Kunmie has built a name for himself with music that makes love feel personal. From the breakout success of “Arike” to his earlier project, Before We Became Strangers, the Nigerian singer has carved out a space for himself with melodies that linger long after the music stops. On his debut album, 22, he revisits a defining chapter of his life, reflecting on his experiences in 2022 through songs shaped by romance, desire and the complicated realities of relationships. But beyond the melodies that have earned him the lover-boy reputation, there is more to Kunmie than meets the ear. For this cover, we sat down with the singer to get to know the person behind the music.

The room was already coming together by the time we settled in for the shoot. The backdrop was up, the cameras were being set, and everyone had found their place around the set. Kunmie was somewhere in the middle of it all, relaxed and taking in the room as the crew made final adjustments.

Once everything was ready and everyone was seated behind the camera, Diamonte started with an easy question. “How are you? Have you eaten?”

He worked out that morning and didn’t want anything heavy, so he stuck to apples.

It was a small exchange, but it eased everyone into the conversation before the questions became more serious. Soon, we were talking about music, purpose, faith, women, solitude, and, eventually, the story behind his album 22.

And Then The Conversation Begins…

Diamonte: A lot of people think you are 22 because you named the album 22, so, are you?

Kunmie: No, I’m actually not 22. I’m far from being 22, but forget about my age; I know it’s harder to lie about my age because you can just Google it. In 2021, I wasn’t really recording, practically didn’t make any songs; I took an intentional break just searching. I didn’t just want to make the surface-level music that I was making before then; even when producers would hype me up to continue recording, I just wasn’t feeling it. I really wanted my music to have a feel, wanted it to feel like a moment.

By 2022, the search had become more deliberate. He wanted to figure out what made his music feel like his.

Kunmie: That‘s when I started to take the conscious need to find something special about myself and my music. So that’s where I really got closer with 2022. I was searching for something that made me special and just wanted to experience life. I started to play FIFA, got into betting, and read Rick Warren’s Book “The Purpose Driven Life.” It kind of changed how I saw my time here on Earth. Life is very serious, do you get? And you can argue that we don’t have time, and you can argue that we do have time. But I’ll just say that it’s important that you leave a mark, make an impact; it’s very important.

The conversation eventually moves away from 22 and into another part of Kunmie’s life: his faith. There is, after all, a version of Kunmie that exists outside the lover-boy image his music can sometimes create.

Diamonte: You once said that if you weren’t into music, you’d have been a pastor. So how did we go from Pastor Kunmie to Arike and then to the 22 album?

Kunmie: Bro, I did that thing I just said for the fun of it. The only reason why I would say I want to become a pastor is because I studied theology at the university. And I read enough to come to a conclusion that there is a God, and that what I believed in was the truth. So I needed to study for myself, but I studied to the point where I could also tell somebody about it.

Diamonte: So you genuinely feel like you could preach to a large group of people?

Kunmie: Yeah, I genuinely do feel like that. I have, because my dad’s a pastor, and I have done that in church before.

Diamonte: You were a pastor’s kid?

Kunmie: Yes, now..

Diamonte: So are you saying there’s a chance that later in the future you might actually just be a pastor and minister?

Kunmie: I don’t know. Maybe I’m just joking; I don’t know. I don’t think that I have plans for that, but I don’t see my work as separate from telling the truth. I feel like I can tell the truth even in the industry that I function in already. I don’t feel like I need to separate them. Okay, this one Friday I go to the club, and then on Sunday I go to church. I can be in the same industry. I can say my truth anywhere in my songs.

Diamonte: You have songs that sound like love songs but are actually about God?

Kunmie: Yeah. There are some songs that I write that sound like a love song, but all I’m thinking about is God. There was this one time I thought about the best source that I can actually write a love song from? And I thought about how I felt towards God. Love is not really a give-and-take thing. When you love something, the person doesn’t have to reciprocate it for you to love them. Love in its most natural form is like that, when you love something, you don’t do it because you’re about to get something in return immediately.

Being alone with Kunmie

There was a time when Kunmie could disappear. As a songwriter, he could switch off his phone for two weeks and retreat into his own world. His family knew not to expect him to pick up. But now things are different. Solitude gives him somewhere to work from, but he also understands why people avoid being completely alone with themselves.

Diamonte: You once said you make music in solitude. So when you disappear from everyone, how long before we start checking up on you?

Kunmie: The truth is, I don’t have that luxury anymore. I used to have that when I was a songwriter. I could go, turn off my phone for like two weeks. My mother, they don’t call me like that because they know I won’t pick up. Sometimes I try it, but after six hours like this, I have to turn on my phone, and I wish I had that privilege again. The most dangerous place to be is by yourself. If you’re there just by yourself, constantly just by yourself, trying to spend time with yourself, it’s very scary. You can try it. Just switch off your phone, stay in the room, don’t move. Just stay by yourself for two hours, and you’ll see, but it’s also a very pure place to tap from.

