GISTS
Singer Agunbiade Joseph Temidayo, professionally known as Mide SF is out to carve a niche for himself in the Nigerian music industry. The artiste, who has been on steady rise to fame, is not leaving anything behind to pursue his passion for music. But unlike most fast rising musicians who emulate their predecessors, he has chosen to chart his own path to success. The singer, who just released his first official EP titled ‘Soft EP’, with songs like ‘Rollercoaster’, ‘Joro’, ‘Feel Alright’, ‘Overdose’, boasted that he is more talented, organised than Grammy Award winner, Burna Boy, and also spoke of his plan to conquer the Nigerian music scene.
He said, “Soft EP is my first official EP. The idea behind the title is the uniqueness and untouchable nature of my brand; the nature of my talent is unparalleled. Burna Boy ranks among Nigeria’s greatest artistes of this generation. I have watched him and I can tell you he’s talented and has a very strong stage presence. He has showed to this generation that we can through hard-work believe in ourselves and achieve the ultimate goal.
“However, I am not boasting or trying to woo you, I believe in myself and I can tell you that I am better than Burna Boy, just watch out.”
Speaking on how his growing up in Nigeria has helped him to be a better personality and inspired him to fall in love with afro-beat, the Ondo State-born artiste said, “I would say my growing up has greatly influenced me. Growing up in Nigeria, mainstream radio stations were playing either Afrobeat or R&B. There was no other thing, except reggae. The clubs were completely taken over by Afrobeat and R&B from Psquare to D’Banj. I will say that it has really been a lot easier for me to be versatile with my style and writing. I know that if I didn’t have such exposure from a young age, it would have been very difficult for me to write song in Afro-beat.”
As a Germany-based artiste, one will wonder how Mide SF intends to penetrate the Nigeria music industry, but the soft-spoken artiste says he is not in a hurry but rather, he just wants to contribute his quota to the music industry. “I believe if you are doing something right, naturally people will recognise you, you don’t have to force anything. I want to produce evergreen songs, songs that touch the heart, that connect with today’s reality, songs that heal the world and give hope to the hopeless. Success will come by God’s grace.
“The Nigeria music industry is one to reckon with in the world right now. We just need to expose the industry more to the world because they need to know the Nigerian music industry has huge talents and has so much to offer. In the ‘90s, we could hardly see where they play Nigerian songs, but the reverse is what we have today, in every nook and cranny, you see people dancing to our music,” he said.
