Nine years into his career as an independent artist, Eri Ife has learned that longevity is less about chasing the next big thing and more about staying connected to the reason you started in the first place. An entertainment lawyer, musician, lover boy and lifelong Pokémon enthusiast, Eri has built a career around occupying spaces that might seem separate at first, but have always made sense together to him.
Born in Abuja and raised in Ibadan, he began making music in 2012, years before releasing his debut project in 2017. His early years were spent creating for the love of it, surrounded by a community of Ibadan creatives who were doing much the same. That foundation has remained important even as his life has taken him to the UK, where new experiences, relationships and creative connections have given him more to write about.
Eri is now entering another chapter with Rubicon, a project that marks a more public declaration of his Christian faith and a personal point of no return. The project arrives ahead of his first London headline show, Love Is A Happy Place, where he plans to bring the same sense of softness, love and intentionality that runs through his music.
We spoke with Eri about nine years of independence, growing up in Ibadan, balancing music with entertainment law, the meaning behind Rubicon, his influences and what it means to build a life across Nigeria and the UK.
You’re 9 years in the game now as an indie artist. What has been the most valuable lesson so far?
The most valuable lesson, I think, is just to let your love for the craft show in the music that you make and let that happen all the time. Don’t compromise on that. On the days when it’s tough, because it’s going to be tough from time to time, always try to remember how much you love making music. If you don’t lose sight of that, it makes it more bearable. And yeah, just be bold, man. Be adventurous, because opportunities will show up where you don’t realise. You can’t strategise everything. You can strategise your way into some things, but things just happen when you’re obsessed with making music.
For people who may still be hearing the name for the first time, who is Eri Ife?
Well, I mean, it depends on who’s asking and what day of the week they’re asking. But I’m an entertainment lawyer and a musician. I’ve been doing entertainment law for almost six years now, and I’m also a lover boy. I like to make people fall in love. I’m also a nerd. I like to play video games. I love playing video games. I’m currently trying to finish one, and I have an obsession with Pokémon that I don’t think a lot of people know about. I’ve been obsessed with Pokémon since I was about nine years old.
When did you know you wanted to do music as a career, and how did Ibadan help you as an artist?
I knew I really wanted to do music as a career since around 2012, when I finished secondary school. I started putting things out on platforms like ReverbNation and SoundCloud, as well as smaller music blogs. It was all free downloads and that kind of thing, but I used to see the reactions to the music then and think, okay, there’s definitely something here. I can probably do this, and Ibadan really helped me because it allowed me to evolve as an artist without the pressure that comes with being in a place like Lagos where you have to “blow.”
You’ve openly leaned into being both a lawyer and an artist. “Esquire Wey Dey Run Choir” pretty much says it all. Most people would leave one for the other. What made you embody both?
I think because I realised how much I didn’t know when I started learning things, and so I saw the value and opportunity in providing support to artists from an entertainment law point of view.
I also have a unique perspective because I’m an artist as well. I’ve sat on both sides of the table. I’ve sat on the side of the negotiation as an artist, and I’ve sat on the side of the negotiation as a lawyer, so I know what it looks like, and because of that, I could say I have skin in the game.
Your newest album, “Rubicon,” dropped Aug 7. What does that title mean to you?
I got the title Rubicon from the Holy Spirit in August of last year, but I didn’t really have the context at the time. It was just, okay, this is the title of your next project. No wahala. But with where I am today, I now fully understand why that’s the name of the project.
It’s gained a lot more meaning to me in the past few weeks. Publicly, the idea is that I spent quite a few years making music without publicly identifying my Christian faith as part of my persona and my identity. But I wanted people to know that I’m a Jesus boy through and through, start to finish; that there’s not going to be a world where that isn’t shown in the person that I am, in the person that people see, and in the person that I am when people aren’t seeing. So I made it to be a public declaration that I’m not going back to the things that I’ve left. I’ve crossed the Rubicon. I’ve crossed the point of no return.
