Artist Nissi Ogulu Wears The Crown Of African Excellence
We began the interview with some gist, Nissi, talking about her exploits as a fictional member of Destiny’s Child, although rightfully identifying herself as Kelly, from her childhood memories in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She would oscillate between boarding schools in Lagos Nigeria and then Bath UK during her high school tenure. Being the only recognisable black face at the latter school she embraced the attention, which was largely positive, making her the Naomi Campbell of Bath sashaying through the hallways and libraries. Soon, she would transform into the Nissi of today, with a stunning portfolio including music, art-directing, painting, engineering as well as championing her family who make her happy.
Her motto? MACA (Make Africa Cool Again) is a slang word her team have jokingly adopted as a positive twist on MAGA (Make America Great Again). However, Nissi’s determination in seeing this through is unmatched as she energetically resonates with female liberation, education and political reform, all themes stirred through her music and creative projects. And what better way to spread the word as our busy sis’ lives the best of both worlds between Nigeria and the UK, an opportunity that allows an artist like Nissi to unleash her work onto a global stage, satisfying an audience with a craving for what Africa has to offer.
Even as far back as 2016 on the song ‘Pay Attention’, Nissi already had the makings of a great storyteller, preaching the importance of opening our eyes to the imperfections of the world and readdressing her idea of liberation through music, “It’s always been a goal for me and still is to be able to do as much as I can and break boundaries, not just being an African person, but being a woman as well.” Here it is evident that Nissi wants to make herself an example, political or otherwise, of a dark-skinned African woman with modern views - serious with lots of sass. It’s also unmistakable the role that Fela has played in her life: the icon that he was in sending messages through his own musical catalogue and the time spent with Nissi’s grandfather who managed him. This essence has obviously infiltrated her identity to its core: as a director Nissi’s assertiveness lends well to her animation productions and from her musical scope, she is an individual that is sure of herself. Even at the age of 12 with her first music performance for her family and friends, Nissi walked into the room to inspire, “When I was playing it for everybody, I had zero doubts in my mind that it would blow them away, which it did, so it’s been a perfect outlet for me in terms of expression.”
““For me I’ve always taken science and technology as well as my art & music as things that I want to do and do to the best of my ability. I’m one of those people that doesn’t believe in limitations.””
As a private person, Nissi is trying to be more open whether it is with the messaging in her afro-enriched music, or the visual mapping of stories galvanised by her animation studio ‘Creele’. Creele (pronounced kuh-real), a contraction of ‘creative’ and ‘film reels’, is another exciting venture for Nissi, harnessing creativity through motion picture. In conveying her message of ‘MACA’ (Make Africa Cool Again), Nissi wants to get to the genesis of ‘The Child’, attacking the very identity that carries us through the rest of our lives as adults. By retelling stories of Divine Kings and Queens, real or mythological, what is concrete is how these stories can positively impact any individual of African descent. Her debut story ‘The Satchel’ recreates the Nigerian folklore of brothers Oduduwa and Obatala who were sent by Oludumara (God/Divine ruler) to create the earth. A true aficionado, Nissi understands how vital it is to arrange the skeletons of her projects correctly “from your development stage to conceptualisation… postproduction and distribution being able to understand what goes into each level and not skipping any steps because the better work you do in pre-stages the better your production will be.”
Nissi has done her homework which makes her creative projects destined for greatness, hopefully drawing the likes of renowned storytellers like Jay-Z, Pixar and Walt Disney, who she admires, for epic collaborations without compromising the essence of her work being afro-rooted. Her words of advice to anyone chasing a craft are, “know your stuff be confident about knowing your stuff and be bold enough to be able to express yourself”.
““The entire purpose of Creele is to really tell stories that portray the creative brilliance of Africa that bring our own narrative to the forefront and then start to champion the media and the education system so that we start to understand more about culture in what we watch.””
As she’s crossed one hurdle with her debut album ‘Ignite’, Nissi’s messaging and artistic delivery remains true and pure. Singing about confidence, ready for whatever life brings her way on the title track ‘Ignite’, Nissi preaches words like “Ko Ma Bo”, corroborating groovy lyrics with the Yoruba language to celebrate her Nigerian Heritage. Also, on ‘Babalawo’ she further meditates on good fortunes, ensuring we feel every word’s intentions, “when my grandmother would pray for me In Yoruba, she would say things like, anybody that tries to come against you will be like mud under your feet upon which you will trample… there’s so much weight in the things that they say”. This marrying of imagery and language is key to unlocking the brilliance of Africa and how we interact with its culture.
““I can very happily say that I will forever be tight with my family. It’s never going to be this one has gone off and started her own family, none of us can ever see that as an eventuality. I feel like our kids will live together their kids will live together and it will end up being this massive thing.””
Nissi comes from a creative family, being the younger sister of African giant Burna Boy, who recently won his first Grammy Award to acclaimed praise. They don’t have jam sessions per se, but they talk about everything, Nissi making it clear that she prioritises her kin as her confidants and number one critic. “If for any reason anybody needs input from the other person you ask we answer, if you’re making a misstep and the mood is right and you feel like how about maybe not that, other people respect it, do your thing I’ve got your back and that’s it.” And as she fondly thinks of a future where her and her siblings’ children will all live and play together, Nissi’s mission to revive our childhood wonders and motivate Africa as a collective is truly inspiring.
““The things I would communicate in my music would be different from what I would communicate in my paintings which will be different from stories we would tell in animation so for me I find different ways to tell different stories but sometimes have them be similar.””
Nissi Ogulu, known exclusively as Nissi, epitomises the reign of young black artists who are just as enterprising as they are entertaining. In a world that wrongfully capitalises off of black femininity, Nissi has taken her own reigns as her wide interests and calm determination are sure to set her apart, even allowing her urge to be more open to play out organically and at her own pace. Nissi is not just one to watch, she is someone you might want to grab a drink with or catch a vibe, all whilst pushing the afro-centric narrative, because intention is everything. Nevertheless, Nissi is sure to make Africa cool again because she is also pretty cool herself.
Watch the short animation film “The Satchel” created by her own Creele studios and directed by herself.
Follow Nissi on Twitter here and Instagram @nissination.
Words & Interview by Funmi Olagunju
