Afro-R&B artist Nonso Amadi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Canada to attend McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. where he earned a master’s degree — not in music, but rather in engineering design.
He began his studies in chemical engineering at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria, and then attended Swansea University in Wales before coming to Canada. All the while, in whatever spare time he could find, he was producing music.
The breakthrough song that lured him away from a comfortable yet challenging profession in engineering was a vibey ballad called “Tonight.” To date, it has more than 16 million views on YouTube.
Now, Amadi has a thriving music career. His debut full-length album, When It Blooms, was released on Universal Music Canada, earning a coveted 2024 Juno nomination for Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year. He is based in Kitchener, Ont. but also has the support of UMG Nigeria, MCA in France, and Def Jam in the U.S. to help spread his Afro-infused soul to the world.
This month, Amadi will take part in the National Music Centre’s Black History Month event at Studio Bell in Calgary on February 27, alongside Liberty Silver, Wakefield Brewster, and more, hosted by Master T. Leading up to the event, he reflects on what Black History Month is all about.
“It’s a period to recognize the struggles of our ancestors and hope,” he says. “That’s how we say it in Africa. People who’ve come before us, and then really struggled to get their descendants to the place where they are right now. So that’s one part of it.
“But, also, because of the drop-down effects of things that have happened, Black History Month is a period for Black people to also get a bit more love, a bit more acknowledgment that would lead to people, who don’t know what had happened before, to explore their history, which is important.”
Back in Nigeria, he says, because it is a predominantly Black population, there is no such day or month, and he also says they are taught little about their history in school.
“One thing that I would like to just say is in Africa, we don’t get taught the history a lot, which is not great. I found out a lot more by doing research by myself or coming here and hearing this happened and that,” he says. “Having a Black History Month every year makes a lot of people more curious as to what exactly is going on and doing a bit more research to find it out.”
You were studying chemical engineering, but became interested in the arts while doing your master’s. What was the void that music filled at that time for you?
It was more so just expression. It’s easier to express yourself with the arts than scientific fields, engineering fields. The arts, from a young age, has been fascinating to me because my sisters were really big on R&B music and I was exposed to that. I’ve always found it interesting that I could feel heartbreak, and then I could sing about it and people could also feel for me — and I could use it to get girls. I can use it to do whatever. It’s like a superpower. Having people, “fans,” who stand in line to buy tickets and listen to your music and sing it word for word are just like affirmations, that this is something I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
What drew you to chemical engineering? That’s a lot of work.
Most African kids have a similar story, where our parents almost predestined what we’re going to become even before you’re born. “I’m going to have a lawyer child.”
I don’t think that’s just an African thing, I gotta tell you [laughs].
It’s a global thing [laughs], so my parents were the same. They knew what I was going to study from a young age. Initially, it was meant to be electrical engineering, but that didn’t quite work out because I was pretty bad with, um, I think it was physics or math, one of them. I couldn’t do it. So chemical engineering, I love chemistry. I loved being able to work in that field, where it’s a little bit more straightforward for me personally, so I applied for that. I got admission into a school in the UK to take my undergrad, and then from there I came to Canada for a master’s degree.
So that’s your fallback career. Then your song “Tonight” really took off in 2017. Was that when you were like, “Oh, I don’t need to be a chemical engineer. This song really connected with people.”? Was anything really happening with your music until this song?
I put out the song on SoundCloud, while I was in the UK and I didn’t have followers. I didn’t have a fanbase, just people on SoundCloud discovering my stuff. And that was either late 2015 or early 2016. It was doing its thing, maybe a few thousand listens. And I came to Canada late 2016 for my master’s and, by that time, people had been sharing it, makeup vlogs on their pages and on the YouTube channels. I’m like, “Wow.”
By the time I had graduated the following year, 2017, I did a one-year master’s program, the song had gone viral and people were asking me to put it on Spotify, put it on Apple Music. I didn’t even know how to do these things properly, and they were requesting I do a show in Lagos because that was where most of the listeners were based. So once I was done with school, I told my dad, “I’m going to go do a headline show in Lagos.” And he’s like, “What do you mean? We just spent thousands of dollars on your master’s and your school, and you want to come do music concerts in Lagos? What are you talking about?” It was a huge thing, but I pushed through; I did the show. A lot of people came out. My parents came out, surprised me, and it was just so beautiful. They saw everyone singing the songs, and we had a great time.
So they are supportive of your new career path. Was it important for you to have a career over here and in Africa too?
Of course. It’s one thing to be based out here, in Canada, but the music I’m making, which is Afro ‘dash’ whatever, Afro-beats, Afro-R&B, whatever, it has that Afro element to it.
So, I can’t neglect the African market, not just Nigeria. I have to make sure I’m touching base out there. It’s almost like I see myself as an ambassador for my country and my continent. I have to come out here, show the music we’re doing out there and talk to people, talk about what we’re doing, and what’s new, but always remember that where I’m from, remember the people that I’m representing.
Is your family still there?
