Born Damilare Akinnawonu William, but known to the world as Liahm, artistic expression is the cornerstone of his music. Liahm defies categorization, refusing to be confined by genre or artistic limitations. This drive stems from his core identity – a deeply emotive individual who pours his soul into every note. Despite being a dedicated student at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Liahm has struck a remarkable balance, thriving in both his academic and musical pursuits.
“My music is bold and so is my fashion” – beautifully incorporating his fashion sense with his music, there’s a certain sync that Liahm has been able to achieve with these two very vast areas, infusing his fashion into his music and expressing himself through his music. “I would say my fashion sense is bold, free and wild”, he quips when pressed to define what best he can sum his fashion goal as.
Inspiration strikes Liahm unexpectedly, he aptly expresses that he finds creative fuel from the mundane to the profound and that to him, is creative – a delicious meal, the majesty of nature, or the raw power of the human nature. Liahm sees the world as a giant canvas, that holds brimming potential for his musical expression.
Liahm doesn’t create music on a whim, the artist understands how important it is to connect with his fans and listeners and aptly ensures that his every storyline behind his music is rooted deep from experience—either his or that of people around him. He explains that this is the only way he can make music that can resonate with lovers of his musicality. With this philosophy, Liahm painstakingly makes the impressive EP, “Too Young For This.”
The recently released EP serves as a sonic autobiography, chronicling his experiences and pressure and the struggles he faces. Yet amidst all these, Liahm’s EP which displays a variety of influence from different Nigerian artists, suggests ease. The artist glides through each track, effortlessly conveying the sentiments behind the project title, “Too Young For This”
He readily acknowledges artists such as Burna and Omah Lay who have enlightened him to not stay fixated on one sound, and he clearly understands the art of experimenting with sounds, without having to label his sound, as this would be him bounding himself up in a box. “There is no genre”, he corrects, it’s not limited, it’s free and more like ‘as it comes’”
“Every track has a storyline”, Liahm explains on the EP tracks, admitting it’s impossible to pick a favourite since he loves them all, and his preference can shift depending on his mood in that moment. He explains that right now, his current is “Fraud” which explores the theme of imperfection and love, but his favourites are fluid, evolving with his emotional landscape. “Every time I listen to my songs, I get different expressions and emotions”, he reflects.
Liahm doesn’t care about the streams, his major focus on his music and his intention with the talent, is to imprint his mark in the minds and hearts of people who listen to his music. To him, streams are mere numbers but the impact of his music and ability to have people heal through his experience bared in his music is what he’ll define as his ultimate goal. With his music crossing the Nigerian border, Liahm envisions himself achieving the goals he has defined for his music.
So far, Liahm confesses that though the journey so far hasn’t been easy, his determination to achieving his goals is what pushes him to keep going. “Everything will be alright is what I always tell myself when it gets hard, the end justifies the means and this has been working for me, I’m grateful to God”
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