I Appreciated My Life More When I Came to Nigeria

Tolu Oyedele who goes by the stage name “Mel Rouge” is a musician ready to leave her foot prints in the sands of time as far as melody is concerned. Having been singing from as early as age five, Mel Rouge has worked with top Nigerian artistes such as Burna Boy and had opened shows for the likes of LAX and Wizkid among others. With her recently released EP “Madam”, the graduate of Pharmaceutical Chemistry opens up to Azuka Ogujiuba on her journey into music, what inspired her EP, her vision, future collaborations and more

Yourrealnameis Tolu O ye de le, why Mel Rouge as a stage name? I love my Nigerian name but I’m also very creative and I came up with ‘Mel’ short for melody as I write/love music and ‘Rouge’ because of what red represents to me love - passion, fire and all the above.

You came into the Nigerian music scene on a high note and had Burn a Boy jump on your single ,“Sempe”.Howwa sit like working with the African Giant? O my gosh, amazing, I was so humbled as he’s so authentic, a musical genius and himself and I also got to meet his lovely Grand-dad.

How did your music career start? Well, this may sound cliché, but I started singing in front of people from the age of five in church and school. I was quite academic, so, I started shortly after graduation. I started learning the graft, then I travelled to Nigeria and my sound changed. I started opening for acts like LAX, Wizkid and Trey Songz all this before I had my music out. From there, I started evolving until I put my toe in the pool with Senpe ft Burna Boy.

You just dropped your very first E P, “Mad am ”. First, what inspired the title and then tell us more about the entire E P?

Yes!!! Madam…as a real Omo Naija, I realised Madam was a very popular phrase used to refer to a female that was respected and I decided to coin it. I’ve always been called ‘Madam’ as I was quite a little cheeky diva growing up. The seven track EP is heavily influenced by Fela Kuti but also has two dancehall tracks.

The running theme is empowerment but it also highlights that sometimes even a Madam has a vulnerable side.

If you weren’ t a musician, what would you have been doing at the moment? I’ll be in the Pharmaceutical industry as I graduated with Bsc and Msc in Pharmaceutical

Chemistry

What’ s your favourite song on you REP and why? Wow that’s a hard one because I love them all. I can’t choose but ‘Madam’ I love because it was the first time I really came out of myself and evolved to another level musically.

What’ s your take on the Nigerian music industry right now? Wow it’s growing like crazy; it’s no longer just known in the black community but worldwide because of artistes like P-Square, D’Banj, Wizkid and Davido.

Who are you looking forward to collaborating within the nearest future? Definitely Burna Boy again, Wizkid, Davido and Peruzzi. There are so many of them.

You’ ve opened for Wiz kid and Da vi do in their concerts in the past, how would you say that such experiences shaped you as an artiste?

It gave me such confidence when I realised the audience was always very receptive of my performances. It also inspired me to work harder so one day I could headline my own show.

Tell us about your format ive years? I had a great childhood with two brothers and a sister and lots of cousins. We always had a good time. Family is very important to me and I learnt that from a young age due to my fond childhood experiences.

Give us an insight into your educational background and career?

Well, like I mentioned, I’ve always done well at school. I graduated Bsc and Msc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Queen Mary, University of London then I had a brief experience in London. I always say no knowledge is lost and will always come in handy. I am extremely grateful for my childhood and upbringing being born in London to young Nigerian parents my siblings and I have never wanted for anything that was needed, we definitely aren’t Dangote but we have always been comfortable and I appreciate God for that always. My parents worked extremely hard to give us everything we needed and most of what we wanted. I never take anything for granted!

To be honest I would say I appreciated my life more when I came to Nigeria. I think I was rather spoilt before, I didn’t realise how easy I had it. My background made me confident, fearless and warm hearted. The initial adjustment of coming to Nigeria when I would stay longer that just holidays. I had to get used to the culture, traffic and how things worked here Vs London.

What was the best gift you remember receiving as a child? Wow, so many but one of them was an instant camera. I was on cloud nine I think I took a picture of everything that day.

What do you consider the biggest mistake you have ever made? Maybe not releasing some songs that I had recorded in the past because I wasn’t ready, realising there’s no such thing as being ready. You just have to start and make it happen as you go along.

Are there things you still desire? Oh, so many, I can’t even list them all. I want to be recognised for my music internationally and be able to affect people positively on so many different levels, and of course have babies one day and a nice rich husband; hahaha.

What are some of the lessons life has taught you? Don’t rush into things, be patient, your time will definitely come and you are great!

What are your future plans? More music, more videos, more collaborations and also branching out into other industries that interest me.

Plastic surgery is so associated with your industry, do you also have plans to go under the surgeons knife in the nearest future?

I believe that having high self-esteem is really very important and I’m an advocate for team natural but I also love make up and I believe as long as my health isn’t threatened a few touch ups here and there won’t do me any harm!