“My drive is really just to be great. I want to be great. I want to be one of the biggest musicians that have come out of Africa, not just in my prime but to make music that lives forever so that when I die, I can still live (forever). I want to make music that impacts on a whole generation.” – Efya.
Many of us know Efya as the female vocalist on Daddy Yo, Wizkid’s last hit for the year 2016.
What you probably didn’t know is that long before Efya, there was Miss Jane; young novice artiste from Kumasi, Ghana. We had a ‘brief chat’ with the artiste which somehow spanned over a number of days, often interrupted by photo shoots and studio sessions –things that come with living the life of a fast-rising artiste in Ghana. She tells us a few things about her evolution to this point and what really gets her moving.
Like the popular cliché; Efya [ born Jane Awindor ] began her music career through the reverberations of the church choir. Her first big break came after participating in the maiden edition of a talent show ‘Stars of the Future’ where she emerged as the second runner-up. I think it’s safe to say that this acted as a catalyst in the realization of her passion for music and as a would-be career. She confirms;
“I always knew it was something I loved doing but I didn’t decide to take it as a career until after the competition”
At the time, Efya went under the stage name “Miss Jane“, a younger, more naive version of herself now. Three years and one joint album later [with the winner of the contest], produced the birth of Efya; the multi-faceted artiste we know today.
“Miss Jane is who I used to be when I was younger” she says with a laugh, “Efya is the woman that I have become. Finding my sound, finding what I wanna do. Being able to mix my music, growing into the person that I have become. Miss Jane is the young Efya I would say.”
Some of this self-discovery, she says involves hard working on her art, while discovering the kind of sound she is more cut out for. Apparently, being talented isn’t all it takes. Efya discloses:
“As a musician, you’d love to appeal to everybody but it’s not everybody that’s gonna like your music so it’s about finding out what you’re good at and doing it well so you can appeal to your [right] crowd that will appreciate your sound.”
At the same time, Efya also had to go through the rough process of finding her footing in the business world of music, a side that most people, including new and aspiring musicians often forget is necessary.
“In the beginning, there was a little management issue, you have to get a team together, but after that is done, it’s really about you tryna put your game up and making sure you reach the impact that you wanna make as a musician.”
Looking back, One thing Efya wishes the young Jane had known is the importance of having a strong team from the get-go. “If you wanna do music”, she advises “you need a team behind you that supports you, believes in your art and the kind of music you wanna do and that has the resources to push you to the place that you need to be.”
Around April last year, there was news of Efya signing to Wizkid’s Starboy records, she tells us that the deal is still in progress and there isn’t much to be said about it for now.
But a whole lot has changed, not just for Efya herself and her career, but for the industry as a whole since 2008 when she made her first appearance. For one thing, the music landscape which was once predominantly a space for Afrobeats is now diversifying and Efya is here for it. Although, she predicts it may take a while before the alternative sounds become a little more mainstream, at least in Ghana.
“In Ghana right now, I think the music is changing gradually. Not the mainstream though, the mainstream is still very very afrobeat dominated but I think as time goes on other genres will have their stage and will flourish as much as they can with the kind of change that is coming in the industry. International artistes are also taking to afrobeats. I’m very interested in how that allows us to impact our music onto the world as African musicians”
Efya’s own genre of music, she tells me she likes to call, high-soul, as a tribute to her two greatest music influences –soul and highlife music. She says she grew up listening to a lot of Fela, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin who all play a big role in the style of her music. She also has love for contemporary artistes like Anderson Paak , Nonso Amadi, Amaarae, Bbymutha, Adomaa, Simi, Wande Coal, Sarkodie et al.
Efya admits that she’s currently rocking to Until the Dawn; her latest single produced by Maleek Berry. In order of favorites, she ranks her 2016 album Janesis over her initial mix-tape, T.I.N.T [This is not the album].
Efya also tells us about her other passion, working with the Awal Children of the Future foundation, where she helps orphans and disadvantaged kids.
“Most of the kids we work with are homeless, abused or orphans. We just try to help as much as we can. It doesn’t really matter how big it is, as long as we help. That’s what I think is important about it” She also sometimes works to raise awareness about breast cancer in communities of Ghana.”
For her fans, we can expect her coming mixtape this year in November, “it’s a little music I’ve been compiling since the last drop.”
In the meantime, enjoy Until the Dawn here:
Exclusive Images Of Efya by Kwadwo Abrokwa.
