Rap is competitive for women – Eva

Could you tell us a bit about yourself? I’m a pretty boring person. Trust me a lot of people would not believe this, but it is the truth. I could spend all day lying down in bed watching movies. I don’t hang out much and if I ever do, it is most probably work. I […]

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a pretty boring person. Trust me a lot of people would not believe this, but it is the truth. I could spend all day lying down in bed watching movies. I don’t hang out much and if I ever do, it is most probably work. I guess you cannot exactly even call that hanging out.There is a lot of this and that I have picked up from several tribes and cultures that have groomed me into the girl that I am today.

What was it about growing up that has impacted you the most?

I really cannot say. I guess having folks that were open to letting you experiment was a good deal for me. As long as you were doing great in school and not bringing any trouble home, my folks were good with what we wanted to do. I pretty much began to discover myself at an early age. From age six through to 17, I was doing everything from singing to dancing, writing, acting, experimenting with fashion and these bits and pieces of me went on for a long time until I could decide for myself how I wanted to tackle them.

When did music start for you?

Music started in church and school. It wasn’t until after secondary school however that I felt a strong need to take it up as a career. As for genre, I think rap chose me.

Did it begin with you rapping?

It actually didn’t. I used to sing in choir from school to school. I dabbled into writing for some reason, and writing became something I couldn’t do without. I would sit down and pen down my thoughts or write complete fictional stories. Then one time, I was probably 13 or so, I found a profound love for rap music. It really kicked off with Eminem. I had a friend in school at the time, Yemisi Ayinde. I remember she walked into the room and was rapping Eminem’s verses from ‘Superman’. In my mind, I’m like, ‘how did she do that?’ She knew every single word.

I wanted to be able to do that as well. So, it started off from learning rap lyrics, to actually sitting down to write mine. And then fast-forward to today, here we are!

You have a number of collaborations, who have you enjoyed working with the most?

Every collaboration means a lot. I can’t say exactly. The excitement from each one is different from the other. I mean I can’t exactly tell you I enjoyed working with SauceKid the most, because I can say the same of Cohbams Asuquo, Shank or Cartiair. There is always something different happening.

Working with Saucekid was crazy! With Cohbams, it was spiritually intense. I was totally zoned out, probably because I didn’t believe I was actually working with him. My collaboration with Tha Suspect and all the female rappers was total bliss. I could go on and on. With P Square it was a totally different ball game. I remember I was so excited about it I was practically laughing the entire studio session! Basically I can’t pick a favourite.

Who do you look forward to working with?

TuFace. I can’t explain the love I have for him. It’s been the same since he came out and blessed us with his music. I have been honoured to have short but amazing conversations with him. We’ve even talked about working together, but I am in no rush at all. I am waiting for it. That would be an awesome record to have. I a m open to collaborations. I’m sure I wouldn’t mind working with everyone. God I wish!

Rap is seen more as men thing, but more women are penetrating it and making indelible marks. What do you have to say about this especially with the stiff competition from other female rappers?

I really think it is great to see the girls step up to it. Back in the ‘90s with the likes of MC Lyte, Queen Latifa and co, it kind of seemed like every female rapper was a tomboy. It is not so hard to see why that is. I mean, you are pretty much stepping up to do stuff that the guys already made so strong. Right now, there’s more feminism to it. Rap from the girls is sexy now. I mean all women.  I do believe competition is great though. It doesn’t stop you from doing what you want to do; it only helps to show you better ways and bigger ideas to pull.

Do you feel threatened by them?

Competition? Not at all.

What informs your sense of fashion?

That would be my complete sense of self. I am me. This is all I have ever known. I never try to be someone else. If I wake up today and feel like I’d totally rock a baldy, I would go get my head shaved and rock that baldy like no one else has. I just let loose sometimes. I am a very spontaneous person too! That gets in my decisions as per fashion a lot of times.

Your hair stands out. How long does it take you to do it up every day?

You know a lot of people ask that. My fans keep asking “How do you sleep with it?” (Laughs)

I can confidently tell you, this is the most convenient hair I have had in a long time. Getting my hair done everyday takes no more than three minutes. It’s the makeup that takes all the time! (Laughing)

What is ‘Eva Says HD’ all about?

