FEATURE: Spotlight: Bloody Civilian

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: UAX

Bloody Civilian

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I am going to spotlight…

an artist I have known for a little while. I was waiting for more interviews to go online. With the release of her E.P., Anger Management, last month, there has been new interest and attention. Emoseh Khamofu is known as Bloody Civilian. The Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer is considered one of the most important and pioneering names in Nigerian music right now. Many have tipped her as an emerging name to watch closely. I will finish with a review for her recent E.P. Prior to getting there, there are a few interviews that are worth bringing in. Vogue asked Bloody Civilian about her upbringing and what her experiences are as a Nigerian woman. They also her about a song she contributed to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Wake Up (ft. Rema) is a remarkable song that brought Bloody Civilian to the attention of a new and wider audience:

“Before she had released her debut single, Bloody Civilian discovered she would soundtrack the Marvel blockbuster of the year. Real name Emoseh Khamofu (“bloody civilian” is the callous term members of the Nigerian army use for the public), the Abuja-born 25-year-old was signed by Def Jam CEO Tunji Balogun – who was responsible for signing Tems, SZA and Kendrick – and is managed by Seni “Chubbz” Saraki, co-founder of NATIVE, who also served as a co-producer on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With Ludwig Goransson, the film’s composer and soundtrack album producer, they created camp, inviting different artists to contribute their ideas.

First, she created a beat, and they gave her a theme to explore. “When I think of ‘hustle and grind’, I think of waking up… I believe the first 30 minutes of your day dictate the rest of the day,” she tells Vogue over Zoom. “I wanted to write a song that describes how, when I wake up, I fight with getting up from bed, but then find the strength to go about the day.” When she found out composer Ludwig Göransson had selected her song “Wake Up” featuring Rema, it was “so surreal… the whole process was [already] life-changing… so when I found out I’d be on it, I was really, really excited,” she laughs. “I was one of those people who showed up in traditional African regalia for the first film.”

She grew up in a musical household with a bass guitarist father, and “as a kid I would write on little papers and give it to my parents. They thought they were poems until I would catch up with them and actually sing them.” Her powerful debut single, “How To Kill A Man”, grew out of a need to channel her anger: “As a woman in Nigeria, there’s a lot of things to be angry about.” She plans to co-direct the music video, and an EP is in the works. “I want to make stuff for people like Rihanna,” she smiles, gesturing to a course modelled by Tems for this very soundtrack, with “Lift Me Up”, but ultimately, “I would love to just be able to connect with a fan base, get to know people and grow as an artist”.

What is your debut song “How To Kill A Man” about?

On a daily basis, we go through subtle injustices, as well as [injustices] on a higher level. I think another thing about women that gets managed and micromanaged is our anger, so I wrote a song that defies all that. It did for me, and hopefully it can do that for other women as well.

What is your experience as a woman in Nigeria?

Sexism is hard to track because it’s been so normalised here. On a daily basis, we get catcalled – I did at the market today. There’s a lot of domestic violence towards women. Women in athletics struggle to be taken seriously; we never got good coaches for sports. Coming from a Christian background, the only form of sex education I got was that my teacher put a paper on the ground, stepped on it, and said, “This is what happens when you violate yourself before marriage” – equating the vagina to that paper. The list goes on. I didn’t like that it started to feel normal, and wanted to express that.

What sounds influence you?

African sounds, because I am an African, and I also grew up being deeply influenced by R&B. Ultimately, I would say Aṣa. I can still remember the day I heard “Fire On The Mountain”. It made me freeze in my tracks. It’s one of those songs that gets you to listen. I remember listening to it like, “yeah, I want to be this person”. I literally started playing guitar because of her.

How did you start producing?

Production started off without me knowing I was producing. It was on an app called Audacity that my cousin had given me; I would make a capella beats by transposing vocals, using everything the app could possibly offer to try and make instrumentals. Then a producer heard it and told me I’m [already producing], I just need to use proper software. He introduced me to Fruity Loops and Logic and that’s how this whole thing started – it was quite unintentional”.

Apologies if the timeline and order of the interviews is not chronological. I want to get a general overview and impression of Bloody Civilian, so there might be a bit of jumping about. METAL highlighted a prodigious talent who started writing lyrics on scraps on paper and performing to her parents when she was very young. Stepping into the production world aged twelve, here is someone who was born to make music. It is incredible how young she was when that phenomenal talent started to bloom:

“Which sound has had a lasting influence on you?

I grew up listening to a lot of blues and instrumental jazz, so that is where a lot of my instrumental influences come from. But I grew up on African pop music when I was a kid, and a lot of it was influenced by R&B. Aside from that, as a kid a lot of American music was popular here, particularly Black music. I grew up listening to a lot of R&B and hip-hop and then I graduated into trap when I was in high school. I pretty much had different phases and listened to different things at various times in my life.
And so, if I have to say what had the biggest, biggest influence, I would say African music because that’s the common channel between everything at the end of the day. What really felt like home was always African music because it was always relatable. And an artist that made me want to be a musician was an artist by the name of Asha, she’s a Nigerian singer/songwriter from Lagos, she was my biggest inspiration growing up.

