It’s an audacious start for Afrobeats’ latest pop-soul fusionist, Tariq, on his third compilation project, Okada Airlines. The eight-tracker extended play shapes Tariq’s distinct artistry, placing him on the radar of superstars on the rise.
Born Tariq Oluokun, the young musician stepped into the world of music, during his early undergraduate years in the University of Lagos. The then-Geology student discovered the gems in his own sound, a unique mesh of Soul, RnB, and soft pop.
“To be honest, I have always been a fan of gemstones. I just loved stones. I was fascinated by Gold, Diamond and all of that. I just had to study it, so that maybe one day I would discover it. That has always been my childhood dream. I love a lot of stones,” he tells Net NG.
Honing his talent has always been a default action for Tariq. “I had no music training. I just loved to write songs. Growing up, I would just use my phone recorder to record songs being played on TV. I would tell my brothers to be quiet, so that I could record it and write the lyrics down. I just wanted to hear what the artists were saying.
“I switched from writing people’s songs to actually writing my own songs. I got more in tune with the English language. I kept mastering the art of songwriting. Singing came after. It wasn’t that easy, but it happened.”
After starting out as a rapper, under the moniker Driew World, Tariq found his love for singing while in university. It was one of his freestyle clips on Instagram that attracted talent scouts from Chocolate City music who became the door to his record deal.
Tariq’s 2022 debut, Son of The Moon, provoked listeners to embrace a new strain of RnB/Soul, with the melancholy matching up with the euphoria at the same time. The songs, like fan-favourites “Bad Intentions”, and “Signals”, kept ears perked for his deeply emotive vocalisation, with very stretched but softened falsetto.
His sophomore tape, All I Felt, last year, showcased more of his bad boy/lover boy pop, with songs like “Kupe” setting the pace but still slightly slower than expected. Now, he’s knee deep in his musical ideas, with indigenous deep cuts like Zule Zoo’s 2005 “Kerewa” sample on “Livin Soul”, and pop-driven tunes like “Bus Stop” with Young Jonn, and “Jigga” with Khaid.
“I don’t try to focus on talking about very serious issues, but I just want to make people feel good. I am trying to explain myself the best way possible. And the best way I do that is through music,” he explained why he prefers his alternative sound. “I’ve seen weird comments like I sing like I’m crying. I’ve seen great comments too. I’m very in tune with the message that I’m trying to convey, and that’s because I make music about my lifestyle and about people that I have seen around me.”
On Okada Airlines Tariq travels back memory lanes, depicting his experiences shaped by constant migration as a child across Benin, Lagos and Delta. He tributes his late father with the title, as his dad actually worked at the defunct Okada Air private airlines back in the ‘80s in Benin City. With strong themes around perseverance , love and kindness, Okada Airlines carries an aura that distinguishes Tariq’s songwriting.
“The whole idea came from a couple of situations that I found myself in. Growing up in Delta State, first of all, Okada Airlines is an actual airline station in Benin City that my dad used to work in as a station manager, back in the 80s. I was born there, but I moved to Delta with my family when I was a year old.
“Coming to Lagos State, my life felt like I was moving around a lot. So, I poured out every single thing that I felt in certain situations that I found myself within Nigeria. I had to write about the people I met, and the things that I saw, the lifestyle that people that I lived with were living, and all of that.
“On my debut, Son of the Moon, I was in the dark about a lot of things about myself, and then all I felt was me coming to terms with exactly how I feel about certain situations, about even myself growing up as a young kid. Okada Airlines represents the journey and movement,” he tells NetNG on his inspiration behind the record.
He also narrates some interesting creative sessions behind the EP, emphasising his spontaneity and diversity.
“I had a meal of Eba and Vegetable soup at my first music camp this year and that was how the song, Zuko came about. The food was so hot I was sweating, but I was enjoying it. Next thing you know I was freestyling. I was not freestyling the song Zuko, but I was freestyling about how great the food was. And then when I washed my hands, I had a feeling to work on the freestyle and that’s how Zuko came about. I never would have thought that I would make a song called Zuko. I think that’s the weirdest thing, because I remember freestyling while eating, and we’re all having fun making videos of me doing that. And then we take the cameras off and I make Zuko.
“Another session I remember is the session with Young Jonn, because it was so impromptu. He saw a video of me making the song on my Instagram story, and then he just texted me saying that he really loves the song. I asked him to be part of it. And even though he was on tour, he still came through for me. He even came for the video shoot. And you know, that’s a big deal for me, because he’s a legend. I’ve been following him since he used to produce for Olamide and I’ve always had huge respect for him. I just give all the glory to God.”
On his next steps in his journey to the spotlight, Tariq is trying to perform on diverse stages as much as possible. “I’m on the road to different schools and different parts of Nigeria. I just finished performing at a couple of schools in Lagos. I’m going to other schools in western Nigeria. I have my For Keeps Festival, which is just my own idea of youths coming together to have a good time and be free. And because I see life in black and white, the theme of the whole show is black and white. And that’s my whole idea of the festival. And, you know, I cannot wait for that to come to life. And I hope that, by God’s grace, this moving around and just being this guy that loves to tour around the world, that I experience it to the brim.”
For Tariq, his vision will continue to drive his emotive and cathartic discography. “I just want people to feel happier. I want people to listen to my music and either feel happy, feel better or feel understood. I’m so lucky to be this kind of artist that really makes timeless music. The vision for myself is a lot. I want to go around the world. I want to perform at and sell out in stadiums. I want people to understand the things that I stand for.“