‘Eva Says’ started as an audio recording, which had me in personal mode in communicado with the fans. I basically get up in the studio and talk for minutes about stuff going on, like I was talking to a friend. Fans gravitated towards it. After the fourth episode of ‘Eva Says’, my manager thought it was best to expand the idea and make it visual, hence, the name ‘Eva Says HD’. The intention is to release episode after episode of me basically taking the fans through my career as it is. Everything you don’t see on TV or read in the papers. The beautiful thing about it is I make as personal and interactive as possible. The fans love it! I’m glad and just grateful to have that.

You consider it necessary to have personal contact with your fans; how many of them do you reach out to daily personally?

Oh wow! I really can’t say. I think I get on twitter every other day. I have about 20,000 followers at the moment so I do know that every tweet could reach over 1,000 people. That is enough for me really. Personally, I try to communicate one on one. If it is not twitter, I’m replying fan mails, sometimes taking calls. It means a lot to them to have that kind of connection and I really feel like that’s little compared to the connection they have and keep with my music.

You studied Computer Science, is that something you’ll go back to at some point?

I don’t see that happening, except of course if I go along with my passion for animation and work towards getting an advanced degree in the field.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on my video projects as well as the debut album. A lot of people have asked why I haven’t had an official music video out all this time. I mean, I’m an unsigned artist, so asides the obvious financial challenges of having to do music all by myself, I have had my fair share of bad luck. One time last year, I had my face covered up and grazed by acne. It was so serious at some point, I was home caged for months! Going out was not an option not to talk of shoots or events. That did take a lot of my time. I mean being the vain ‘face first’ kind of girl that I am. All that is over now. I’m focused on getting my visuals out and I really cannot wait to have the fans experience that.

Did American   Eva  influence your decision to take the name on as a stage name?

(Laughing) No not at all. Eva is my birth name. I was born Elohor Eva Alordiah. I’m from Delta State. When I started music, getting a stage name or moniker felt like a really long thing. So I stuck to using my birth name, Eva.

What influenced GIGO?

GIGO came about because I really felt a need to release material. I didn’t want to go the mix tape route which is what upcoming unsigned rappers would generally want to do. So I got a team of the finest producers I had a sincere connection with and began to work on the project, not knowing how it was going to end up or how I was going to promote it. The only thing that was easy about making this project on my own was getting a title. (Laughing) GIGO is the acronym for ‘Garbage In  Garbage  Out’ which is a Computer programming term. Being a Computer graduate, I guess I was inspired from that end.

Could you tell us about the EP?

The GIGO EP is a collection of eight original songs produced by Sossick, Tintin, BigFoot and Gray Jon’z. I had a blast making this project. When you are doing music and you have to handle creative decisions by yourself, that’s a huge responsibility. I have a great management team however and getting this project done the right way was the priority for a long time.

The plan was to create different dynamic sounds that are true to my image as an artiste, all of which I have been influenced by in certain ways; everything from Rap to Afrobeat, Dancehall, R & B. I love it!  I got to work with Shank, Saucekid, Ikechukwu, Basket Mouth and Chi Gurl on this EP and every single song means a lot. I’m grateful to have it. I could go on and on   about it.

The most amazing thing was having the kind of support and acceptance it got from the fans, critics, media and DJs. The love I get is what you’d call bonkers! Every day I look back and think “what’s going to happen with my debut album if this is what I get from an EP”

What awards are you working towards receiving?

(Laughs) All of them, even “Best Soul”.

In all of this do you think you are better off an entertainer than you would have if you were a practising computer scientist?

Oh yes! Even if I wasn’t doing music, I would be focused on fashion and makeup artistry, which I do now anyways. I currently have a makeup company, ‘MakeupByOrsela’, which I am very proud off. We provide services in makeup from film/TV, to photography, fashion, bridals and more.  I’m very hands-on with what I do.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Currently I’m promoting the GIGO EP. Working on visual projects and videos as well which is something I have been dying to do for a really long time. The album is in the works too. Besides that, there are so many collaborations to clear off my table. I just recorded a song with Solidstar for his new album which has become my favorite feature at the moment.  Apart from music, there’s so much work to do this year with the makeup company that I’m genuinely excited about. God gives grace. I’m grateful.

Where do you see yourself in another five years?

Exactly where God wants me to be. I don’t fight my way through his plans; I just live and hope for everything that’s better than the best.