What does the performing name Bloody Civilian mean to you and how do you believe this has been shaped by your personal and professional experiences as a Nigerian woman?

To start off, I’m from Northern Nigeria where there’s a lot of military violence against the people. So mainly, that name came from the derogatory term that’s used on us, the army would usually call you a “Bloody Civilian!” And, in my opinion, I just basically took it as, “You know what? I am an ordinary civilian,” but I decided that I would make it something that I would tone and make my own, and use it as a way to go against the norm, and empower myself.

Which genres of music are you drawn to?

When I think about genres, I think about limitations. I found myself listening to a lot of things that aren’t necessarily where I felt my comfort zone was, there are so many things that make songs relatable, you might not know the genre, but maybe the lyrics or the voice touches you. So I’ve listened to everything, I listen to country, reggae, I love pop... I think pop is where there’s a lot of versatility. I love those top-liners and the simplicity of pop music as well. I love, love rap music, I love hip-hop, I feel like you can’t express a story in the same way you can through rap, and it’s really inspiring how their song structures go and how they’re able to write. And like I said, African music is my biggest influence, especially old and new, and then I would say R&B secondly, and then the final thing would be trap.

How do you hope to fuse these into your own compositions?

I don’t have any plans. How I make music is not planned, I don’t really say I’m going to fuse this and this, it just happens. I just pretty much start from something random, it's usually not premeditated in any way and I don’t like to create music in any other type of way, I don’t like it when it feels mechanical.

I’ve read that during your childhood, you would write on pieces of paper and perform these lyrics to your parents, at church, talent shows and school performances. How do you believe these early experiences have informed your approach to music today?

I had a lot of support, so I would write, and my parents are very critical, it wasn’t a kind of a relationship where you give your parents the song and whatever you give to them they’re like “Oh, this is great.” If I gave my dad a song that wasn’t written very well, he would tell me, my parents are very abrupt. So I had a very good competitive relationship, I don’t have the mindset of people’s criticism being a problem for me.
When I think about music and creativity, that’s good and fine, but when you think about the business of it, and you think about how much criticism comes from it, I don’t think there’s anyone better prepared for that. Nothing seems like an issue, I work hand-in-hand with my team, and I’m always open to what they feel about music because that also affects how it’s perceived, generally. Whoever's in your team telling you anything about your song might account for twenty per cent of a demographic. I take these things into account because, at this point, I’m telling a story to people, so I won’t change the story, but I might change how I say it.

You were signed by Def Jam CEO Tunji Balogun — the music executive who is also responsible for signing Tems, Sza and Kendrick Lamar — and you are managed by Semi ‘Chubbz,’ the co-founder of Native who also took on a co-producer role for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. What have been some of the most important lessons you have learned from these relationships?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that you never really know how things are going to go. When you meet people you just never know that they might eventually become a part of your team and I think that’s one that I’ve learned from. I’m happy that I stayed authentic to myself when I was pitching myself. I’m grateful that we’re able to work together, and we’re also able to work on terms that are comfortable for everyone in no way do I feel like I can’t work with my team and my label boss. He’s a person who has the artists’ interests in mind, he also started off as someone who was very much a rapper, so he takes things from the artist’s perspective more often than others who you would find in the industry. I feel really lucky, I’m in a very good position, and I’m hopeful for where this will take me.

How would you say your sound has developed over time?

I’ve become more honest and unhinged. I feel like the older you get, and especially as a woman, you just stop caring, so that’s where I am. I can only be myself, I can only tell my truth, and I can’t tell anyone else’s truth and that’s where I am now as a young woman trying to enter the industry. I’m ready for whatever unfolds, I’ve just evolved into somebody who is ready, I feel like I’m gradually becoming more comfortable, becoming wiser. I have more skills now, there are a million and one things I can do now, that I couldn’t do before, so I’m super excited”.

I am going to come to a recent feature from NME. They interviewed Bloody Civilian around the release of the tremendous Anger Management. If she is not on your radar at present, then she really does need to be! Here is someone who is going to be in the music industry for many more years to come:

“NME: When did you start to work on ‘Anger Management’?

“The first lyric was written four years ago. It was a period in my life filled with question marks. I was kind of writing to free myself through expression. I just wanted to be able to let go. Whenever I write about something, it’s the beginning of a healing process for me…over the years it’s evolved into different layers of healing.”

Your artist name directly relates to your experiences with violence in northern Nigeria. How has your upbringing impacted the music you make today?

