Nissi Ogulu represents something more than just a musician. The 26-year-old singer, visual artist and engineer is a hybrid of guts and talent. Born to the musical family of the Ogulus, the young chanteuse has soared in her own unique halo, shining brightly for the risks she takes. 
Nissi had always known she wanted to make a mark in music, even before her brother Damini, better known as Burna Boy, achieved the same feat on a global scale. Since her 2016 debut, ‘Criminal’, the songbird has honed a unique approach to her musicianship. Her music melds influences from Jazz, Soul, RnB, and funk,  most of which she honed from early exposure to music from her grandfather Benson Idonijie, as well as her parents. Intimacy, poignance, and sincerity cloak her catalogue in a poetic fashion, from her pandemic-era debut EP dubbed, Ignite, to her latest opus titled, Unboxed. In Unboxed, Nissi unwraps multiple layers of sonics from Jazz to Soul to RnB, each track brimming with a unique pan-Africanism that tributes her heritage. She dives into themes of empowerment, love and self-discovery, tapping heavyweights such as Teni and Fireboy to helm the record to its full potential. Nissi’s starpower rests in her vocals, ringing through with a sense of self-dependency that is typical with most multi-hyphenates.  Her numerous other enigmatic exploits from designing cars, to executively producing African-themed animations, and global solo art exhibitions all add colour to her radiating drive and has become a beacon of hope for more women in the worlds of arts, science and business. She catches up with Guardian Music, unfurling her creative processes, inspirations behind her latest EP, childhood experiences, as well as her plans to revolutionize society with her art.

How do you feel about the new EP? 
I feel great. I mean, I love this project. I feel amazing. It’s a great project.

How long did you take to make this body of work?
I think in total, I would say, about a year and a half. More songs were made at that time. 

Why is the title Unboxed? 
I wanted it to be a project that really spoke about breaking barriers and embracing all of who you are, or everybody who listens. And even for myself, I wanted it to fully encompass what it means to embrace everything about yourself and then tell the story through music. So even as a genre, and in the message, it touched on characteristics that we all display, basically.

What informed the choice of features?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Fireboy from when he came on the scene. So I think for me, it was always just a matter of time before we did a song together. We found we have mutual respect for one another, we got in contact. Then I went straight to Teni. It was more of a friendship sort of relationship between us first. And then we decided to make the song. I sent her the record and she loved it. She came down to London and then on one of the days where we hung out we went to the studio and recorded.

Do you have specific rituals when making your music?
I don’t know if I have any rituals. However, I have a snack that I kind of always keep around me, which is popcorn. But I don’t know if you call it a ritual. But on the creative process itself, I tend to work more from melodies first. I create the melodies and then after that, the lyrics just flow out. Sometimes it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes it’s just a freestyle, sometimes it’s lyrics first, but more often than not, I like to work on melodies first.

You meld influences from Jazz and Soul a lot in your artistry. Why do you go for that sound? 
While growing up, my relationship with my grandfather who was a music critic exposed me to a lot of classic types of music such as Blues, Jazz, and so on. I listened to a lot of music from Afro B back in the day, Brenda Fassi,Nina Simone, Etta James, and a lot of others. So I had all those influences. And of course, I found my own. I think I pick up music from different places. And they inspire me in different ways even subconsciously, when I don’t know it’s an inspiration it somehow translates. So I would say I just have a very open mind when it comes to music and the types of music that I listen to

What made you confirm your decision to pursue music professionally?
So, I had always been musically inclined from when I was about four years old, playing the keyboard. And then, you know, I really embraced my own voice. And about age nine, a good friend of mine had heard me singing – I think he’s about a few years older than me – and said, ‘Look, let’s try and do something.’ So we went into the control room at church at a time, and then we just started playing and singing and recording. We started with a software called Audacity. And we would go into a quiet room to record something. So that carried on and then I made a demo, when I was 13, to Eddie Jefferson’s ‘Moody’s mood for love.’ Then I played it for everyone. And it was the feedback that made me realize that this is something to be taken seriously. And this is something that will also be taken seriously by me. So I will say my demo at 13 was the deciding factor.

