Musta4a is Afro-pop/Afro-fusion artist from Kogi state. Being one of the top finalists at the MBA Talent Project, Soot Africa had a chance to sit and have an insightful conversation with him. We spoke about his experiences as a budding artist and where he draws his inspiration from. This is one conversation you’re going to want to read.
Alright bro, so let’s get to this.
How are you doing?
Musta4a beat me to it and asked how I was doing first. We all laughed at this.
Yeah, but how are you?
Yeah I’m fine. So, my name is Jeremiah, I’m a writer and a budding music producer. So, may I meet you?
Okay, my name is Musta4a i’m a singer and songwriter from Lagos Nigeria. Okay, what else?
And a stress lord.
Someone chips in from the background. Apparently Musta4a knows exactly what he wants and most times, would go as far as “stressing” others to get it. I admire that. Knowing what you want in life and going for it is an actual superpower.
Where in Lagos?
Oh, you want to know that part?
Yeah that will be nice.
I’m an Ikorodu boy.
Okay so, the next question. So, when did you music journey as Musta4a, and what has been your motivation and influence so far?
I started music in 2020. But I’ve been writing and doing music since 2019. And my influences , I won’t say anybody influences me. I’ll just say I’m the type of person that once I’m in a certain mood, I get this wave of emotions that trigger me to want to make music and makes me want to write songs. Sometimes I have to force myself to write though, being an artist involves hard work.
Yeah I feel you. It’s usually like that sometimes. Even as a writer sometimes you have to push beyond just using inspiration to write for engaging your art. Yeah so can you walk us through your creative process? Like a good day you’re inspired and Musta4a wants to get to work. What does he do?
I write songs basically. I’m the type of artist that, gets these random melodies that just ring in my head sometimes and I just bring out my phone and start recording. I might even be on the road walking and I just have to record that melody cause I know I’d actually have situations where I’ll want to or have to use it in a song so that’s what I do.
That’s nice. So you always bring inspiration from it once in a while, that’s great. So far how has your experience been in the MBA Talent Project as musta4a? Like from the moment you applied to being in the project?
At the beginning I didn’t really think I was going to get it. Will this boy get a chance?
You sound like someone inspired you to apply or how did you hear about it?
I would say my manager at that point told me that this whole MBA thing is going on and I should apply. As for me, I don’t like putting my head in something that I feel won’t yield anything good. So he just told me we’d have to apply for it and I was like Omo you sure say e go happen? And he was like let’s just try now, there’s no harm in trying. So we tried and luckily enough we got into the top 30. From there it has been nice, we got to the top 15 and next thing, top seven. By the grace of God. And some people that actually helped my life… I’m not going to talk too much.
Okay what has been your most memorable experience so far in the bootcamp?
Food.
We laughed at this… but I couldn’t agree more, where there’s good food, there’s great energy.
So this is me talking yeah, the most memorable experience I would say is meeting new friends basically. Over the past few days I’ve been able to bond with a few people. A few gave me some kind of vibes at the beginning, I’m not going to lie. But then as we went on, everything became really cool.
That’s great. It’s good that you’re bonding with fellow creatives and it’s been a great experience so far. So what’s next for you, what should we be expecting from Musta4a from now on?
Omo the only way is up o .
For sure.
After this whole thing, all I’m just praying for is the success of this MBA talent project because I know once the whole thing bangs and everything happens, it’s up. No retreat no surrender. We have to keep firing.
So Musta4a, you seem like a fun guy who loves food as well. Tell us what you do for fun, and what your favorite food is.
Alright my name is Musta4a and basically what I do for fun is I think surfing the internet, looking at cute puppies. I’ll say playing football too cause I normally play football but at the same time I don’t do it so often anymore so what I do currently nowadays is going through the internet and searching for content that’ll make me laugh or smile basically. My favorite food, I think is beans. Beans and agege bread to be precise.
“Them no dey give bread for Ikorodu.”
Someone chips in from the background and of course we laugh. Seems like there’s a lot of laughter surrounding Musta4a at all times, that’s good energy right there.
So what would you be doing right now if you were not making music?
I don’t think there’s anything else besides the music. Because at first I was most clueless about what I wanted to do in secondary school. Not until I found out I had a voice and I want to sing. At that time in class they used to call me Burna boy because I used to sing like Burna that time. I had to switch up because I don’t want to sound like anybody, I want to sound like myself.
So I think music is the only thing that gives me meaning, and the only thing I want to be doing. I don’t think there’s any other option. If music doesn’t work, I don’t know what I would do so it has to work. Stay at home kids.
And that’s it from the “Stress lord”. Musta4a has promised us great music on the way and I bet you are as excited about it as I am. If you’re curious to hear just how good Musta4a is, check out his single “Unconditional“. And hold on to your hats for the sensational new music from Musta4a.
Listen to Musta4a, and stay tuned to Soot Africa for your daily music update!