I do have most of my brothers out here in Canada, trying to follow my lead and do school and then go do whatever they want to do, but we’re all mostly based in Nigeria. My family is out there.
The liner notes for your 2023 album, When It Blooms, lists you not just as songwriter and singing but also playing drums, keys, bass, guitar, programming, producing, and engineering. Some songs you co-wrote with just one other person (“Pieces”), while others have eight other writers (“Here For It”). Some songs other people play the instruments, and others you play all the instruments. Could you have done this whole thing yourself?
So, the first thing is, I actually don’t play the instruments that well. I’m only just learning the guitar right now. But I do everything else myself — program, produce, mix. And it’s not as easy as it sounds. If it were easy, I would be doing everything myself. When I first started off, the SoundCloud era, I was producing my stuff and putting it out just by myself, figuring out my distribution and all that. At this point, music is at a time where you got to be dropping every other day, every other month; you got to be mass producing. So, for me to sit and say, “I’m gonna just churn out inspiration, and idea after idea, it’s so hard. So I felt the need to really give my all into this project and deliver a lyrical masterpiece and a time capsule of events in my life. I need to work with people who share similar inspiration and vibe with me. So it was really important for me to collaborate with the right people on this project. And it just made everything easier because it was taking me probably times 10 the time it took.
So I shouldn’t call you a one-man-band multi-instrumentalist?
[Laughs].Because the thing is, I’m not so fluent in those things. I can figure my way around it, so I end up like playing it and then I get like a professional to come redo it.
You just said you wanted a lyrical masterpiece. Your lyrics are unique. Nothing’s cliche in them. There’s slices of your life. I noticed when I read the lyrics that that they’re written phonetically. So not the English spelling, but slang, so that I could sing with your accent if I wanted to follow along. Why did you choose to do that?
Every time I make music, I’m always torn in between a couple influences and worlds. So, for me, to make the music palatable for people in the Western world, and to make it still original to my background, I have to almost create a new style — it’s not new because nothing’s new under the sun, but I have to be creative. And, I find that singing in a way, that incorporates certain slangs from Nigeria, or incorporates certain ways that we would say things, it makes it more authentic to me, rather than just making it a whole English lyric.
I tend to try to get inspired by the greats who have come before me, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, these people, just putting it in there to remind people that, yes, I am singing an R&B song right now, but here you go. Just remember, this is Nonso Amadi from Nigeria, “This is your boy” type thing [laughs].
So you would want me sing “pon di clock”? [laughs]
[Laughs] Pon di clock [laughs]. Yeah, it’s where music is heading right now. Everything’s just merging different worlds. Different styles are coming together, and it’s making this global sound that we know right now.
You also said that you want the listener to hear your album and know who you are and where you’ve been. Why is that important to be so personal and exposed?
It’s important because I feel like with music, we get a chance to either express vain things, which is a flashy lifestyle or whatever, or express true stories that people can take lessons from and be inspired by. You know, I came into this space, like I said, from an educational background, and being thrown into the entertainment world for me was so hard, getting to meet people every day, getting to go on a show and having to perform for people was not easy for me.
The fights I had with my parents to even just do music, these are things that were really hard, and I wanted to present those stories in the album and just let people know. The first track, “Here For It,” talks about the struggles I had, and then the last track, “Thankful,” talks about where I’m at right now, how I’m thankful for my managers, my label, and all that. And it has my mom’s voice on that song talking about how she’s grateful for me and how far I’ve come.
That body of work is so personal, vulnerable, and I wanted to make sure that whoever’s listening to me for the first time feels like, “I feel like I know Nonso a bit more. It wasn’t just like he was telling love stories.” That’s why I felt my first album needed to be, and I feel it’s always gonna have, that personal vibe to it because it’s just true.
You dedicated the album to your mom. Why your mom, your “mama,” as you call her?
My mom and I have a peculiar relationship. She’s really sacrificed a lot for me to even be here. I remember finishing school in the UK, before I had graduated, she had already started thinking steps ahead. “UK is not really friendly with immigrant laws. So they’re gonna kick you out once you’re done. Canada is a bit more accepting. You can you can get more leeway to get a job, all that. Go here.” And she’s really just been an instrumental part of my life. Even my musical journey, she used to be in the choir. So many things I drew from her that I felt like, for the sacrifices she’s made, both mom and dad, but particularly mom for this project, I wanted to present this album to her and have her as a part of it for the rest of time.
Speaking of being welcomed in Canada, you got a Juno nomination for Contemporary R&B Recording. That’s the ultimate acceptance in our industry. Whether you win or not, to be narrowed down to that small group of people is quite an accomplishment.
So cool. Yeah, I didn’t expect it. It’s something that I thought I’ll have to work like 10, 15 years, struggling, trying to get it. Just blessed and so honoured to get it this soon. And, honestly, I’m hoping that it’s the first of many. I’m going to really put in even more work into getting more recognition for the work of African music. Like I said, as an ambassador for it, I want to try to open as much doors as I can.