“I grew up in a city called Abuja; typically we would go back home to my actual village for Christmas. As I got older and things got more turbulent up north, it became virtually impossible to visit home. My village technically no longer exists, it’s sort of shifted because people have had to run away from their homes. Being from up north, it’s in the heat of everything – the Boko Haram attacks. It’s definitely a different experience.”

When music first came into your life, did it serve as a form of escapism?

“As a child, anything that could make me emotional could make me write. Now, being a grown adult, it’s the same thing. Even if it’s humour, anger or sadness, it definitely can find its way into my creativity in some sort of way.”

You’ve since moved to Lagos. How did you find that move from Abuja?

“I’ve had to move to Lagos to basically be closer to all the opportunities and work here. The differences are very clear, they’re in your face. Abuja was a small, intimate city and Lagos is a big city with a lot of opportunities and disappointments, excitement and sadness.

“Although the creatives are able to create in their various cities that they come from, Lagos is sort of like the Mecca, maybe the Hollywood of music in Nigeria. This is where you can really have life-changing things happen to you.”

How do you feel about the level of globalisation African music is currently experiencing?

“I coincidentally fell in the demographic of people who kind of experienced it in real time. The year I went to college in the States was a very good year – the first good year – for Afrobeats. My first year of college, I felt like I was still in Lagos. There were so many huge Afrobeats parties, so many different races of people were going to these Nigerian parties and I was very confused. It was very interesting to see that happen in real time, to see other cultures vibe to the music.

“Growing up as a kid, there were people who looked down on those of us who listened to African music. But now, Nigerians are proud of their sound and their culture. Which is honestly the one thing that Afrobeats has done for Africans – it has given them a sense of pride of who they are and their identity”.

I will round off with a review of Anger Management by Pulse. They were appropriately stunned and blown away by an E.P. that announces this very special artist to the world. If you have not heard it, then I would advise that you spend a bit of time with it today:

“While she offered glimpses of her talent in her contribution to the 'Black Panther' album, her singles have showcased the talent, ability, and talent that's rare in the Afrobeats scene.

Bloody Civilian's debut EP 'Anger Management' exemplifies her conscious approach to music as she decidedly crafts sounds and expresses herself in a way that doesn't only arrest the attention of listeners but also showcases her elevated talent.

'Anger Management' offers refreshing elements that stretch the creative boundaries of Nigerian mainstream music. From the experimental production that combines electronic elements with Amapiano, Afrobeats, and Dancehall down to her vocals and melodies that cuts across R&B, Pop, Soul, and Hip Hop, Bloody Civilian floats at a whole different level.

The artistic freedom with which she produces her music can be easily reconciled with the defiance in her writing as she gets things off her chest.

Whether it be finding an outlet from the social economic realities or trying to break free from the quintessential African family setup that has matriarchs playing the roles of meddlesome interlopers, Bloody Civilian appears to have a lot to get off her chest.

Even when she talks about romance, it's to set the record straight and insist not to be toiled with like in 'How To Kill A Man' where she floats on the beat switching from singing to Pop rap. She thins out her voice as she shows her vocal range in 'Mad Apology' where she delivers sticky ad libs that elevates the record while rebuffing the apologies that follow deliberate wrongdoing.

The ease with which she switches from singing to delivering Pop rap melodies is notable in 'I Don't Like You' which is a blend of Jersey and Amapiano and in which she refuses to be tagged the devil because she chooses to reject advances of a person she doesn't fancy.

Across the EP, one thing is clear, Bloody Civilian has no intention to kowtow to the expectations of her, motivated by social prejudices. She readily embraces this identity that comes across as combative in a society where women are told to fly and expected to ask how high.

Musically, the EP excels on Bloody Civilian's incredible talent as she shows her ability to make music that captures her willingness to embrace all her influences.

The production seamlessly blends multiple genres while markedly carrying Afrobeats cadences that make it relatable to average listeners while still stretching Afobeats' creative bandwidth.

Her vocals, melody, and delivery are tailored to complement the defiance she intends to express while still retaining alluring elements that showcase her feminine charms.

Through compositions that capture her essence, Bloody Civilian showcases her multi-faceted abilities while also making music with unlimited potential.

The use of production, BPM, genre-blending, and Gen Z leaning topics makes the EP capable of widely resonating with young listeners who will readily propel the music to global fame through social media platforms. The Amapiano cuts also serve party-starting purposes which positions it for local success.

Overall, 'Anger Management' is an injection of creative vibrancy into the Afrobeats scene and a display of mindblowing talent from an artist who intends to express herself the way she fancies”.

Having been tipped for success this year, it is evident that Bloody Civilian is turning heads and making waves. The remarkable Emoseh Khamofu is a talent that is going to be in the music industry for many years more. Do make sure you investigate the music of Bloody Civilian as, once heard, it is…