You also studied Mechanical Engineering. Did you ever have any intention to pursue that full-time over music? 
I don’t think it’s a case of if I ever had doubts or wanted to switch. We all go to school. We all have an academic life at the end of the day. So while in school, the subjects that I found to be most interesting and that just aligned with me were physics, math, and chemistry – the subjects that make up engineering.I also did art in school; I had a very weird subject combination. I had Music, Art and Sciences. So it made sense. It was all in alignment. I never stopped making music or art. I did everything at the same time. I’ve always been that way. And I still am.

Do you have a favorite Nissi Ogulu song?
I think that’s a tough question; because as you continue to make music, your favorite song changes. My current favorite is a song that’s not out yet. Another choice – and it is because I was listening to it earlier today – is called ‘Bad Decisions.’ But it’s not out yet. But if I were to give you another song I will probably say, ‘Heavy.’

What’s special about ‘Heavy’? 
The song ‘Heavy’ is really a song about friendship. It’s about me showing appreciation to the people that hold me down. I went to the studio that day. I had a lot of my friends with me. Telz, who’s a notable producer, and a friend of mine was in the studio that day.  I think just having them around and having them be a fantastic support system. 

So, interestingly, you have other things going on for you outside music What made you start the animation studio?
So I have an Animation Studio called Creele Studios. I’ve always been a visual artist. And I’m a musician at the same time. And in parallel to that I’m also in the tech and engineering space. So, for me, growing up in a household where we were always told stories, I realized that a lot of people didn’t have that, especially in the diaspora. And, in Africa, we consumed a lot of content and media that was westernized, basically. So, I wanted to find a way to merge all three worlds that I occupied – music, arts, tech, and storytelling, and animation was the perfect merger. 

How do you feel about the work your studio has put out so far?
I’m extremely excited. I think we did the first short film, in 2021, called The Satchel. And that was more of a market appraisal. And people really rocked with it; it did very well and won awards. So, for me, that was an additional incentive to keep going. Now we’re completing our next one that is more representative of our standards of quality.We took the time to make sure we built the team and its skill. We’re competing at an international level, in terms of our quality. So, I’m very, very excited. I think the industry is still being birthed because it’s not really established. But there are a lot of amazing players. There are people with, with interesting visions.

So, in all these expressions of art, do you have a favorite one? 
When I get asked this question, I always like to throw it back to the person that asked me the question. It’s almost like if you have children, do you have a favorite child? Or do they all have different reasons as to why you love them? Hypothetically, let’s consider all these things as my kids.

So, on this EP, what do you want people to experience from it?
From the project, I want people to get to know me a bit better and get to know the kinds of things that I like to talk about in my music better. I want to build a community of people who can resonate with the messages and with the mission behind my music which is to connect with people, above all things. And I want people to really, truly be inspired to be the best versions of themselves and not subscribe to any social constructs that limit them in a sense and just really try to embrace who they really are. For me, that’s what Unboxed represents.

Are you really big on stagecraft?
I get excited about it. I’m actually getting ready to go for a rehearsal. 

How often do you rehearse your performances?
It depends on what I have coming up and. I have one of the most amazing bands on the planet. They rehearse even without me a lot of the time. Oh, making sure that we’re coming up with ideas and giving the best that we possibly can while performing is a favorite for me

Where have you recently been performing?
So, this year, I have performed all over. Summer was a very busy period for me up until the end of September. I did about 10 festivals in Berlin, Norway, London, New York, and the list goes on. 

Are you planning any shows in Nigeria? 
Well, there’s something creeping up. So, stay tuned.

Finally, tell us three interesting facts about Nissi Ogulu. 
I love adventure. I’m very into movies. And what else is interesting? I mean, I love cars. I think that’s common knowledge at this point.

What is your favourite car?
I mean, right now, it’s the car that I’m making with my automobile startup. So it will be that, but I’m a lover of cars in general.

You have an automobile startup?
Yeah. So I’m part of an EV startup brand called Kemet automotive. Our mission is to make the first of its kind EV vehicles out of Africa. I mean, my background in the automotive world was very much with Jaguar Land Rover delivering three vehicle projects. So, I took that knowledge and brought it back to the continent. And now we’ve created our first working prototype which will launch at the end of the year into the first quarter of next year, and we’re excited to continue to develop and grow.