Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for Kunmie, “Gorgeous” began with seeing something in someone else that she couldn’t see in herself. He remembers watching a close friend looking at herself in the mirror and wondering why she couldn’t see what he saw: an effortlessly gorgeous woman. That thought stayed with him. Ahead of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, the Nigerian-born artist returned to his hotel after soundcheck, picked up his guitar and began writing, recording it almost a year later. He had her sing the song with him, a moment he still has on video.

“Gorgeous” captures Kunmie at his most tender, transforming an intimate observation into an Afro-R&B soul track about recognising beauty where others may struggle to see it themselves. Featuring GRAMMY-nominated artist Lojay and produced by Drilly, The Kazez and Puffybeatz, the single has surpassed 10 million plays online and inspired more than 300,000 user-generated TikTok videos. It sits as the fourth track on Kunmie’s latest album, 22.

In conversation with Kunmie, it becomes clear that his relationship with music runs much deeper than simply making songs. He describes writing as a form of therapy and admits to being a perfectionist, having mixed the entire album himself, with some songs going through more than 20 versions. Yet beneath that meticulous approach is a surprisingly sensitive artist who finds comfort in sadness and understands why listeners might cry to his music. That sensitivity runs through his work, giving listeners a way into a side of Kunmie that he otherwise keeps relatively private.

1883 speaks with Kunmie about the story behind “Gorgeous”, his deep relationship with his craft, the making of 22 and why, sometimes, the best songs begin with simply paying attention.

“Gorgeous” was inspired by seeing someone close to you struggle with her confidence. What about that experience made you want to turn that feeling into a song?

“Gorgeous” is one of the songs on the album that comes from a real-life story. There’s a way my brain slows things down when I catch something with my eyes, almost like I’m slowing it down in my mind.

I caught this person looking in the mirror, and I could tell she wasn’t sure if she looked good. In my mind, I see you with my eyes, and I think you’re gorgeous. I see past all of that, and I still see somebody so gorgeous. I thought, ‘Why don’t you know that you’re gorgeous?’ That’s when I started writing. I grabbed my guitar, and the first thing I said was, ‘Why don’t you know that you’re gorgeous?’

I had an award show that day. I think it was the AMVCA (Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards), and I was staying in a hotel. After the soundcheck, I went upstairs and wrote the song. I finished writing it that day, then recorded it about seven months to a year later.

How come you sang it seven months later?

For me, I have to write to be okay in my head. It’s like therapy for me. I don’t always write because I want to record or need to make a song.

I write because it helps me. If I talk to you now and learn your name is Chioma, that’s enough for me to write something. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a complete idea. I just keep colouring it in, and that’s what makes life so fun for me. I keep colouring things in my head. Sometimes I’m looking at somebody, and they think I’m looking at them, but I’m not. I’m daydreaming.

I kept doing all that mental work, and that was how I wrote one of the songs. Maleek Berry called me one time (we have a multi-song project together that isn’t out) and I casually hummed the melodies of the song. I can’t remember exactly how, but he heard the idea and said, ‘You have to record this song. You have to record this song.’ I was like, ‘Do I have to record it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, record it.’ So I did. I sent it to Lil’ J, and he was a fan of the song.

Wow. That’s really nice. Does your friend know she influenced that song?

I think she would. At the time, she was an artist as well. When I made the song, I had her sing it with me and my guitar. I just thought it was great for our confidence. I still have the video.

Do you?

Yeah, but I didn’t record it. I just left it, and after a while, I think I was just bored one day, so I went to the studio and picked up my guitar.

And did it yourself?

Yes, and started working on it with my friends.

That’s really nice. That’s really sweet.

I try. I’m not that terrible.

Have you been told you’re terrible?

Some people think I am terrible. I don’t think so. But these days, I don’t even fight with anyone. No problem. (laughs)

You’re funny.

I feel like I just always keep finding myself in very awkward and very funny situations. Sometimes it defeats the genuine reason why I find myself there or why I put myself there. I just keep finding myself in very funny situations with women and with people in general.

Because one moment, I’m the best human being in the world. ‘Oh, what a great guy.’ Then somehow, every time, I just become the most terrible human being in the world. No, I wouldn’t even fight with anyone. I’m not terrible. I don’t think I’m terrible.

Lojay has a distinctive voice and presence. What made you feel that he was the right person to bring onto “Gorgeous”? And what did he add to the song for you?

For me, with features and collaborations, we have to be friends. There’s a lot about my music that even my label wouldn’t know when I’m making it. I go to my sessions by myself, and I like to be alone when I’m recording.

All the songs on the album are songs that I curated and sent to the artists, or Faith would introduce us and I’d say, ‘Okay, I have something you might like.’ Some of them are also people who are fans of my music and wanted to work with me. With Lojay, I first connected with him a week or two before I made “Gorgeous”. Kizz Daniel actually added me to a call with him, and we started talking. I told him I was going to send him a couple of ideas.

I sent him another song first, and he wanted to do that one. I said, ‘I think I might have something better for you.’ He heard “Gorgeous” and said it sounded more like what a Kunmie and Lojay song should sound like. He recorded his vocals and took his time with it. He’s also a writer, so I didn’t pressure him. It took about a month before he sent it back to me.

Nice. That sounds like a good working collaboration, I guess, especially with no pressure applied. It’s quite a laid-back approach. It’s quite nice.

For me, that’s the best way creatives can work. I think it’s easier when you guys love each other and put the music first, before you start thinking about numbers, ego and everything else that comes with being an artist. When you’re friends, you just think about the music you’re making and the best possible art you can create. Everything else is secondary until the record is done and it’s time for me to release it. I think making art should be about the artist and the artist alone.