“Torun Tori” and “Aroma” were released as lead singles, leaving the rest of the songs to do the heavy lifting. What other song from this project would you recommend to someone hearing you for the first time?
Honestly, the three songs that are left are all really special songs, so I’d be comfortable with someone listening to any of them. I would probably recommend them based on demographics.
If you’re the type of person who likes Afro-gospel, if you like Greatman, Limo Blaze, and those kinds of artists, you can listen to all three. They’re fine.
If you’re a CCI boy or CCI girl, listen to Ebenezer first.
If you’re an older listener, say 30 to 50, and you’re listening to my music for the first time, I’d immediately direct you to KSMD. KSMD is basically a contraction of the Yoruba “Kí n ṣá má dúpẹ́,” and it’s beautiful. I love the talking drum in that song. I love the horns in that song. It’s such a beautiful song.
Then if you’re a younger person and you like dancing, you can listen to Rubicon or Ebenezer.
The album comes ahead of the live show on Aug 23, “Love Is A Happy Place,” at The Colours Hoxton in London. What can people expect from that night?
They should just come ready to fall in love. That’s my own thing. We’re preparing a really special event. Number one, the venue is so beautiful. I love the venue so much. I have a personal attachment to how cute the venue is, so it was deliberately chosen based on that.
We’re going to create different experiences. I’m partnering with Pesa, a remittance app that I personally use, and they’re the primary sponsors of the event. I’m also working with a friend’s skincare brand that is for melanated skin, and we’re going to be giving out some free skincare sets on the day.
There’ll also be a Polaroid photo booth where people can take photos and have them printed out with the event name on the Polaroid. We’re just planning a ton of stuff generally.
We’re familiar with some of your early influences, from Àṣá to Lagbaja to Jon Bellion and Ed Sheeran. Of these, if you were to work with one right now, who would be your pick?
I’d want to do a Christian song with Jon Bellion, or maybe a love song.
But Àṣá, legitimately, because there was a time in my life and in my career where if I did a song with Àṣá, I could retire. My decision to start writing music was based off of Àṣá. I’ve been listening to Lagbaja since I was a child, but my actual decision to start writing music was because of Àṣá.
You’re from Ibadan but based in the UK now. How has moving between Lagos and London shaped your artistry?
It’s been interesting. I think there’s been a bit more mental and emotional space to create music, especially in recent years. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet some incredible artists, incredible creatives, incredible instrumentalists and global people in general since I moved here, and that’s been an experience I don’t take for granted. I’ve had the time to write music based on my experiences, and I’ve had some experiences since I moved here that have uniquely allowed me to make some music.
If you listen to Miles and Miles from my last album, Yours Sincerely, it was actually because there was a time when I was working in a completely different city across the country from my wife. I decided to write a song that spoke to that. It was an expression of that period of my life.
So it’s definitely given me a range of new experiences to write music from. I’m super grateful for that. I don’t take it for granted at all.
If you weren’t an afro-gospel artist or a lawyer, of course, what else could Eri Ife be?
I can’t pick. It’s difficult. To be honest, I’ve not really ever given it a ton of thought, just because I think we’re set on this earth to do certain things. I’ve lived many lives. I’ve done many things. I’ve been a project manager, a programme manager, a product manager, an operations manager, all of these things, with varying degrees of success. But none of them really make me come alive. Maybe I could be a scriptwriter or screenwriter because I love to write as well, but I generally don’t know how to visualise being anything else.
Which Afro-gospel artists inspire your work, and who are you looking to collaborate with?
I actually already have one of them on one of my projects, but AEO is a massive inspiration for me; he is truly an artist’s artist, so he’s definitely a top choice.
Limo Blaze and Greatman are also high on that list, along with Salem, who is fantastic. He’s a brilliant artist, and I don’t think the world has fully recognized his rising talent just yet.
I’m also really keen on Anatoria. I love her presence on social media; she’s an incredibly interesting and hilarious person online, so I’d love to connect and learn from her. Honestly, I could name about a dozen artists I’d love to work with, but it ultimately comes down to creating music that reflects my identity and current experiences.