So, about those girls…

Kunmie has a reputation for making love songs, which makes it tempting to imagine one great muse sitting at the centre of all of them. To test that theory, we play a little game. We put lyrics from his songs on cards and ask him to identify them and tell us what was happening when he wrote them.

Kunmie: “My nights are long, as I no get who go love me. My phone ain’t ringing. There’s nobody that’s calling. ”I already know which one this is. This is “Majekaja” from my debut album project, Before We Became Strangers.

Diamonte: Speaking about Before We Became Strangers, it came from one relationship that you messed up, abi?

Kunmie: Do you know that I messed up? I don’t think I messed up, actually. It was just a difficult situation.

Diamonte: You seem very comfortable being vulnerable in your music, but you have said that you would rather put difficult things in a song than say them to somebody’s face.

Kunmie: Yes. I obviously don’t think I would have been able to be as vulnerable if I had a conversation with her. But as I said, it’s easier for me to write and sing or record than to have that conversation with someone.

Diamonte: So you’d rather be vulnerable in your music and be a nonchalant guy in real life?

Kunmie: Yes. But now maybe I confront people. In real life. I say my mind.

Diamonte: Okay, pick another card

Kunmie: “If I lose it all just to have you, does it change a thing or two in the way you feel for me? I’ll lose it all to have you. This is “Solace.” It’s in the remix as well.

Diamonte: So when you said, “If I lose it all,” you weren’t talking about love?

Kunmie: I feel like one of the reasons why this person might be with me is because of fame or something. So I’m like, if everything that is flashing to you right now, if I miss it, would you still be here? I was just thinking about it to myself. As I said, I would never confront anybody in real life, but it’s easier to write it in a song.

Diamonte: Okay, please pick another card

Kunmie: “Where u Dey go? It’s 5 in the morning, girl. Sit down on ur ass o” Lol.. this is about a girl I was seeing at the time; she would always leave at 5 a.m., so early. I just thought about that, and I was like, “Where you always going? Sit down.”

Diamonte: So are you saying different songs on the 22 album are about different girls?

Kunmie: Yes.

Diamonte: So 22 songs for 22 girls?

Kunmie: For every song that somebody was involved in, there was a new person. I don’t think it was the same person. I don’t think I’ve ever written two songs for one person, except for Before We Became Strangers.

Kunmie: “I know my actions got the worst upon me, no go let the devil take this moment from me.” This is from “Arike.” I freestyled the entire song. I already had the inspiration and knew what I wanted to sing, but it all came together randomly. I didn’t really have to write any of the lyrics down

Diamonte: Pick another card

Kunmie: “Could it be the weather? Could it be the sunset on your skin? Could it be the way that you walked or the way that you made me feel?” This is one more chance. The day I wrote this song, I was so sad, mehn. I didn’t really have time that day in the studio. I had like maybe one hour. So that’s why “One More Chance,” the song is so short. But I was so sad, man.

Diamonte: A lot of people have this misconception that you are a die-hard lover boy. That your songs are about this girl, this very special girl that broke your heart and all of that. But from what I’ve learned about you, you’re not a lover boy at all. I think you are a playboy. Confirm or deny?

Kunmie: At all, man. I’m a great guy. I’ll never ever succumb to the idea of being a terrible person. I’m a great guy. I just need to catch up to that version of myself.

Diamonte: So you can get inspiration from any girl? Who was this person that you’re not gonna mention?

Kunmie: I don’t think we are still recording. I think that’s the end of the… Yeah. The whole room bursts out laughing.

His Inspiration Comes from literally anything he remembers or feels

Diamonte: We’re gonna pick one more card. That will be the last card.

Kunmie: “It’s complicated, the way I feel for you complicated. I was searching for love for

sokoto when all along e be dey my shokoto”

Kunmie: Hmm, this song is Julie. I was about to take a bus or something, and I was with my friend, and I was looking for my money. Like, I remember I put it in my pocket, and I could not find my money. And my friend was like, How come you’re always losing your money and I’m like, ” It’s complicated.” I’d never used the word complicated before, like, in real-life conversations, and I just said it’s complicated, and I just started to write. It’s complicated. And to be fair, like I said, it wasn’t really about anybody.

The song was not necessarily about the person he had in mind while writing it. For Kunmie, putting a feeling into a song sometimes means giving it a face or situation that makes the writing easier.

Kunmie: When you’re writing, you get to kind of want to place it with somebody in your mind. You try to think about somebody that it looks familiar to, so that it’s easier to write.

Kunmie’s Comfort Place

By the end of our conversation, we are sitting in Kunmie’s favourite place: the studio. It is where he feels most comfortable, even when he is not recording. Sometimes he watches a movie there or hangs out with friends. When we ask what he still wants that a number-one song cannot give him, his answer is surprisingly simple. “I don’t chase those numbers or those accolades; all I want is to be able to put out the best music possible, and for my fans to feel that frequency I do. ” Then he adds, “I just want to tour, man. That’s my biggest dream. Just to tour the way that I want to tour”. For now, that seems to be what Kunmie is looking forward to most: taking the music out of the studio and seeing what happens when people get to experience it with him.