Today we’d like to introduce you to Deji Ilesanmi (Daygee).
Hi Deji, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Started with a group called “Milli Mindz” (meaning militarized minds) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a conglomerate of seven (7) groups and i was the only solo artist and the youngest. Life scattered us all later on. On my own end, i got an admission to further my education following the plans of my parents for me. But music never left me. I remember being in class and writing songs. I generally had a plan to sponsor my music with whatever i was going to be making with my education. Formerly being part of a group with no investors (where i was the youngest), i saw how difficult it was for the older artists in the group (that i looked up to) to get that break every artist yearns for. And my African parents where obviously not going to sponsor my music dreams even if they had that kind of money.
Soon after my internship after college, i went straight back to music. While i was doing my clinicals/internship, i had met this guy who was a producer and just set up a studio. We somehow got talking and he told me he was a producer and i told him i was an artist. He invited me to stop by at his studio to check me out. I stopped by and i passed his test. After that, he picked me up on a daily basis to the studio. About a year into that, i got an opportunity to be a back up artist for a then rising Nigerian artist called Lineo. He liked my talent, and before i knew it he decided to bring me (together with his band) on an American tour. Been living in the United States since then. Although i went back to school for physical therapy but i didn’t finish because i just could not see myself not doing music. Reality is; it is what is love. And i have been going at it since then, although it has not been easy. Good things don’t come easy as they say. And i believe one day, i will achieve that breakthrough i’ve been diligently working towards.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it hasn’t been an easy ride. Major struggles for me, to mention a few have been lack of an investor/sponsorship and the fact that i am an Afrobeat artist living in America. But the emergence of social media and the acceptance of the Afrobeat genre on the global scale keeps me optimistic.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a singer/songwriter. I do mainly afrobeats, rnb, and generally; afrofusion. I am proud of my growth, the consistency. My style of music, versatility and voice sets me apart from others.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In the next few years to come, i see my industry growing way bigger/further than what/where it is right now, with me being one of the key pioneers of it, and one of the best to ever do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Daygee
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdaygee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058734406331
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@daygeenanana8813
