Ojurereoluwa Osemudiame Amos introduces himself in two sentences. “My name is Ojurere, and I’m a musician. I am also an introvert.” It is the most efficient self-description you will hear from a 21-year-old who plays drums, piano and saxophone, writes his own songs, produces his own beats, and can engineer his own records entirely by himself. He does not seem interested in taking up more space than necessary. The music, he has decided, will do that part.

He grew up in Ibadan in a home where music was not an extracurricular activity but a language. His father, also a musician, used to take his children to the studio and assign them songwriting as homework. Ojurere absorbed all of it and went further than anyone expected. By Grade 9, he had already decided this was the direction. By the end of secondary school, he had decided a Nigerian university was not going to get him there. He left after two months, moved to Lagos, found a mentor at a media production studio, and started at the bottom: setting up equipment, learning to engineer, listening to everyone who walked through the door. His debut EP, All For You, followed in December 2024, self-written, self-produced, self-engineered. 

We sat down with him, and for an introvert, he was quite happy to share his thoughts with us. 

What’s the simplest way you would define yourself?

My name is Ojurere, and I’m a musician. I am also an introvert.

You moved to Lagos to chase music. What was the version of yourself who made that decision like?

The decision started towards the end of secondary school when I began developing myself in production. I realised what I was looking for wouldn’t be provided in a Nigerian university, so I considered not attending at all. I spent two months in university but decided to leave when I realised it wouldn’t help me achieve my goals.

How did your family feel about that?

My mom was not excited, but my dad supported me because he is a musician as well. He doesn’t put out music publicly, but he records and performs sometimes. He’s a saxophonist.

So, you grew up surrounded by music?

My mom is musical and was always playing music, which influenced me subconsciously. I witnessed my dad recording in studios, and he showed me how to use a keyboard and start producing. He even made my siblings and me write songs as assignments when we were young. I am the oldest of my siblings, and only the youngest is also musical.

At what point did you think ‘hey, I could actually do this for real’?

I realized this in Grade 9, around 2018.

Of all the instruments you play (drums, piano, and saxophone), which would you never put down?

I started with the drums and still consider myself a drummer, but the piano is my favourite. It is a foundational instrument that I use to structure the melody and harmony of every song I create.

You had a TikTok cover of Laufey’s ‘From the Start’ go viral. How did that feel?

I was very excited because it happened overnight after I posted it at 11pm. The artist herself even reposted and commented on it. Funny, I thought that was it. I thought I had ‘blown’. I connect with her music because of the choice of instruments, chord progressions, and emotional impact, though I try to make my sound more African.

Your mission statement says you want to ‘encapsulate nostalgia and humour’. Where does the humour come in? Because your music sounds very tender and serious.

I naturally like making people laugh and was considered the funny guy in school. I feel humour is the most natural way for me to get a message across through visual content and storytelling.

You wrote, produced and engineered your EP entirely yourself. What was that process like?

When I first got to Lagos, I worked as a studio guy and learned to set up equipment. Eventually, my mentor showed me how to engineer music. At first, I didn’t value it, but once I heard the difference it made, I started taking it as seriously as the songwriting.

In your song WLYGA, the character is Adeyemi. How much of yourself is reflected in him?

I invented the character, but saying there is no part of myself in him would be a lie. Certain lyrics, like the line about presenting some lies and some truths, were specifically drawn from my life.

What did you learn from being the main engineer at the studio after your mentor left, that making your own music couldn’t teach you?

Being behind the mixer allowed me to listen to many people recording and rehearsing, which fed my imagination. I even had the privilege of meeting notable artists like the gospel musician Judikay.

If your sound were a food, a location, a time of day and a colour, what would each one be?

Food: moin-moin, because it feels mature. Location: Italy, because of the composer Piero Piccioni and the country’s history of romantic composition. Time of day: an afternoon where the sun is really bright but not hot. Colour: sky blue or maybe burnt orange, like a sunset.

Is there anything you feel is still missing from your skill set?

I want to learn graphic design and animation. I draw as well, and I want to be able to create my own visualizers and express myself creatively from end to end.

Nigerian music right now is fast and commercially driven. Your sound is the opposite of that. Do you feel any tension?

I’m happy for the commercial artists, but I’m not concerned with what they are doing. I believe that once I have the right team behind me, Nigerians will relate to and enjoy my kind of music in time.

Is there a genre you would love to try that is completely different from your current work?

House music. I would also love to do projects with artists like The Cavemen and Braye.

What does your creative process actually look like on a normal day?

Melodies often come to me while walking on the street. I record them as voice notes and then use the piano to structure the fundamental parts of the song.

Who is an artist you feel has achieved your goal of sounding timeless but fresh?

Bruno Mars.

If you were not doing music, what would you be doing?

Acting.

So you’re clearly an all-round creative. Music, drawing, and dreams of design, animation and acting. Would you ever return to school?

I have no plans to return to formal school. I prefer informal learning on my own time.

What do you want the name Ojurere to mean in five years?

I want it to represent a gush of emotional music that feels like a full cinematic experience. Success, to me, would be having people all around the world loving my songs.