Luwa is not trying to impress you...but she probably will anyway
By Amaya McDonald
Luwa is a singer, songwriter, and self-taught guitarist. She's a newer artist with an old soul. Photo by Amaya McDonald
On a stool behind the mic, Luwa sat tuning a guitar she taught herself to play, wearing baggy, ripped jeans and an oversized Pink Floyd tshirt. Observing her comfortability onstage and laid-back demeanor, it wasn’t at all obvious that she was setting up for her first-ever New York gig.
Preparing to perform in a Wednesday night concert produced by Breaking Sound at NoOri Rooftop in Brooklyn, Luwa started her soundcheck, quickly running through her setlist before covering Etta James’ “At Last.”
Audience members yelled, “Yes, ma’am!” during her performance of the blues classic. Luwa kept her eyes closed, obviously in her own world as she sang, perhaps reflecting on a time when she could relate to James’ lyrics about a much anticipated love she could finally have.
But, how much could a 19-year-old really know about love?
With what sounds like a contemporary fusion of R&B, acoustic rock and pop, Luwa approaches themes of love and loss in her music through honest lyrics and mellow, soulful ballads. In her most-streamed song, entitled “12am,” Luwa’s gift of storytelling shines brightest.
In “12am”, Luwa brings listeners along with her as she battles with her own thoughts for hours, considering whether or not she should reach out to someone that has broken her heart before.
“Unless my mind is completely occupied by something, I don't really like being alone,” Luwa said in an interview with this reporter. “And that can make me make bad decisions like reaching out to somebody that does not respect me, and forgetting a lot of the bad things that somebody has done to me because I want company.”
It might be her self awareness that makes Luwa’s music so personal and relatable.
“To my detriment, I care a lot about other people and what other people think, more than [I care about] what I think of them,” Luwa said. “And it makes me make decisions like reaching back to people that have treated me badly.”
While many listeners her age might relate to this sentiment, one will find that Luwa is anything but your average college student. Enrolled in the competitive NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Luwa has released four singles in the last two years which have collectively gained almost 100,000 streams on Spotify so far.
While her music combines elements of different genres, Luwa does not want her sound to be defined by any particular category.
She said, “It can be really annoying, because, just ‘cause I’m Black everyone wants me to call [my music] R&B. I love R&B music but I don't really listen to one single genre that much. I’m a pop singer. ‘Pop’ is a word that has a new definition every era, every few years. ”
Luwa’s multicultural upbringing plays a role in influencing her sound. Having grown up between Nigeria, Maryland and Connecticut, surrounded by people of various cultures when she attended boarding schools, she has been able to draw inspiration from different languages and music scenes.
“The reason I like an Afrobeat song can be the reason why I like a country song, or a pop song,” she said. “I've always been able to see different ways to bring out certain emotions, through different types of music.”
Her deep tone and mature sound reminiscent of artists like Amy Winehouse and Adele, Luwa has been described by The Fader as “one of the most unique, distinct voices amongst up-and-coming musicians right now.”
Describing her sound, Luwa said, “It’s a very lazy type of singing. It kind of gives this whole ‘nothing to lose energy’ that feels most authentically like ‘me.’ I sing that way when I’m songwriting and that’s because I’m just saying my truth.”
No matter how awkward or uncomfortable, Luwa is not afraid to tell it like it is.
At the end of her Breaking Sound performance, the audience cheered, begging Luwa for an encore. Humble and new to the NYC gig scene, Luwa seemed taken aback by the audience’s response.
They chanted, “One more song! One more song!”
“I’m not prepared … this is how unprofessional I am,” Luwa told the audience. After a bit more hesitation, the rookie performer asked the audience what they wanted to hear. Before continuing, she apologized for the small hiccup in her otherwise effortless performance.
“Give me like two years and I’ll be so professional.”
This sense of sureness and confidence in her future self is justified. In just a few years, Luwa has proven already that she has what it takes to build a successful career on willpower alone.
Before her junior year of high school, Luwa was preparing to participate in a five-week music performance intensive at Berklee College of Music. With no songwriting experience and ambitions to be an architect, she joined the program to give herself an edge in the college application process.
Thinking about the inception of her music career, Luwa said, “it really did not come from a place of passion. It was the week before I went to Berklee that I wrote my first song. I was really shook at the end because I really liked it and I was subconsciously creating music that I wished I heard on the radio. And then when I went to Berklee, and the second I wrote my second song, I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is a thing that I’m good at.’”
Now, about three years after she discovered this newfound talent of hers, Luwa said she’s written tons of songs, most of them unreleased. Songwriting is a therapeutic process for Luwa. She draws inspiration for her lyrics from a place of vulnerability and subconscious reflection.
“[Songwriting] is the only way I can really understand what I’ve been through,” she said. “It’s a very subconscious process and I don't have access to that part of my mind.”
Luwa writes what she feels and doesn't worry too much about writing lyrics that will impress others. At the end of the day, those who get it, get it.
“I want them to take it whatever way they want to take it,” Luwa said. “Sometimes I finish writing a song and I think I know what it’s about but I don't. The song means what it means that day. So, take it the way you want to.”
Overall, as she continues to share her innermost thoughts through her lyrics, Luwa hopes that listeners will find a sense of comfort and visibility in her music.
“I hope that whenever somebody hears my music they feel heard and like they’re not alone. When someone listens to my music I want them to know that we’re in this together."