So I’ve always considered myself an elite music enthusiast given my taste for a wide range of music genres. Or at least I used to. That is, until the allure of ‘organised noise’ captivated me and turned me into just another gyrating zombie. It didn’t matter if the beat had been sampled from another hit song or if the lyrics were watered down beyond kindergarten level. It didn’t matter if most of the words in the song had been manufactured from the artiste’s anus, I sha wanted to dance. I guess even I was no match for the gravitational pull of the bandwagon effect.

However, while in my humdrum state of artistic malnourishment, one musician constantly reminded me of what good music should sound like. Like a guardian angel desperate to bring me over from the dark side, he constantly reminded me of the reason why music is so often said to be food for the soul. Any time his music came on I did feel like I had been fed, and like my soul had been nourished. He sent me to rehab with his music and cured me of my addiction to mindless gyration (I still rock a mean shoki routine though). His professionalism and approach to music sets him miles and miles apart from his contemporaries. At a glance, you can tell that this enigma is simply in a league of his own

His name is Timi Dakolo.

Ever since his big break in 2007 as the inaugural winner of Idols West Africa, many would have expected him to blaze hot for a bit and then wither away into musical oblivion like many others before and after him. Alas! That never happened. He came through with classy and ever green songs over the years from ‘Let It Shine’, to ‘Great Nation’, to ‘Iyawo Mi’, letting industry watchers know that he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. What is even more admirable about Timi Dakolo is his refusal to conform to the commercial trends of the music industry. He seems to understand that music is business, so come hell or high water; he is sticking to his own script. In an era where artistes like Iyanya (his story is the go-to guide on How To Blow) and more recently Praiz are switching lanes faster than our Nigerian politicians change party affiliations, this is very laudable. In an era where the average Nigerian musician is on the lookout for the current trend to latch onto and make a quick buck, Timi Dakolo remains unfazed. He is unperturbed, and I can’t help but marvel at the balls on him. Trends do not drive him, content does, and he more than proves in the song ‘Wish Me Well’, a song that talks about the desire to do whatever it takes in the achievement of dreams and the pursuit of happiness. ‘The Vow’ is his latest hit single.

In a sky full of stars, Timi Dakolo shines the brightest, up above the rest, in a league of his own

– Eddie Steeze Onyimadu