AFRICAINE ON CHOOSING HERSELF, VULNERABILITY & DEBUT EP FOR ME, THIS TIME

WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS

Connecticut-born and Nigerian American, Africaine is a singer, songwriter and producer who blends R&B and soul with Afropop and wider Pan-African influences, creating a project rooted in love, vulnerability, self-discovery and the courage to choose yourself.

Africaine’s Nigerian heritage, gospel roots and upbringing between Connecticut and New York have all shaped the artist she is today, giving her a rich perspective that feeds into both her music and storytelling. As an independent artist, she has the freedom to create on her own terms - a freedom she admits can also be frightening: “I know that what I become is entirely up to me and how bad I want it.”

Across For Me, This Time, Africaine embraces vulnerability rather than shying away from it, encouraging listeners to take risks on love, give a piece of themselves and never be ashamed of who they are. It’s a tender, self-assured statement from an artist who knows her own power - and, fittingly, when asked for her favourite F-word, her answer is simply: Faith.

Maisie: For Me, This Time is ultimately about choosing yourself with love, patience and conviction. What did “choosing yourself” look like for you while making this project?

Africaine: Choosing myself meant saying no to anything that didn’t serve me in the process of creating. I wanted to make this project my prime focus and concentrate my energy into cultivating a body of work that I would be proud of.

Maisie: The EP brings together your R&B and soul foundations with Afropop and wider Pan-African influences. How have your Nigerian heritage, gospel roots and upbringing between Connecticut and New York shaped the way you make music?

Africaine: Yes, they have. I was privileged to grow up in a city where I was exposed to humans in all walks of life. So naturally, I spent a lot of my time observing others. I also read a lot of books. So, my range became very diverse. One thing I’ll always appreciate my mother for doing was exposing me to my cultural roots early. I spent almost every summer in Nigeria, and no matter what I saw outside every day, I always came home to a Nigerian household. It gave me confidence early on, pride even. I loved being a part of a culture so rich.

Maisie: You created much of the EP from your home studio, and the project seems to leave plenty of room for instinct - from writing ‘Before’ without any music to letting the instrumentation of the title track reveal the story. How important is it for you to follow feeling rather than a fixed creative plan?

Africaine: Every song I make is driven by my emotions. Music is my diary. It gives me the courage to say things I can’t say out loud. The day I recorded “Before” I just felt like I had something to say, and it couldn’t wait for instrumentals.

Maisie: There’s a real sense of feminine empowerment running through the project, particularly in songs like ‘Whatever’. What do you hope another woman takes away from listening to For Me, This Time?

Africaine: One could say that, and I love that it’s being interpreted that way. But I do want to clarify that For Me, This Time is for hopeless romantics of all genders and expressions. I want every human to get in touch with their vulnerability, and learn to embrace it. I hope that any woman or man listening to my music can understand that it’s okay to take a risk on love. It’s okay to give a piece of yourself. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Don’t stop being who you are. 

Maisie: As an independent artist, you’ve spoken about creative freedom, ownership and purpose. What does being able to build your career on your own terms mean to you?

Africaine: It feels freeing in a sense, but with that freedom comes a burden. I know that what I become is entirely up to me and how bad I want it. That can be frightening at times.

Maisie: This is your debut EP, but it also feels like a statement of arrival. When you listen back to For Me, This Time now, what feels most different about the artist who made it compared with the woman who first started making music?

Africaine: I think you can hear my confidence now. I’m no longer timid, and I understand the power I possess.

Maisie: If For Me, This Time was a colour, a place and a feeling, what would they be and why?

Africaine: It would be red. To represent bleeding. Bleeding is hard, bleeding is painful, but bleeding is essential to growth.

Maisie: This is F Word magazine - what’s your favourite  F-word? 

Africaine: Faith