No Punchlines, Just Lifelines: The Evolving Artistry of LADIPOE

We caught up with Nigerian artist LADIPOE on a sunny Saturday morning in the heart of Soho. Dressed in all black, shades, and exuding an effortless poise, he joined New Wave at the Daily Paper store, in between racks of streetwear, ready to talk about art, authenticity, and the rhythm of self. 

2021 signified a major moment in LADIPOE’s journey, as his viral earworm ‘Feeling’ with BNXN took over social media, happening concurrently with the post-pandemic rise of Afrobeats around the world. Long before his viral track, though, Ladipoe, known as the “Leader of the Revival”, was recognised for his strong storytelling capacity, playful lyrics, and skilful raps that have been on show since becoming the first rap artist housed under Mavin Records in 2017. 

After major feats with gems like Simi, Tems, Rema, Adekunle Gold, Fireboy DML, Amaarae, Teni– Poe is showing no signs of stopping. As he gears up for his sophomore album, the Leader of the Revival reflects on what it means to carve your own path, embrace vulnerability, and create music that resonates. 

Now it’s 2025– Poe is back, with more steeze, more experience and more self-reflection, hear it from Poe himself:

We’re here in Daily Paper, a brand that stands for culture, for community. How does that align with your vision as an artist? 

LADIPOE: Community is the foundation. It’s one of the biggest pillars as far as I’m concerned and culture’s the thing we’re trying to impact. I feel like the basic, like, unit of culture is community. I see the intersection. This is maybe my second or third time in the store. Yeah, it's a good space to be in.

You’ve always had a strong connection between rap and fashion. How do you see that relationship? 

LADIPOE: I always say that I'm a rap artist. I don't just say rapper. An artist has to find different ways to express themselves, even outside of their art form. And clothing is just another way for me to say, ‘This is how I feel today, ’ you know? 

Your music has always carried a storytelling element. What does being a storyteller mean to you? 

LADIPOE: Storytelling is one of the things that differentiates us from animals. It’s the fact that we can imagine, create stories and tell stories. I think that storytelling is a powerful medium. And if you've been blessed with the ability to do that, you hold great responsibility, you know? 

There’s a spiritual quality in your music – Fela Kuti once said music is spiritual, and that you “don’t play with music.”

LADIPOE: When I heard that, I didn't believe it. But I now understand. Because to create music, well, certain kinds of music, you are like channelling something from inside yourself that you sometimes don't even really know. 

A lot of your music feels like an internal monologue – diary-like, and vulnerable. How do you balance honesty with maintaining ‘steeze’, mystique? 

LADIPOE: I try not to overthink it. Vulnerability gives the art authenticity. Steeze is inborn. No matter what you do, I feel like you can't really force steeze; you can't force vulnerability. They express themselves automatically. In other words, they're innate. I think the best steeze is just you being yourself. Moving as your truest self. 

“I feel like you can’t really force steeze, you can’t force vulnerability.” 

What does your writing process look like these days? How are you able to navigate that balancing act between urgency and artistry?

LADIPOE: That's been one of the things that I've fought to understand for the longest time. I have some songs that I've dropped this year that I wrote a line five years ago. So I think that the writing process is a combination of intention and spontaneity. I write when I'm washing dishes. I write when I'm taking a shower. I write when I'm not thinking about it. And then in the studio, I write with intention because I need to get that line down, and I need to get that done. I have the luxury of time sometimes; other times I don't. I think it's the intersection between artistry and commerce. The commercial demand for art sometimes forces you to write faster and be expeditious. Cause you've got to get it out of a particular timeline. I'm now in the position where I am self-confident and comfortable with balancing spontaneity and deadlines. 

Afrobeats has obviously become a global force, especially in recent years. You've carved yourself a very distinct lane. How do you stay authentic without feeling the pressure to conform to what others may be doing? 

LADIPOE: That's been a big thing for me, my own lane. I talk about it in my music. I think I said something like: ‘Hated at Julius Berger 'cause I paved my own lane...’ Julius Berger is a very big, well-known construction company in Nigeria, and they do a lot of roads. And so they hate me in the office of Julius Berger cause I paved my own way. You get the line. So really, that's been a big thing for me. But I don't think anything takes away the pressure to conform. I think that, if you're going to be in an industry, in an environment that has other people in it, there's an expectation. That's what creates the pressure. I call myself ‘the Leader of the Revival’, it's really about reviving a sense of self, that’s the force field for the pressure.

Who or what inspires you beyond music? 

LADIPOE: Man, I love this question. My paternal grandfather was a justice of the Supreme Court. And my maternal grandfather was a major general in the army; he was a doctor. How they lived their lives, how they sacrificed. And then my parents were entrepreneurs. And that duality of if ‘we don't hustle, nothing will come.’ Those things really, really shaped my worldview. You know? I've been reading since young. I used to read a lot of books like Roald Dahl and … It really informed my quest to express myself through words, which I did not know until college. Those are like my big early influences. It's just my own family. 

Let’s talk about your latest single, NBA (Never Broke Again). What does that song represent to you? 

LADIPOE: On the surface, it's in an obvious way, ‘I don't want to be broke again.’ But it's more like, I don't want to go back to the times when there were doubts around whether or not what I was doing was the right thing. It is the right thing. You can't convince me otherwise. I don't want to go back to those times.

You know, but it's easier to just say never broke again to me. Big shoutout to Ayo Maff, working with him on that song. And it has like four producers on the record. There are quite a few people who came together to make that sound what it was, including me as well. And so it's something that I'm really proud of. It's a song that was ready at the time when I wanted to drop music… Yeah, never broke again. The visuals also capture that energy, the thrill-seeking, eating Amala, going to the record store… Yeah, that’s my city, you saw my city. 

You mentioned working on your sophomore album. What’s different this time around? 

LADIPOE: Since my debut album, Talk About Poe, in 2018, I followed up with my EP Providence in 2021. And there was such a big shift in my career between those two projects. And I've learned so many lessons between Providence and this next project. And this album is carrying that experience, those emotions and the musical ability I’ve acquired over time. It's not just about where I'm coming from. It's also where I want to take it. The album really captures that. And I'm at the finish line. It is finally sounding like an album. It's in the finishing steps. 

“I'll be real. One of the things that people come at me for has always been the consistency, the musical release consistency. And now that I've grown older, I understand. I understand where they're coming from. You can't make a statement if you don't keep saying it in different ways. If you don't do that, why would people believe you?” 

“I call my fanbase my lifelines, you know. I feel like they keep me alive and support me, you know, my lifelines. I also have this phrase, “no punch lines, just lifelines”. Even though my music has punchlines, lifelines are the things are those lines that stick with you after hearing the song. And you can see where it applies to your life.” 

Throughout our whole conversation there is a quiet certainty in LADIPOE’s voice, a kind that comes from self-awareness, self-confidence and purpose. He’s staying focused on his path, armed with the support of his lifelines – building meaning and movements with his sharp lines and skilled pen. Fresh off his set at Palmwine Fest with Show Dem Camp, and a follow-up performance with DJ AG on Monday, he moves with the same calm conviction that defines his music, deliberate, grounded and alive.

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