ON THE HIGHWAY

Whether it’s Pan-Africanism, style as rebellion, or the global sound fusion shaping his next studio album, Jidenna is, above all, true to himself

- Modupe Oloruntoba

I never thought I’d hear the word wahala in an interview. If you’ve never watched a Nollywood movie, it’s Yoruba for “trouble”. I didn’t think I’d ever hear the Igbo exclamation Chineke! (“God!”) in American hip-hop, either. What a time to be alive, witnessing this age of African influence on global creativity. Some call it a renaissance, this collision of global reach, digital culture, great timing and everything we already knew was here. Everything the rest of the world has, in recent years, seen, heard and experienced for the first time.

But I digress.

The text came through the night before, and here I was. Purse, pen, notebook, recorder, questions for Jidenna.

‘The crew eats before the talent,’ he said. Before I arrived that afternoon, the team opted to delay lunch in favour of getting the last of the looks shot, which meant the time I needed for our conversation would delay his even further. Jidenna contentedly made himself a cup of black coffee in Sunshine Studio’s kitchenette before we sat down in their courtyard while the crew began a late lunch inside.