Niniola’s ‘This Is Me’ Debuts

By Juliet Ebirim
Shortly after the release of her debut
album ‘This is Me’, Niniola was the
name on everyone’s lips. The beautiful
songstress proved to the music industry,
her fans and upcoming fans too that
she is not one to be taken lightly.
Indeed, she showed she knew her
mettle very well which was very evident
on the 13-track album. Those who
remembered her as the shy contestant
who was always in glasses on the MTN
Project Fame season 6 in 2013 are
amazed at her transformation and
proud of this huge milestone.
Niniola
The album opens with a melodic track,
’Moyo’ which means ‘rejoice or praising
God’ in Yoruba and ends with a banging
dancehall tune ‘Hold Me’ featuring the
dancehall reggae king, Patoranking.
Other artistes featured in the album
include the hip-hop Apala musician,
Terry Apala, Devin Di Dakta and
Charmant. The album also includes her
popular hit ‘Maradona’ which was
released earlier in the year. Staying true
to her roots, the Ekiti born artiste titled
most of her songs in Yoruba. According
to her, it was a deliberate attempt to
celebrate her Yoruba heritage. Born
Niniola Apata, the singer hails from Ekiti
state and is the sixth child of her
parents.
‘This is Me’ in more ways than one,
showed the ingenuity of the artiste.
Although she describes her genre of
music as ‘afro-house’, the album
displays different genres which are
meticulously arranged to give the
listener a melodic and memorable
musical journey. Speaking on the title
of her album, Niniola said “This is me, is
as honest as it can be vocally. I don’t
just have my genre afro-house but I also
have RnB and other genres. This is me
telling you that I can jump on any beat
as long as I feel good about the beat. So
this is just Niniola who loves to sing and
dance.”