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If you were born in the late 90s, one experience that has become a rite of passage for kids of that era was the act of music sharing. Students from diverse backgrounds, each with unique tastes in music and a common love for music, come together to share their enthusiasm for a song with their friends, and soon everyone is creating a scrapbook, penning the lyrics to some of their favourite songs. This memory, which resonates with a lot of people , was my experience, and the same goes for Bolatito Obisanya, BMH, the fast-rising Nigerian producer behind some of the biggest and most experimental Nigerian tracks in recent memory.
In 2022, his distinctive use of melodies and drums earned him an international hit single with emo-afrobeats artiste Ckay, who had released Emiliana as a part of his sophomore album ‘Sad Romance.’ The single, which went on to go viral and emerged as one of the foremost Afrobeats records with a certified Diamond in France by the French body SNEP showcased the versatility that lay in the Nigerian music space while not being plainly so experimental that the average Nigerian could not relate to. Ckay would later commend his mastery in an appreciation post as he said, “We spend countless hours in the studio sculpting the sound, trying ideas… best in drums in afrobeats, in my opinion.”
At 22, BMH is unarguably one of the most experimental Nigerian music producers in recent memory, dissecting music elements with inspiration from the early 70s and 80s while infusing elements of modern sound into his art. His influence in the emo-Afrobeats sphere has led him to work with artistes like Ckay and Tar1q, but before his career in music production beckoned, he was a music lover living in Alapere, Ketu, a densely populated Lagos suburb, where he explored his love for music as a casual listener of experimental sounds and a closeted dream of becoming a rapper.
When he showed up for his Zoom interview with an equally enthusiastic music lover who has been a fan of his work since he worked on Ckay’s ‘DTF,’ his almost nervous but confident disposition shows a side of him music lovers who love his sound might never get to experience. Styled in an American Ivy style, the producer shares how his very religious family was his first introduction to the music, but unlike most, he was not the typical ‘choir boy.’
“I grew up in the church,” he said. In the trenches of Alapere, as he likes to call it, he got a blend of what he calls street OT and being a ‘church boy’ as his dad is a pastor at The Redeemed evangelical Ministry (TREM) and his mum was a prominent member of the choir. But unlike most kids with a similar background, Obisanya didn’t sing neither did he attempt to do music, all he did was listen and enjoy music
“I never learnt how to play any instrument, I just liked the idea. I just understood the idea,” he said. “I didn’t feel it was my thing. I just wanted to explore music properly. This was when I was in high school. At that time I was listening to a lot of secular music, I wanted to explore more of that. So, I was just trying to gain experience and all.”
BMH was 12 years old when Kanye West released ‘Yeezus’ in 2013. The album, which is considered Kanye’s most experimental album, was ten tracks of excellence and adventure that showcased the narcissistic side of Kanye. For BMH, that album shaped his mind. From ‘On Sight’ to ‘Black Skinhead’ down to ‘Bound 2,’ they were his Holy Grail. Rolling Stone referred to the album as the ‘darkest, most extreme music Kanye has ever cooked up, an extravagantly abrasive album full of grinding electro, pummeling minimalist hip-hop, drone-y wooz, and industrial gear-grind.’
“I had just left secondary school in 2016 when I started production. I’d say Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ shaped my mind to wanting to become a producer and wanting to become experimental and try different things.” However, Kanye was not the only artiste who shaped him, international artistes like J.Cole and Metro Boomin shaped his thoughts on his line in the music sphere and how he would like to be perceived.
At 15, when many Nigerian teenagers were preparing to begin studies at their choice university in Nigeria, BMH had bigger dreams that included studying abroad. The idea did not sit well with his parents and eventually led him to take a gap year, the period that defined his music production journey. “I was bored, so I just wanted to do something at that period, so that’s why I just picked up Fruity Loops,” he said.
Years of loving music and trying to understand how it works led him to this moment. “It got to the period where I said that you know what? I feel I can express myself through this music, and that was the time when I let me pick up this Fruity Loops and start using it.” One of his friends in church, who had been a school roommate of the foremost music producer, Kiddominant, had installed the Fruity Loops, an audio production application on his computer, but he didn’t understand how to use it until after high school.
While studying Information and Communication Engineering at Covenant University, BMH, through countless practice, trial and error started learning how to produce music via YouTube. “So I basically went through YouTube, downloading all the videos I could and rewatching everything and trying out different things.” Before this, he did not sing in his local church choir, nor did he learn how to play any instrument professionally. All he did was learn and rebel against his parents’ choices.
“I tried different things to not go, I tried failing the entrance exam, I tried throwing away the acceptance letter, but they found a way to get me to school.’ That, however didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams in music. In an emphatic manner, he said, ‘I’m stubborn,’ it’s not that hard to believe, especially with how out of the box he is with his production. Eventually, his parents caved. “My dad is a free kind of person, so he lets us do what we want as long as we do it well.”
Despite the eventual support, it was not always like that. “When I started they were not really into it, they always tried to stop me and seize my equipment, but because I’m kind of stubborn, I could not listen to anybody even if I tried to, I just always wanted to make music. Even when I went to Covenant, my first year, I saved up all my pocket money, just to buy equipment that year. So I was just like that I didn’t really listen to anybody.”
One day, after producing tracks for artistes in his school, he made ‘DTF,’ the intro track to Ckay’s highly acclaimed album ‘Ckay The First.’ “So I made DTF at Covenant, while I was in school on my bed. Me and my guy Kendle, we were always working and we made that song in just one day and we sent it to Ckay. Ckay loved the idea of the song then, and he called me to finish it up.”
This was the first time he met Ckay, and from that moment their work chemistry has created magic. “Working with Ckay is fun because he is a producer so, he just makes communication easier, he just makes the vibes easier to just go because he understands what he wants, he knows what he wants, and he knows how to say it.”
With several groundbreaking yet underground tracks with artistes like Korede White and Wagada in Covenant, he has gone on to create hits and the best chemistry with artistes across different genres. “I work with people that I find the best chemistry with, that’s when the best music is made. It just finds a way to. I met Tar1q, and from the first song that we made, we just knew that we had to keep on working together. He’s dropping a project next month and that’s going to be crazy.”
Speaking on inspiration and what drives him into making music, he said ‘everything inspires my music. I can just be working across the street, and I experience energies of people and I see what they are listening to like just see how they’re communicating with each other.” For every artiste experiencing people in their natural state and seeing their reactions is one of the many ways to gain inspiration, it’s no different for BHM. “I want to just show people that there is a way you can express yourself, and I want to be an inspiration.”
When I asked him what fulfilment meant for him as a music producer. He said beyond the awards and accolades, ‘to touch as many Souls as possible. To impact a lot of people through music, to see people have moments with my music, to see my music taking people from their dark points.’
With credit in songs with artistes like El grande Toto, Ayra Starr, Blaqbonez, PyschoYP, Whoisakin, we had to ask what’s your best production, he said, “My best production is not out yet. It’s with Ckay.” and we can’t wait to experience the greatness.
The post BMH: How The Information And Communication Engineer Found His Voice In Emo Movement appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