The video takes the idea of beauty beyond romance, bringing in women, family and different generations through the wedding setting. What did you want people to take away from that visual world?

I wanted the message I had for that one girl to extend to every type of woman: old, young, plus-sized, chubby, skinny, whatever size. I genuinely feel like what makes us special is the fact that we’re all different. The idea that society would choose one particular standard for what a woman should look like is very strange to me.

Regardless of what you look like, I can still think that you are special. That’s what I wanted with the video. We didn’t have much time, but I wanted to appreciate every kind of woman, regardless of age, colour or body size.

Now that 22 is out and you’ve had some distance from making it, is there anything about the album that you hear differently now?

First of all, have you listened to the album?

I have listened to a little bit, yes.

You need to listen to the full thing, but the album is such a good body of work and such an experience as a whole. Day by day, I uncover more about the album. Because I’m such a perfectionist, I want to keep going back and touching things, but when I got close to my deadline, I had to let go and trust what I had created. I was standing on the balcony of the studio when we listened to the album, and I thought, ‘Man, I’m so jealous of people who haven’t listened to this yet and will hear it for the first time.’ It was probably my 900th time listening to it, but it still felt fresh. Every day, I uncover something new and find a new favourite.

What’s your favourite now?

Yesterday, my favourite was “Answer Me”. It changes every day depending on my mood. One time I was going to the gym and put on “Calvary”. I just kept shouting, ‘Wake up, wake up!’ I didn’t even know I had the energy to work out that day, but I put on “Calvary” and kept repeating it until I finished my workout. Every song is a song for something and for everybody.

You’ve spoken about wanting people to understand the person behind the music as well as the artist. What surprised you the most about yourself whilst making 22?

I think I’ve already shed light on it. I realised that I’m a perfectionist, but what surprised me was how much I really care about my music. I once said that I wish I could love a woman, or another human being, the way I love my music. If I could love somebody even half as much, I feel like that would be amazing.

I mixed the entire album myself. I was there for every single thing you hear in the final audio, and if you listen to the album, you can tell that everything was carefully curated. Every element, every mix: some songs went through more than 20 versions. I was losing my mind. I even cut my dreads while I was mixing the album. So yeah, it was a lot.

No way. So you lost your head, basically?

Well, when you listen to “Calvary”, you hear me, and you see that I’m crazy. (laughs)

But yeah, that’s how much love I really have for it. And just getting to see people connect with the album as a whole. I know somebody really likes the album when they don’t have a favourite. That’s how I know they’ve really listened to it. That’s how I realised, ‘Ah, yeah, I really like this thing, man.’

If we took music completely away, and completely out of the equation for a day, what would your ideal day look like?

I think I’d probably play football, padel or tennis. I love the idea of being an athlete and what it represents. I admire how disciplined athletes are. I also know how to play FIFA very, very well. I’m not really the kind of person who wants to go out to eat or go somewhere. I don’t go anywhere at all.

You don’t go anywhere?

Yeah, that’s why it’s hard for me to have a woman. I’ll take her out to play football. (laughs) They always complain, like, ‘Why don’t we go out? Why did you take me to play padel?’ I’m like, no, I don’t go out. I don’t go anywhere. I don’t go out.

So, have you always not gone out? Or is this something that happened in the last few years?

Ask my mum. She told me that whenever they planned a family thing, they wouldn’t include me because they knew I wouldn’t come. I know there’s probably a reason why. A lot of the things I do now probably come from one little thing that happened that made me think, ‘I will never do that again.’

I was telling my friend that one reason I don’t ask people for anything is that when I was young, I asked my auntie for money, and I remember her throwing money at me. From that day, I thought, ‘I will never ask for money again.’ But yeah, I genuinely don’t like being outside. I like staying in the house. My studio is in the house too, so I just want to be here, not anywhere else.

What’s something that can instantly put you in a good mood?

Food. Fresh food. Another thing that puts me in a good mood is when I write or record something that I really like. Jesus Christ, I’m the happiest human being in the world. And seeing a friend I haven’t seen in a while.

You’ve described your music as a collection of emotions, with soul being something that runs through everything you make. Do you think that emotional side of you is just as present in who you are away from music?

I’m a very sensitive person. I feel things much more deeply than the average person. For me to like my music, I need to feel it. When people cry to my songs, I understand it. I had to make them sound that way because I need to be able to connect with what I’m creating. I’m a fan of my music first, so I need to make it sound like what I want to listen to. That’s why there’s that sensitivity in my music. I like listening to sad music.

Really?

Yeah.

That’s interesting. That’s a bit sad, no?

People listen for different reasons. I listen because I like the frequencies that are put together to create something like that. It’s so much more comforting than listening to a very energetic song. Even though I make energetic songs, you can still hear that they’re sad in a way.

You’ve just come through Arike, your debut album, “Gorgeous”, and now five Headies nominations, including Song of the Year, Best Recording, Best R&B Album and Songwriter of the Year. As you’ve started to experience this level of success, how have your goals changed or grown? Is there something you’re aiming for now that perhaps wasn’t on your radar?

The more you keep achieving, the more desires you have. The most important thing for me, and my dream in this life, is to tour as an artist. Everything else is subjective. I don’t make music to win awards. I just really want to make music that I can sing back to the fans. What I desire most right now is to tour, and that’s already in the works.

Well, thank you for meeting me today.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

22 is out now, follow Kunmie via @kunmieofficial

Interview Nancy Anekwe