As you know, Soot Africa takes pride in spotlighting people who play important roles in the African music industry. Last week, we hosted the producer Tytanium on our Twitter spaces and let’s just say, we had a blast.
Who is Tytanium?
Tytanium is a Nigerian producer who started making music in his early years of undergrad. He was extremely curious about how music was made and this birthed his career as a producer. He started by using online materials and YouTube videos to make trap and Hip Hop beats, before eventually focusing on Afrobeats.
Tytanium has worked with a number of respectable artists in the industry, including BBNaija winner Laycon, Joeboy, Bella Shmurda, and a couple of others. During our Twitter spaces, he unpacked a couple of things concerning his music-making process, his name, and much more. Let’s dive in!
Let’s talk about the name Tytanium. Is it an anagram or does it have an affiliation with something personal to you?
Not really, no affiliation. Well, my name is Taiwo so that might be the only correlation. When I was in secondary school, a friend of mine started calling me Tytan and somehow, it stuck. When I started making music, I just decided to add “ium” to it and it felt right. It sounds good, and it makes me feel strong.
Run us through your creative process and a day in your life as Tytanium.
The first thing I do every morning is my quiet time. I put God first. Forget that these hands are magic, I owe it all to God. I always say a prayer before I start any beat. As for my creative process, when I get blocked I take a walk, ride my bike, or hang out with friends. Sometimes I listen to any of my old voice notes to prompt me and spark new ideas. I also love to swim so taking a dive helps me clear my head sometimes.
What would you advise upcoming producers who want to move to Lagos? Do they have to be in Lagos to start their careers?
You don’t necessarily need to be in Lagos because right now the internet is crazy and it makes everything easier for us. Sure, being in Lagos will give you a good headstart into the industry so you can put it in your plans. But if you can’t be in Lagos right now, don’t pressure yourself. Start wherever you are and use social media to your advantage.
We’d like to know a song that you worked on and felt like it was very impressive.
Omologo by Joeboy. I was super impressed with myself as Tytanium, for putting the beat together and making it come out the way it did.
Out of the songs you have out now, is there any beat you don’t like anymore?
That’s a good question haha. There’s a song, Gallant by Jozi. It doesn’t really impress me anymore. It’s not like it is not a great song, because it is. But it just feels like old Tytanium, you feel me. I feel like the new Tytanium is way better. But that’s growth.
A fan of yours listened to Bella Shmurda’s album and really loved it. He wants to know what Tytanium’s music-making process is.
The first thing I do is open my laptop of course. When I see the empty pace, I tell myself I have to fill it up before the end of the session. Sometimes I play some chords and just go with how I’m feeling. Sometimes I start with my drums first. The process varies and depends on what I’m trying to achieve.
Did you play a real violin for the opening of Check My Phone By Joeboy?
I didn’t play the violin on Check My Phone. It was actually a sample. As a matter of fact, we were done with the song, but the beginning felt empty to me, so I added the violin sample. Joe was still skeptical about it, but he warmed up to it and eventually, we used it.
You met Laycon in 2019. How did you meet him and how has the relationship been so far?
It’s such an interesting story. My girlfriend in uni broke up with me because I was too focused on music. I still miss her though. Fast forward to when I was serving in Lagos, she hit me up like yo, Tytanium, and linked me with Jackson, owner of Laycon’s record label. He needed a music producer for the studio and I was interested. I sent him some of my beats, and he forwarded them to Temi Gomez who told me my beats were fire and he would like to work with me.
They also said they had two artists on the label and Laycon was one of them. Eventually, I went to the mainland to work with Laycon and vibe with him and we clicked from the get-go because I had a lot of hip-hop beats that related to his sound. We became friends from then, and the rest is history. I also met Joeboy through Laycon.
The conversation with Tytanium could go on and on, but alas, it had to end somewhere. Tytanium gave us a little insight into his work and we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. If you missed the exclusive Twitter space, you can follow our page here to know when next we’ll have an exclusive with more top African music creatives.
That’s it from us at Soot Africa today, until next time!
