‘Musically I’ve evolved. I’ve undergone a metamorphosis. I feel like a butterfly now, I am spreading my wings and I am gonna fly. It isn’t so much a change as it is a different aspect of Ruby Gyang‘ – Ruby Gyang

Whenever I come in contact with a talented artiste in the industry who’s evolving and experimenting with sounds without losing their vocal ability (their signature trade secret), I always give applause.
Over the years I’ve watched a number of talented lads hang their boots because they could not evolve with the fickle nature of the music industry. They find it hard to strike a balance between the vibe the music audiences are yearning for and how they can deliver without losing their niche. The music industry does not feel sorry for anyone. Fans are like passersby; if your sound gets their attention they stop by, when it doesn’t, they move on. Same can be said for your music talent. If you channel it well, it embraces you and brings you happiness. If you don’t find a way to evolve and make it work, it makes you feel sick, as you watch others not as talented as you breaking through. The key for every
artiste is to find your niche, spread your wings and sound; the fans will forever rally around you. This seems to be the case with Ruby these days. She seems to have let go, freed herself and reveling in her own sound. It has been from one progress to another looking at her past body of work. Her latest single ‘Kale Ni’, which means watch me, is so impressive, I decided to have this conversation with her:

WHERE I’VE BEEN

‘After releasing my EP titled “This Is Love” and the lead single and video for “Shakara” in 2016, I took a break from music. I felt like I had to step back and really think about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go with my music and career. I felt like I really needed to take charge of my career. I wanted to co-produce my music. I started to write more. I had so many plans and ideas I hadn’t executed and it was time to do so.’

MY MUSIC NOW

‘Musically I’ve evolved. I’ve undergone a metamorphosis. I feel like a butterfly now, I am spreading my wings and I am gonna fly. It isn’t so much a change as it is a different aspect of Ruby Gyang. I’m experimenting with more genres such as Folk, Rock, Tribal House,
Trap. Also there’s more Hausa in the writing. It’s such a beautiful
and expressive language, perfect for love songs. I’m also working with more producers like Chillz, City Monsta,Tmxo, Ckay, Reinhard, Chopstix, Atta Otigba just to name a few. So the sound is diverse.’

MY NEW SINGLE

‘The new song is called “Kale Ni.” It means *Watch Me* in Hausa.
It’s a feel good, sassy, fun upbeat song. Perfect for summer. More than that it’s an empowering song:

Kale Ni da kyau (Look at me well),
Ni Ce Ruby (I am Ruby),
Sarauniya Ruby (Queen Ruby)
Life of za party

‘It’s about recognizing the greatness in you and telling people to “Put some respek on it.” For the longest time, the feedback I always got was that there was something regal about me. Something I never saw in myself. Then I came to understand it was self-confidence. I’ve found my inner Queen and I am telling the world to pay attention. I also want to inspire people to find their inner Queens and Kings, to morph into something great and powerful. Don’t limit yourselves. You can do anything. #Sarauniya’s and #Sarkis.’

WHAT NEXT?

‘The video for “Kale Ni” shot by UA Images will drop real soon.
I’m going to give my fans music back to back. No more long breaks
between releases. I have done some interesting collaborations but I’m not going to mention any names though. It’s a surprise. I’m going on tour real soon starting with Lagos and spreading across country and beyond.’

GET TO KNOW RUBY IN BRIEF

Born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Ruby is a native of Benue state from Tiv Tribe. Her late dad was a professor and her mother is a pastor. She’s from a family of five siblings who also are musically talented. In her words, ‘I fell in love with music when I was five. I was in the church choirs all through primary and secondary school, also through part of University. My mom and two of my brothers sang in church and recorded and released albums. Dad had a great ear for music. He introduced me to Soul music.
I always knew I was going to be an artiste but didn’t know how I’d go about it. Meeting Jude Abaga in Jos in church 2003 changed that. We worked on music together and he hounded me to move to Lagos from Jos to pursue my dream. I moved to Lagos in 2010. Some of the songs I have released include “Okay” 2011 (Single), “Down” 2013 (Single), “Good Man” (Single),
“Shakara” ft Ajebuter 22 2016 (Single). I released an EP in 2016 titled “This Is Love.”‘

– Sesan Adeniji