I asked my parents that question, they said I have always been singing and dancing.
I didn’t want to go to university, I wanted to do music. So I made a deal with my dad that if I got into X Factor, he would let me go and I wouldn’t have to go to uni but then I didn’t get to X Factor, I had to go to uni. That kind of discouraged me and I went through a phase where I stopped making music for a while. I just decided I want to take this as a career while working in construction in London.
How did you get into making music professionally?
In 2020 Beyonce released one of her albums, The Gift. When I listened to it for a second time, for some reason, I just felt like the album was speaking to me and I was like, I really need to do this and live my dreams. I can’t just be sitting at home working a job that I don’t like, that is not for me. It’s not. So I decided then that I was going to start songwriting, I’ll go on YouTube, write music, then with time I found a producer and eventually, I released the song. Then I moved to Nigeria just because of my music, just doing what I can do to get to where I want to be.
Your sound is described as indie Afro-pop. What drew you to this genre?
So I would say Afropop was born from the fact that I love Afrobeats and pop music. And considering that I grew up shuffling between England and Nigeria, I feel like those are the two main genres of music that I’ve been immersed in.
Have you considered exploring Afrobeats?
100%. So that was the main reason why I moved to Nigeria. The next song I have is the first song that I will be singing in Yoruba. I feel like I’m definitely exploring Afrobeats a lot more. My new EP that’s going to come out soon has a lot of Yoruba and all of that kind of influences. And of course, just working with producers in Nigeria is just helping me explore the genre.
Love and desire are recurring themes in your singles, including Bon Appetit released in May. Do these songs stem from personal experiences? What other sources inspire your songwriting?
Yes, 100%. My first song, Underwater is the first song I wrote and it was exactly how I was feeling in the studio that day. Now that I’m not in the UK, I’m not really seeing anybody at the moment. My new music has a lot of vibes. One of the songs is called Fadji, just having fun, you know, hustling, knowing that this is the one life that we’re going to live. My inspiration is mostly from my environment.
Who are the artists in the industry that you admire and draw inspiration from?
Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr, Tems. I really admire them. I see what they’re doing and I feel like they’re doing so much for ladies and Afrobeats. I’m inspired by them. Then there’s Young Jonn, cause I just love the production and his own little storytelling as well. I love Fireboy and Asake as well.
I saw your amazing performance at Hertitude and it got me curious about the first time you climbed a stage, how did it feel?
That is such a good question. The first time I climbed a stage, being Ebun Yele, I was opening at an event called the Africa Centre in London, they also had Ladi Poe perform that day as well. Somebody on his team heard me at soundcheck and asked if I wanted to sing. There were a lot of nerves because I was going to sing my own stuff for the first time, but then I was also excited because I was going to sing with a star (Ladi Poe) for the first time.
How would you differentiate your sound from artists like Dwin the Stoic who are often categorized in a similar genre?
I don’t really want to be compared, but I feel like in life, people always compare, especially if you go into the mainstream and it can even help people identify who you are and if they like you or not. I would say my sound is a lot sweeter. My vocals are a bit girly, you know how a Britney Spears is different from a Gaga because a Gaga is like Rough pop and a Britney Spears is like childish girly pop, I would feel like that’s kind of where I’m heading towards; an Afro Sweet.
You haven’t had major collaborations yet. When you do, who are your top choices for potential features?
I have an incoming song that I feel Teni would sound amazing on. I really hope that I can get her on. And I know Odumodu is so controversial, but there’s this song on the EP that needs to be rapped on. It’s a little bit reggae, and I think that if I had a fire rapping verse, something hard and harsh like Odumodu, it would sound sonically nice.
Internationally, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter in the future. Those two girls right now are my pop girls. So I would love to have international collaborations as well.
What’s on the horizon for Ebun Yele? Can fans anticipate a debut album soon, and what other projects are you working on?
There is gonna be a debut EP. I have the name for it. It’s called Baby Girl Hustle.
It’s meant to play on baby girling in Nigeria, while I’m still working my nine-to-five, still trying to blow with music. I feel very much encompasses who I am right now. So I’m literally coming from one finance interview at my workplace, organizing people and I’m now doing a music interview. It kind of touches on those themes of trying to make it, be a baby girl, have money, have nice things, but also still working for it, that kind of stuff.
