‘I was very uninspired’ — Simi recalls making ‘Duduke’ amid pregnancy

Simi has recalled her struggle making ‘Duduke’, the “biggest song” of her career, while heavy with pregnancy.

Featuring in Joey Akan’s ‘Afrobeats Intelligence‘, the 32-year-old singer said she was very “uninspired” when she started working on ‘Duduke’ in her first trimester.

“It was actually really hard because my first trimester was really difficult. I had pretty bad morning sickness and I was throwing up a lot. That was not the worst. The worst part for me is that I was very very uninspired,” she said.

“Music wasn’t one of my favourite things at that time. I didn’t want to record. And it really hurt me because I just renovated my studio, so I was really excited. I didn’t expect to feel like that.  I couldn’t record. I didn’t have energy.

“For almost four months, I wasn’t in the mood. I remember Kunle (Adekunle Gold) brought a mini studio—because we have a mini studio that we travel with—so he kinda set something up in the room, and be like ‘just try, just try.’

“Because of the way I feel about music, I’m obsessed. So when I’m not able to record or sing, people around me are worried. So he was really worried. He was like ‘babe, how about just try. Okay just try and record something.’

“And I’d just record maybe like 20 minutes in the day just at least to do something. And when I started to record. I recorded ‘Duduke’ when I was pregnant too. I actually wrote two different versions of the song.”

“I don’t like doing sexy… makeup is stress, gives me allergies”

Simi also spoke of the criticism that trails her unorthodox fashion choices.

The singer detailed her hatred for makeovers.

“Before I got signed, I remember somebody used to say ‘Simi, you can’t make it if you don’t do sexy-sexy. That the only way a girl can make it is when they do sexy things. And I’m like, ‘I don’t want to do sexy things.’” she said.

“This isn’t about anyone else doing it. If you play on something that isn’t your strength, eventually your pant would show. I remember, some of my friends would call me like, ‘are you ok?’ and I’d be like ‘why would I not be okay?’

“I’m thinking, ‘do you really think that I’m going to lose sleep because someone else doesn’t like my shoes?’  And that’s the way I saw it. I just had to prioritize. The things that are important to me, I have to determine them.

“And I’d tell my friends: one of the things that have gotten me as far as I have is criticism. I don’t have a problem with criticism, but the thing is I can see the energy behind what everybody is doing. I’m not a big fan of fame.”

The singer said she would opt to remain anonymous while the perks keep coming if there was any such possibility.

“Fame has its perks. You get favours, the respect. Sometimes the privacy is the price. I like the perks. Obviously, that’s where the success of my music comes from. But on a personal level, I’m not a big fan of it,” she added.

“For example, I don’t like to have makeup on. It stresses me out and I have allergies. I’m not a super glam person. I like to wear my sneakers and shorts and t-shirts. That’s me. And that’s not going to change.

“But like, everybody now has an opinion about things like that. You know that could become a little tiring. It is tiring, but something has to give. I love music and I want to do it, so something has to give.”