Get To Know: Essosa

With her latest single ‘Waste My Time’ taking TikTok by storm, Essosa has officially become everyone’s “new favourite pop/R&B girlie”. Within just two weeks of the release, not only did the British-Canadian-Nigerian singer-songwriter and dancer surpass 1 million streams for the first time, she also gained co-signs from artists such as Kaytranada and FLO. But while virality has never been her focus, all the love that the 22 year old has been receiving on the 90s-inspired track comes as “a huge relief” as it confirms that music is truly her calling.

Photography by @shotsby.es

Finding that singing and harmonising came quite naturally to her, Essosa started performing at a young age. However, when she began recording her own music, she didn’t like the sound of her voice—“it was like when you hear how you talk for the first time in a video and you’re just not a fan of it”. But after studying artists such as Mariah Carey and Teena Marie, she figured out how to use different parts of her voice to make music that she’d want to listen to.

While late 90s/early 2000s pop and R&B, new jack swing and Minneapolis funk are her favourite genres, Essosa’s desire to join “the long line of boundary-pushing Black artists” means that her artistry draws from an eclectic palette—“I listen to everything. Some days I can go from Micheal Jackson to Jimi Hendrix, Janet Jackson to Jeff Buckley, Madonna to Frank Ocean. I always ask myself what I like about different sounds I hear and how I can incorporate that into my music”. Ultimately, Essosa wants her artistry to be in “its own universe” and not putting limits on where she finds inspiration is how she plans on making that a reality.

Even though she released her very first song in 2018, Essosa holds 2021 very close to her heart because it was the year that she dropped her 5-track debut EP Dreamworld. While studying Pharmacy at university, she found herself channelling her introspection into songwriting during the first lockdown. Others not fully understanding Essosa’s artistry stopped her from sharing some of that music earlier, however once she decided to make the decision for herself, she was finally able to introduce herself through the melancholic lyricism and dreamy bedroom pop sounds of Dreamworld. Showcasing another side to her artistry, Essosa rounded off the year with ‘LEMONADE’, a heartbreak anthem she wrote as “a form of escapism and to find a way to dance despite the pain of rejection”. Inspired by the famous 1980s New York dance clubs, the ‘LEMONADE’ music video means a lot to Essosa because of the sacrifices she made in order to make her vision come to life—“My flatmates saw me eating nothing but crackers for 2 or 3 months and I was working late at a pub on top of uni to pay for things. It was a struggle, but I really did believe in my music so I didn’t mind”. Reminiscing about a high school crush, Essosa returned with dreamy bedroom pop/R&B track ‘butterflies’ towards the end of 2022, not knowing she was about to enter her biggest year yet.

Essosa is definitely putting 2023 down in the books. After her Soul Train edits of ‘LEMONADE’ started doing well on TikTok, Essosa gained the confidence to post more demos, one of those being the now viral hit ‘Waste My Time’. Described as “what happens when two people who both love MJ, Janet Jackson and The Neptunes come together” by her producer Sunsetdrvr, Essosa opens up about a guy who ghosted her on ‘Waste My Time’—the nostalgia-inducing track’s relatable storytelling is one of the many reasons why people can’t get enough of it.

Going viral couldn’t have happened at a better time for Essosa since she was just finishing university: “Blowing up on TikTok came at the perfect time because even though I had already secured a grad job I really liked, it wouldn’t have allowed me to pursue music how and as much as I wanted. I was praying very consistently and I said, ‘God, if this job is going to stop me from doing what you put me on Earth to do, I don't want it’. Now all of this is happening and it just confirms to me that I was put here to share my art with people, despite the naysayers”. Releasing ‘Waste My Time’ led to Essosa signing to Atlantic Records, getting her first billboard with Soundcloud and performing at FLO’s Notting Hill Carnival pop-up. She also flew to Mexico to film the ‘Waste My Time’ music video, which she calls “late 90s-Y2K Afro-futuristic cyberpunk realness” and recently caught the attention of Missy Elliott.

Given the highs of this summer, Essosa is incredibly grateful for what TikTok has done for her and relishing being in a position to do music full-time. Judging by the demos she's been sharing on her socials lately, only great things are to come for Essosa.