My name is Afolabi Makanjuola but I am professionally known as FOLA. I am and 18 year old up and coming singer, songwriter and will be many more things in the future. ‘FOLA’ is originated from my full name, and has been chosen by me, as a stage name as I feel it is unique amongst other names in showbussiness.
I have been singing from a very young age. However I started entering local competitions and showcases at the age of twelve where I started gaining a little bit of experience in performing and slowly developing as a performer. By the time I had reached the age of 17 I had performed in various festivals and showcases across London and Manchester. I had performed in the Fairfield theatre, Zion arts theatre, Woolwich town hall. I was in a music video for a song called ‘Shining Star‘. On top of this I went on a mini tour with Grammy nominated singer, Joshua Groban where I did three dates within his U.K tour AWAKE. I had the privilege to performed in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow. I have also auditioned for x-factor where I got three yeses from the judges due to my singing tone, appearance, confidence, stage presence and personality. I am also a member of Manchester sing out choir in which I had the privilege to perform on behalf of London community gospel choir in Warwickshire. These experiences have made me improve vocally, performing wise and have taught me how to handle pressure, which Is something one needs to be able to do if they want to work in the music industry . I have also learned how to take constructive criticism, and I think that this is an extremely important factor, because as a performer people will always have opinions about you and judge every move you make.
I started to write my own songs when I was 17 and the first I wrote was ‘shy boy’. I write and make up my own melodies for my songs and I also arrange them too. My songs are usually musically influenced by contemporary Rhythm and blues. I would say they have a lot of commercial appeal to them which makes them radio friendly. I will not categorise myself as an ‘R&B’ singer as I like too experiment with different types of music. I have been influenced by a lot of R&B, Gospel and Pop, theses genre’s are where my voice has come from by listening to singers such as: Michael Jackson, Tonex, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Brandy, Boys 2 Men, Stevie Wonder, Mary J Bilge and a lot of others. My music right now reflect, the typical life of a teenager and what we experience as young people in relationships and life in general. I write about situations I hear bout from friends and things that I have experienced and that others can relate to. Some things are made - up and just little creative stories I have made in my head. I would say my music mostly appeals to young people, but as the years go by I hope it will expand to the point where older people can listen and relate to it.
What does the future hold? Basically the year 2008 is a year for me to gain experience and to build up my portfolio as I consider myself to be inexperienced at this point. I want to develop my artistry in terms of singing, writing and performing. This year is also a year where I want to discover who I am as a singer and as an artist. I believe in improvement and that is what I want to do. By next year (2009) I would have a strong portfolio that I can choose from to make an album. I want to do an album and also do a video. From there we shall see how things develop.
So if you are interested or want to ask any question or anything you can contact me via email at: [email protected] or www.myspace.com/foladastar
Thank you and god bless.
