Phina is the eternal lady of class with a voice of magic. She is a triple threat. Asides that, her voice could make a canary jealous just as her smile could turn the most hardened man into cold water.
She is the next big thing in Naija’s music industry. Phina spoke to city people on her career and the next big hit coming up. Enjoy excerpts..
How did music start for you?
Music started for me at an early age. I got inspired by my Dad, who always sang for and with us at every given opportunity when we were growing up. So I guess I took after him and started singing and making music. My first memories of standing and singing in front of an audience were with 5.
What inspires your style of music?
The inspiration for the style of my music is my roots, what I am, and where I am from. That is what gave birth to my style of music. I’m so privileged and proud to be an African and to be part of the African Rhythm, now we call it Afropop.
Who are your models in the music industry?
Asa, Nina Simone, Sade, Toni Braxton, Waje.
What would you be doing if there was no music
I consider music to be very important for the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of a person, so without music life will be “dark”.
What is your musical inspiration?
Hmmm, I would say a lot, practically the whole world. The world we live in today has so much content that inspires me as a musician. And most of all, God. He is our number 1 inspiration, ‘cos without him (the creator of everything), there is nothing, nothing to be inspired by.
Who are the people you will like to work with?
Smiles, if I tell u that I’ll love to work with all the musicians in Nigeria, it will sound exaggerated, won’t it? But I could imagine that ‘cos these musicians are just so good, I love their vibes, their groove, and their style. But if I have to pick 2 names, they will be:
ASA, Davido
My approach to making music?
When I get inspiration about a song? The first thing I try to do is to get a rhythm and a beat for the song, and then I add some lyrics and work on the different parts of the song (the intro, verses/stanzas, chorus, bridge etc) until I feel good with the song. Then I get in contact with my manager/producer Jmiah @ JME Entertainment with the idea and we work on the song till we have the version of it that finally goes out to the world.
The goal of my music?
This is simple, it is to inspire people around the world and to be a huge positive influence to as many people as possible, mostly to create music that everyone can relate with.
Some of my favorite things?
Music, nature, traveling and laughing
Your background?
My background, in summary, is quite simple, I had a very humble beginning, I was born in Lagos and grew up all over the place (different states in Nigeria) until I ended up in Germany, where I studied and settled down.
I have to mention my parent in this regard because they are the very best in the world. They made it through all the challenges of raising 5 children and taking them all through higher institutions. They invested everything they had into their children, so there was practically nothing or just only a little to spare for every other thing.
Additionally, having the world’s best parents, I must also mention that I am so blessed with the best siblings in the world. Looking back, it was sometimes tough, we didn’t have much, but we had (and still have) everything that matter, we had love, each other (the family), a harmonious relationship with each other, peace, and shared love for our creator.
