Jidé Kuti is a singer/songwriter from North London. He has spent a lot of years performing and writing music but he only released music for the first time last October. His music is super important to him and he wanted to have an EP/debut set of songs that really did represent him. Some of musical comparisions have been: James Morrison, Corrine Bailey Rae, James Arthur, Mahalia and Daniel Caesar. 'You're Not Special' is a bold-titled, ironic song about getting over someone who should well... get over themselves. It's a fun pop song but also has a lot of meaning which is a really good balance to have.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What first got you into music?
So I got into music late into my life. I was about 12 when my music teacher told me I could just about hold a tune but that was enough for me. At that point my voice had just broken, and my grandad was paying for me to have piano lessons but it wasn’t anything too serious until I was about 15. I started teaching myself guitar and writing music and performing in school. I perfomed in school talent shows, was in a musical in college and busked for years and years to really become the artist I am today.
What do you think your role is in this world?
Going in with the deep questions haha. I don’t know if this is narcissistic at all but I do think that people are made for certain things. I think whilst I was definitely made to be a singer/songwriter my big dream is to encourage people to be the best version of themselves. I want to be a light for people but in a way that they find that light and give that to someone else. Kinda inadvertently change the world.
Your latest track is 'You're Not Special'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
So You’re Not Special is a song that I’ve literally been writing over two years. It involved a lot of remote working as a lot of it was made over the pandemic and my producers RJ and Maverick were a Godsend in terms of making sure everything got together. I have a lot of people to thank from Charlotte Marshall who did the string arrangements to Clinton who mastered it for me. The one thing about You’re Not Special that I think is quite unique is that the person I wrote it about actually became really nice to me right before I released it unbeknownst to her that I had just written this song about her. I wanted to tell her but ultimately avoided it.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Life is too short to not do what you love (but it’s also okay if that takes some time to get there). Don’t give up on your dreams
How do you spend your time?
So if I’m not writing or practicing, I’m catching up on my favourite animes or games. I’m also often engaging in books and articles surrounding mental health as that’s another passion of mine
What are you most proud of?
I think I’m just proud of how far I’ve come in general. As a person, I think I’ve matured a bit because I was a misguided kid to say the least. Even in terms of music, it’s mental to see how far I’ve come. If I had to pinpoint one thing I guess it would be… someone picking my song to be their first dance at their wedding. I was 17 at the time and this was a massive milestone for me in my career.
If you could go open a show for any artist, who would it be?
This is an absolutely tough question. I’ve gotta go with Ed Sheeran though. He's one of the reasons I make music today in the first place and he’s a massive inspiration of mine.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
For me I feel I’ve become a big stagnant when it comes to my guitar progress, so I want to improve a lot in that regard this year. Whilst I’m also proud of the music I have written, I do want to be a bit bolder and more experimental with the next music I release. I also wanna study the greats a bit more. I watch vidoes about the writing processes of Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Jon Bellion, Taylor Swift, Alessia Cara and all my other heroes.
Do you think that technology is improving lives?
Yes definitely but it comes at a cost. I think it’s easy to get lost in it and I definitely am very wary of that.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking forward to releasing my debut EP in the next couple of months, and I have a very exciting TV opportunity coming soon (all I can say on that unfortunately at the moment). I’m working with some incredible artists on some collaborations and writing some music inspired by some of my favourite things. The future looks insanely bright.