Ify Adenuga, mother of renowned Nigerian-British grime artist, rapper, and record producer, Skepta, has spoken on the reason she consciously chose to raise her children differently from how she was brought up.
The Nigerian-born author and wife to Joseph Senior Adenuga, who moved to London in 1980 reflected on the impact of growing up back in Nigeria during the Biafran war which she suggested meant discipline and survival.
The mother of the superstar wouldn’t repeat the same parenting style where a home environment is tensed and where children won’t feel free to express themselves or explore life and things for themselves.
“That’s the promise I made myself, that I’m not going to raise my kids the way I was raised. I like that expression in them that they believe that they can do things themselves. That’s how we came up with the idea that we’re not going to hit them all,” Ify said on BBC World Service.
Unlike many other African homes, Ify’s sitting room was the playground, wasn’t a restricted or inaccessible area but played a pivotal role in shaping her children and helped discover what would later become a crucial trajectory to the success of their life and career.
“For us Africans and black people generally, majority, we decorate the sitting room where children don’t stop over in the sitting room. They come into the sitting room, say hello and all that. They disappear into their room.
“They can do anything they like in the sitting room as long as they tidy up. It gave them that space to come up with ideas of whatever it is they want to do. And that’s how the idea of music as well started in the house,” she stated.
This freedom helped spark the children’s creativity, including their interest in music. She recounted supporting their children’s activities and observed how one of them expresses personal experiences through music.
“I was driving them to rundown area. I’ll drop them and I’ll sit in the car and I’ll wait for good one and a half hours while they’re doing that. When they finish, they text me they’re finished. And they all come out and file into the car and when we get home.”
“In his songs, I can see him telling tales about how he grew up. I love listening to his songs,” she mentioned.
Those early studio recording sessions their mum secretly took them to would later shape the music career of Skepta and JME.
Jamie Adenuga, known professionally as JME, is a renowned British grime MC, Producer, DJ, and song writer who co-founded the independent label and crew Better Boy Know (BBK) alongside his older brother Skepta while Jason Adenuga is a producer and graphic designer.
Three of them are siblings with Julie Oluwatoyin Chidozie Adenuga (Julie Adenuga), who is a British broadcaster, radio host and creative.