NOLA ADÉ Sits Down With The Garnette Report
A Lollapalooza Interview!
Taylor Hawkins of The Garnette Report sits down with the lovely 35-year-old, Nigerian-American singer-songwriter, Nola Adé, after her Chicago Made set at Lollapalooza, to tell fans about her music and upcoming projects.
Q: Can you first describe your style of music to me so our readers can get a better idea of Nola Adé ‘s sound?
A: “My sound… It’s a little bit of Afro, a little bit of soul, a little bit of pop, a little bit of R&B, right? Yeah, I call it “Afro-Soul”. Because, you know, I can’t really fit it into one genre, so it’s a merger of everything”.
Q: What made you gravitate toward this kind of music?
A: “I’ve always loved upbeat type music that makes you feel good. I feel like it was just kind of like a done deal to do music of my people, mixed with music of…you know the music that I grew up on, like, the soul music and stuff”.
Q: Where are you from?
A: “I am Nigerian-American. But I was born and raised in Chicago”.
Q: Are you first generation?
A: “Yes”!
Q: So did you always want to pursue music?
A: “Yes! So, I’ve always known that I wanted to sing, I wanted to do music. How, necessarily? The path was a little different in, like, how I got there. In Nigerian culture, there’s, like, a very, like, you have to go to school. Like, go to school, get your profession. So I was a lawyer for a little bit. I went to law school. But like, right after law school.. like, I’m still a licensed lawyer technically.
Q: So Nola Adé passed the BAR?!
A: “Yeah! I did the Bar and everything. I’m licensed in Illinois. I just don’t practice. And, yeah! So, I kinda had to veer off to do this, but like, right when I finished, I was like, it’s game on”!
Q: What are some of the things that influence your music or otherwise have given you inspiration?
A: “Definitely from…Well, outside of my culture, ethnicity, and things like that; definitely from people around me, life around me. I talk a lot about love, I talk a lot about personal things too. So, yeah, life”!
Q: And Nola Adé writes her own music?
A: “Yeah”!
Q: So is a lot of it about your own personal experiences or more of what you see others going through?
A: “A lot of it is personal. A lot of it is personal. I mean I’ve written some songs that are based on other people’s lives but like, for the most part, yeah, it means something to me”.
Q: Can you tell me about the process that you go through when you write a Nola Adé song?
A: It differs. So I don’t really have one process for when I write, so I’ve been changing it up to see what works best. You know? I’m still kind of, like, in the process of figuring out what I like the best. But, sometimes there have been instances where I have worked from the beginning to the end of the creative process with the producer, and we are putting drums here, and we are putting guitar here, we are putting piano here. Like, ‘Oh this is what I hear, let’s do it like this!’ We are building it up from the ground, right? So, then I’ll write the lyrics and we put it all together. There have been times when people have sent me beats. People have set me music. And sometimes we have to change a few things around, but for the most part, I just add the lyrics. And you know we arrange it differently here and there, but we’ll do it that way”.
“I remember Originally I would go to the beach a lot to just write lyrics. Just to get away. I love the beach and I love being by water. So I would do that, but I don’t really have one process.”
Q: What is your favorite Nola Adé song?
A: “Cookout! So far. Ok, so, I have a lot of favorites, but I feel like that one I’m gonna choose as my favorite right now, in this place where we are. Because it speaks to me. It’s like, it talks about identity. It’s the last song on my last EP that I just released, and it talks about me growing up as a Nigerian American and not necessarily knowing where I fit in. And finding my balance and growing up and embracing it now. So that song is me embracing who I am”.
Q: Do you have one that’s a potential unreleased favorite that fans can expect from you?
A: “Yeah! I do have a favorite of mine, it’s called “Love Me”. It’s coming out, I don’t know when necessarily, but I’m working on it. But, it’s like a conversation between a guy and a girl, just like ‘Oh you do this, and you do this, and you do this’, and I’m just like, ‘I just wanna be loved’. Like, ‘Let’s stop all the fussing and fighting’. But, I love the feel of it, I love where it’s going right now.
Q: Is it a duet?
A: “No it’s not. It’s really me talking to them”.
Q: What can you tell me about any other new music or projects in the works that fans can expect from you in the near future?
A: “Yes! Im working on some new music. I’m not exactly sure how I’m gonna release it, but yeah! I’m working on some new music”.
Q: So “Love Me” is a part of something?
A: “It’s a part of something, yes! Definitely”.
Q: So we don’t have a date yet though correct?
A: “No. No date yet. But soon. It’s coming! Not to be vague or anything”.
Q: How would you say that your sound has evolved if at all from your start versus, say, your set here at Lollapalooza?
A: “Initially when I started out, I started doing more of the R&B/Soul vibes. Versus now I’m growing with the music and I’m adding my afro-feels, afro-beats in, and everything. And I feel like the sound in general has evolved. I feel like I’ve found where I wanna be vocally in that space. So, yeah, it’s definitely grown in that respect”.
Q: How does it feel to have made it to the Bacardí stage at Lollapalooza?
A: “It feels awesome. I’m happy to be here! You know I’m kinda at this place where I’m like “I feel ready for this’. So, it’s like spiritually, I’m at a place where I’m just like ‘ok, this is where God wants me to be’, ‘this is where I’m supposed to be’. So, I’m just taking it in”!
Q: What is the biggest takeaway that you’ve gained from your time as a rising star in the music industry?
A: “Oh, there are so many. What did I learn? Business is key! That’s a big one, right? Learning the business in and out. Like, that has been a process, a challenging process. Especially as an independent artist, like, you don’t necessarily know where to get those resources, but you have to figure it out if you wanna breakthrough. So that has been something that I’ve learned. Business is key. And consistency is key. You have to keep consistent. You gotta keep working, and you gotta keep showing that you’re doing something”.
Q: Any last thing you want readers to hear from Nola Adé?
A: “Shoutout to everybody who has shown me so much love. I just feel so grateful. Like, people have really been receiving my music, and they feel healed and energized, and you know, all these great feelings about my music. And then they tell me and they let me know. So, I really do appreciate all of that! Like it doesn’t go unnoticed. And it touches my heart”.
Featured Image Via @nolaade Instagram