Lady Donli

Name, where are you from?
My name is Lady Donli and I’m from Abuja, Nigeria.

Describe your style in three words?
Innovative, African, Fun.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Well there’s two. One was a Little Simz concert. Honestly, I love her and I’ve been to like 6+ gigs, but I think the one I enjoyed best was when she did an album listening/gig for her first album. She played all the songs live for us before she’d dropped them and the energy in the room was so special. You needed to be there to really understand.

Then the second one was seeing Seun Kuti perform at Hardrock Café in Lagos. I left that show a changed person. Like it made me such a better performer. He moved like the stage was his bedroom, with no fear. He was one with the music. It was beautiful. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Definitely Queen because that’s one of my favourite bands of all time. Plus I feel like Freddie Mercury and I would have gotten along so well when I watch videos of him perform I see a lot of my on-stage persona.

Fela Kuti and Africa 70. One of the greatest bands of all time. To be on a line up with such greatness, I can’t even explain the feeling. A staple for Afrobeat and beyond.

Which Subcultures have influenced you?
Hippies because of the freedom they represented. Rastafarians because of the positivity in blackness and I guess the “Alté” scene is a subculture now. It’s influenced because it’s from where I’m from. I’ve seen it live, I’ve seen people say they can fly and fly.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
It would be Eartha Kitt. I just feel like I’d need that energy, such an intelligent woman with so much grace and so much power. I feel like I’d leave that conversation completely changed and ready for anything that the world could throw at me.

Of all the venues you’ve been to, which is your favourite?
I Just really like KOKO, there’s just a feeling that I’ve gotten every time I’ve been there. Can’t really place my finger on it. Maybe it’s the space, maybe it’s cause it reminds me of a theatre. Also the Fela Kuti Shrine of course! Just knowing that it was Fela’s spot, the history alone just gives me chills.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
My unsung heroine is an artiste called Niyola. In the Nigerian scene in the early 2000s she was on so many records, co-writing, doing backups. An amazing vocalist that paved the way for a lot of talent. Her debut album was a force and she’s still one of my idols in the scene. Her song 'Toh Bad' really changed perspective for me.

Lady Donli has established herself as one of the central figures of the Nigerian Alté scene, an alternative movement that combines Western and African elements, mixing afrobeat, R'n'B and indie/guitar forms into a rebellious subculture to challenge the conservative Nigerian mainstream. Lady Donli's appeal has spread further afield winning praise from the like of Dazed, Fader, The Guardian and The Financial Times.

Lady Donli's debut album 'Enjoy Your Life' is out now.