DOLAPO

Poised and ready to make her mark on the industry is talented R&B songstress DOLAPO. The North London performer is no stranger to the music business, having worked as a backing vocalist/co-writer for artists such as ZieZie, Tion Wayne and Young T and Bugsey and also made an appearance in the music video to the 2019 hit “Shine Girl” from Mo Stack and Stormzy.

The singer dropped her first EP A Short Love Story late last year and the 5-track record was a strong debut that introduced her dynamic sound to a wider audience.  On her recent release of “It’s Alright” which also serves as her first offering of the year, DOLAPO continues to showcase her soulful and dulcet tones over an infectious R&B beat, and the nostalgic video takes us back to those 90’s R&B days (think Kele Le Roc, Eternal, Cleopatra, etc).

We recently caught up with singer-songwriter on the new single, creativity in lockdown, her playlist, and which female artists she would recruit for her very own girl group.

You can watch the music video to “It’s Alright” below and listen to A Short Love Story here.

What (or who) inspired your latest single “It’s Alright”?
I’ve been enjoying how female artists are owning who they are, stepping into a Bad B persona, I feel like this song was this for me also. Usually, I come across as shy, very quiet, don’t usually talk too much, but one day I just woke up on some boss vibes like, “Yep, ‘I does this!’, I bring this to the table, I‘ma upgrade you,” just different energy.

You released your debut EP A Short Love Story last year. How did you find the process of making the record?
It was my first time doing anything like that, I really enjoyed the process. It was definitely an eye-opening experience though and because I had never done anything like it before there were moments where I question if I was even doing this right. Like, am I getting the timeline right? does the music fit? It was definitely one big giant puzzle but at the end of the day I guess there is no right or wrong way just as long as people can relate to what I’m saying and the stories I’m telling

How have you been staying creative in lockdown?
This has been hard. I’ve had to find inspiration in the things that I probably never thought I would. I’ve also had to really dig deep to find more stories that I possibly haven’t told or to tell them from a completely different perspective especially now that we had a lot of time to think. I guess releasing whilst in lockdown made it a little easier as I mostly just had tunnel vision for this release and it is a song I really enjoyed making, finishing, and filming.

In an ideal world, how would you have spent summer 2020?
Holidays, girl trips, bae-cations, work trips abroad… Basically, I had no plans to be here this summer.

There are so many talented artists like yourself, TianaMajor9 and Mahalia breaking through in the UK scene. What do you think is fuelling this R&B resurgence?
You can’t ignore real talent forever and when it comes to R&B, I think the UK produces some of the best R&B talent to exist. I think audiences are becoming more openminded. We’re not there yet but we have come a hell of a long way and long may it continue.

See also

TRACKS

JVKE – this is what losing someone feels like

What has been the biggest lesson that you have learned so far in the music business?
This is been one that I have learned from the experience of others and one that I think a lot of people are still yet to learn and that is to treat everybody with respect no matter who you are and what you’ve accomplished because the tables can turn and you will see at the same people on your way back down.

Which artists are on your playlist at the moment?
A lot of my favorite artists have just dropped projects so I will say Jhene, Teyana Taylor, Kehlani, and Chloe x Halle. They’ve all dropped amazing albums and I’m enjoying learning them and listening to them on repeat.