Strei
Strei, born Howard Efemena Dominic, has disclosed his readiness to inspire the next wave of artistes by investing in his craft to produce Afromood music.
According to him, Afromood music is never just sound; it is a doorway into emotion, and honesty. He added that when he created I.T.A.M., his debut EP, he was opening the door to his world. “My goal was simply to introduce people to my sound, something raw, real, and authentic,” he explains. The project moves between groove, sadness, light, and darkness, because that is who he is. “It was the first real introduction to Strei and what Afromood represents.”
“I want people to say Strei inspired the next wave of artistes to be more artistically driven,” he says with quiet confidence. “Not just musicians, but true artistes,” he adds.
For him, performing is not about repeating the song, it’s about creating an experience, stressing, “I want the audience to feel the music, not just hear it.”
Just a few months later, he returned with ‘Imagine’ and ‘Blessing’, a two-track project born from a completely different emotional space. “‘Blessing’ came from a place of gratitude,” he says. It was his ‘thank you’ to God for giving him the chance to chase his dreams. ‘Imagine’, on the other hand, emerged from the excitement and uncertainty of a talking stage. “They were the first professional studio records I made when I got to Lagos and joined KTIZO WRLD,” he reflects. Those two tracks marked his entry into a new chapter, the refined version of Afromood.
“I don’t follow templates. I practice artistic freedom… I step into the studio and just let it flow,” he added. Strei doesn’t box himself into one style or formula; instead, he trusts that whatever he is feeling at that moment will lead him to the right place.
He has collaborated with Babyboy AV on their song ‘Crazily’. Creating with AV forced him out of his comfort zone. “The way I make music is very different from the way AV does. He really brought me into his world and I had to learn how to do that with him,” he disclosed.
As Strei prepares to perform at ENCORE this December with Tay Iwar, another artiste who leads with emotion, he wants the audience to witness something more than a singer on stage. “I want people to see that I’m not just a recording artiste, I’m a full artiste,” he says.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke