Nigerian powerhouse vocalist Omawumi sat down with Yanga FM this week, and the conversation took a surprisingly honest turn. It wasn’t the usual “promo run” talk. It felt more like someone stretching their shoulders after carrying too much for too long.
Omawumi discusses her creative shift and new songs “Temperature” and “In Love” during her Yanga FM interview.
She explained that she has always considered herself a storyteller. That’s the foundation of her sound, especially those textured vocals, the call-and-response phrasing, and the emotional crescendos that make her songs feel like diary pages set to rhythm. However, somewhere along the line, she noticed people weren’t really listening to the message anymore. And in her words, “because people stopped listening to the story, I stopped telling the story.”
Maybe that’s why her new project feels different.
Her recent releases, “Temperature” and “In Love,” carry a lighter, breezier musical energy. She said she wrote them with one simple purpose: to have fun and feel the vibe again. No heavy backstory. No coded metaphors. Just music for movement, and in a way, it feels like she’s reclaiming joy in real time.
For years, Omawumi pulled directly from personal experiences to write her songs. Now she says she’s in a new era where she’s choosing herself first, without envy, without pressure, and without performing pain for applause. And honestly, that shift shows. There’s a looseness in the production, a brighter tone in her delivery, and, if anything, it sounds like she’s giving herself room to breathe.
When the conversation drifted toward politics, she didn’t hesitate to clarify her stance, although she still chose not to overshare. She made it clear she does have opinions. She doesn’t feel obligated to publicize them.
“I don’t share my opinion because it’s not anybody’s business, and I don’t have to do anything unless I want to.”
Fair enough. In a world where artists are constantly pushed to be spokespersons for everything, her boundary feels refreshing.
Honestly, fans who’ve followed her from the soulful early days will hear the shift. But new listeners, especially those streaming Afrobeats, high-life fusion, and contemporary Naija pop, are likely to catch the spark too. And for radio, this era of Omawumi finally sounds radio-ready in a different way: upbeat, confident, and unbothered.
It’s not just about new music. It’s about an established artist choosing evolution over expectation. And maybe that’s the real story she’s telling now, even if she says she stopped telling stories.
