YO X wants to write his name in Nigerian music folklore [Interview]

Since breaking into the mainstream courtesy of his work on Carter Efe's viral 2022 single 'Machala' featuring Berri Tiga, YO X has emerged as a prodigy whose talent has been recognised by some of Afrobeats' biggest acts.

Two years later, YO X has his name tag on era-defining hit songs of Shallipopi and Rema. For the young producer, it's a pleasure to work with these stars as these are the heights he hopes to reach in his journey of writing his name in Nigerian music folklore.

Like many musicians and producers in Nigerian music, YO X’s first professional interaction with music came in the church where he played the piano and rose to the position of Music Director.

Producers generally have a distinctive feature that makes their work instantly recognisable. YO X has his too, and he tells me it’s the way he heavily rolls out the drums.

“What stands out about me are my log drums and percussion. They are always heavy,” YO X says on his definitive feature that is extensively showcased in his work with an artist like Shallipopi whose log drum-heavy records rocketed him to commercial success.

YO X is among a crop of producers shining at the commercial height of Nigerian music. Unlike the generation of producers before him, matters of remuneration and credit have become an essential part of the job.

Matters of split sheet and royalties can get complicated especially when some people feel the need to differentiate between the contributions of multiple producers on a particular song. To avoid such situations, YO X tells me he lets his representative handle the business side while he focuses on the creative aspect. He also pointed out that a producer’s contribution no matter how small on a song, entitles the producer to equal recognition.

“A producer is a producer irrespective of what he added. If I add something the initial producer didn’t think of, then I deserve to get a plaque for the song”. 

For a producer with a vast clientele, YO X's versatility shines across genre lines. Working with different artists with their peculiar demands requires that he adequately interprets their vision, and for the fast-rising producer, this is the style he favours.

“Most of the artists I work with always share their vision with me or tell me the direction they want the beat to go.” He tells me that while he walks into every recording session with a hard drive filled with beats, YO X prefers making beats from scratch that are tailored to the needs of every artist.

Curating a sound is no easy feat, especially for an artist like YO X who takes a bespoke approach to production. Sometimes, producers spend hours attempting to perfect just a minor detail of a beat. I asked him if he's a perfectionist and how he stays refreshed.

“No. I’m not that kind of person. You will end up getting blocked,” YO X says about choosing not to overburden himself with being a perfectionist. “I just take time off and play my PS5,” he adds on how he recharges whenever he feels a mental fatigue.

I asked YO X which producer(s)’s work he admires and possibly draws some inspiration from. He says that honour exclusively belongs to Nigerian multi-talented producer Pheelz.

“I have been listening to Pheelz before he became an artist and I love his work,” he says. When I pressed for his favourite producers, he named London, P.Priime, Magicsticks, and Jay Synth.

On whether YO X will join Pheelz and other producers who have made the switch to becoming artists, he makes it clear he nurses no such ambition although he plans to put out music of his own.

“I don’t have any plans to switch but I have plans to put out music. I have a project coming up next year.”

On which artist he would like to work with, YO X makes a surprising pick of American artist 4Batz.

“I love his voice and I think it will do crazy on Afrobeats,” he says on why he wishes to collaborate with the singer.

On which producer he would love to collaborate with, YO X chooses American superstar producer Metro Boomin whom he considers one of the greatest.

With the sentiments of gatekeeping Afrobeats being echoed in some quarters, I asked YO X what his sentiments are on producing an Afrobeats song for a foreign artist and he tells me he’s not picking sides.

“I wouldn’t pick sides. I am open to working with everyone,” he says. “At the end of the day, we took some of their sounds and infused them. So they too can infuse some of our sound and I will always stand out because I am a Nigerian and they can’t make our sound more than us,” he adds.

Nearly four years into his professional career, YO X has faced and navigated several challenges — one of which was getting a personal studio which he recently set up and credits for enhancing his creativity.

So far in his career, YO X has made a name for himself as one of the most sought-after producers of his generation. Having worked with stars like Rema and Shallipopi, he has dreams of getting to the top.

“I want to climb every mountain,” he tells me about his ambition.

“For the work I am putting in, I see myself getting a Grammy next year,” he says confidently.

On what to expect on his upcoming project, YO X has one-word: “Bangers!”.

That’s all he wants listeners to expect when they hear his tag.