Discover Fasina, The UK-Based Singer Making His Mark In Nigeria

Last week, AYLØ delivered the second single off his forthcoming album, dnt’dlt. Another mesmerising effort from the consistently impressive singer-songwriter, “Sassy” also featured indispensable vocals from Psycho YP and Fasina. 

The weekend seemed to be pretty packed for Fasina, as he followed up the “Sassy” feature with a standout collaboration on Bella Alubo’s “Your Way (Long Time)”. After that, he then quietly dropped a stunning LP, titled Young Wave.

From a young age, Fasina has always been a keen student of music. Growing up in Nigeria, listening to the likes of G-Unit, Ludacris and Eminem — Encore was the first album he owned — Fasina’s tastes were subverted when he moved to England, turning to the rock band, Coldplay for his musical fix. 

“I was a huge Coldplay fan. I placed this football bet & got like crazy money from £2, bought tickets I couldn’t afford to see them perform live and it was insane. Goosebumps. That shit was like my first drug trip without actually taking drugs, if you know what I mean?”

Although music was always in his veins, it wasn’t until Fasina lost his eldest brother, who had started making music before he passed, that he realised he ought to pursue his passion, because life is too short to spend it doing anything less than what you enjoy.

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Based in the UK, Fasina spent the earlier parts of his career trying to bridge the gap between the Nigerian music that influenced him and the British sound that surrounded him. However, he found that his efforts weren’t organic.

So, he decided to take a step back, focus on himself and his own sound, and that’s how the multilayered tones he dishes out today came to be. Fasina does not have one distinct sound, or one particular flow, as his style switches up according to the track he’s handling.

He explains to Konbini:

“Sometimes I have a gritty style, when I find myself talking/rapping on my songs; other times I’m more melodic, channelling inner feels. I carry a lot of emotions on my song, and I’m still further understanding myself so I’m just creating the vibes as they go.”

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On “YBG”, one of the standout tracks of his recent tape, Fasina is presented with a drill beat, so the bars he fires through on this moody number are understandably more aggressive than the affectionate lines he sings atop the uptempo single, “IFE (Run My Race)”.

Describing “YBG” as his favourite track on the tape, Fasina shares the process behind the song: 

“‘YBG’ is a drill beat, and normally, I wouldn’t find myself on that type of beat, but it was a good opportunity to tell my story. 

I tried not to go too deep into it ‘cos I didn’t want to distract people from the message of the tape, which is to just have fun with whatever sound you’re running with no matter what you’re going through.” 

Young Wave is inspired by the relentless blows life threw at Fasina through a certain period, which led the artist deep into the pits of depression. But coming out of it with excitement for the future, Fasina used this project to impart some positivity from his negative experiences.

“I’m still learning and still at a point of growth. I’m in control of my life, I’m able to inspire the same way all my idols have inspired, because I know I’m 1 of 1.

I just tried to have as much fun as possible but still put my feels and mood into the body of work.”

Fasina hopes that this tape divulges a reassuring message to anyone who is going through something similar — regardless of race or nationality. He tells Konbini:

“It’s just a message to keep active & create something bigger than what’s around your current proximity.”

With a boost of confidence from the favourable reception of the project, Fasina is now looking forward to performing the tape live, and we’re pretty excited to hear these awesome songs in concert too. 

Have a listen to Young Wave below: