Since his university days, Ayanfe has steadily gained recognition for his storytelling and melodic artistry. After joining Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) in 2020, his career flourished under the mentorship of Obama DMW, but the tragic loss of his mentor marked a turning point. Taking time to refine his sound, Ayanfe returned stronger with Laba Laba, a fan favorite and a feature run.
Now, he’s revisiting the hit with a fresh remix featuring Fireboy DML. In this interview, Ayanfe answers 7 burning questions.
“Laba Laba” is a bop! Can you tell us the inspiration behind the song and what ‘Laba Laba’ symbolizes to you?
Laba Laba was originally an experiment by wicked! (The producer), DJ Latitude, and myself. I just wanted to try something new, I heard Wicked making the beat.
I wanted to do something different from what everybody has been doing, but something that has soul in it. The session was a very quick session, within an hour, I was done.
The Swahili and the cultural influence came about my love for the language, because it just sounds very nice and beautiful and melodious. I’ve listened to the likes of Diamond Platnumz, Bien and more. They have fun. So I decided to incorporate something like that. I’ve taken online classes to build my Swahili prowess, and I’m still on that journey. But you will still definitely hear a lot of Swahili in my music or a lot of cultural influences, and languages you don’t expect.
Fireboy is one of Nigeria’s biggest artists. How did the collaboration with him come about? What was the creative process like, and what did you learn from working with him?
Fireboy is one of the biggest artists in Nigeria right now, even Africa. But it was a link up through Baddo (Olamide). You know, Badoo told me to link up with him and, but he initially told me that, “yo, this music, this record is a beautiful song, I think fireboy would be a perfect artist on the song.”
I reached out to fire and Fireboy, we linked up and we recorded the verse. I am excited that I have the remix of Laba Laba.
Your time at DMW undoubtedly shaped your career. How has the experience influenced your artistic direction and business approach?
I learned a lot from Davido himself, how to move as an artist. So I just took the experiences from Dmw. And made it into something else with my team and I thank God for what it is now.
Obama DMW played a crucial role in your career. How do you honor his legacy, and how has his passing impacted your music?
Obama DMW, 44, are some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life, and one of the most influential people that I’ve ever met. His touch in my career. Even as a person, I learned a lot from him, his passing affected me, but it actually taught me strength, taught me that life, different things can happen, so you have to be always ready. And I miss him every day, but I will keep honoring his legacy by trying to be the best, tour the world. Have hit records all over the world. Longevity for years, you know, collects awards in his name. And appreciate who he was
After taking a hiatus, you came back with a fresh sound and international influences. How has your sound evolved since your early singles, and what inspired this new global approach to your music?
The reason why my sound has evolved is because growth is constant and change also is very constant. So I have decided to take a different route and not take everybody’s route. This is me trying to just look at what makes my music very beautiful to the audience? What does my audience really want to hear? Yes. As a folklore artist, is there something else I can add to it?
I’ve been working on a whole lot of things. The global approach is just me trying to get my sound outside, trying to make the world hear my voice and listen to my music. It is a process. a journey to breaking records and setting new standards.
The remix of Laba Laba features two powerful elements: an afrobeat groove and your smooth vocals. How do you ensure your music remains distinct while still appealing to a broad audience?
My fans already know that I have a good voice, I lived with my grandparents, so there’s a folklore side of me that I always put into my music. The storytelling part, me trying to let you visualize the song in your head. So I feel like everybody that listens to my song, even without watching the video, can tell or can actually visualize the song already in their head.
I’m also trying to make them understand that there are different shades to me apart from the music side, and you guys are still going to see a lot more sides to me.
What message do you want fans to take away from ‘Laba Laba (Remix)’? And how do you hope this single sets the tone for the future of your music?
It’s a love song you get from me. But for me as an artist, it’s a dream for me to work with such an artist like Fireboy.
It has been a long journey coming and I can tell Fireboy understands the story as well. To the fans, I want you to enjoy the song as much as you can.
As for the tone, I know that this song is going to break records, set new standards, and open ways for more music that sounds like laba laba.
To enter the mainstream and sit in the industry and give chances to new artists that are trying to also like, grow and work on the sound as well.
What message do you want fans to take away from ‘Laba Laba (Remix)’? And how do you hope this single sets the tone for the future of your music?
It’s a love song you get from me. But for me as an artist, it’s a dream for me to work with such an artist like Fireboy.
It has been a long journey coming and I can tell Fireboy understands the story as well. To the fans, I want you to enjoy the song as much as you can.
As for the tone, I know that this song is going to break records, set new standards, and open ways for more music that sounds like laba laba.
To enter the mainstream and sit in the industry and give chances to new artists that are trying to also like, grow and work on the sound as well.
Check Out “Laba Laba (Remix)” Here
