R&B artist Tomi Thomas on carving a niche for himself

His single Ready or Not has been sitting at the top of the Soundcity Africa’s Top 10 Nigeria Countdown, a chart based on votes, requests and social-media posts.

Tomi Thomas. Photo by Cressida Jade

How long does it take Tomi Thomas to write and record a tune? Half an hour. “When I’m feeling it and in the zone, it takes me around 30 minutes,” says the R&B singer coolly, running through his routine of layering down beats, hooks and verses. Do the maths, and he can record an entire album’s worth of material in a single session. “My record is 12 tracks in a day,” he adds with a smile.

It may be no coincidence that Thomas's first single took a little longer. While the basic track to Ready or Not was done in minutes – one of five songs to emerge from a four-hour session – 10 weeks went by, and 17 verses were chucked out, before the 22-year-old Nigerian completed a lyric sheet he was happy with.

The hard work paid off – Ready or Not has been sitting at the top of the Soundcity Africa's Top 10 Nigeria Countdown, a chart based on votes, requests and social-media posts.

“It feels amazing, I’m so blessed that my music and sound is appreciated,” says Thomas.

“It’s a new sound back home, we like to label it Afro-house, and people are really vibing it.”

Not at all bad for a full-time student – Thomas moved to the UAE two years ago to begin a Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations and screen production, at Murdoch University Dubai.

“It’s a balancing act,” says Thomas. “In Dubai, September to December I’m a student/artist – when I’m in Nigeria, in December and January, I’m a full-time artist. There’s an ­order to it.”

As if to prove this last statement, he proudly announces his grades are “HD”, or high distinction. “And I try to keep that up,” he adds.

Thomas has some experience of what it takes to make a hit. At the age of 16, he joined L.O.S, a Nigerian teen boyband who released about 20 tracks and achieved mainstream domestic success. Within a year, the group had performed to crowds of 25,000, and played opening sets for Chris Brown and Rick Ross.

L.O.S is still a going concern, with a debut album in the works, but with the quartet now spread over three continents, each singer is taking time to work on his own material.

“We all agreed that we are all very talented people, and we need to do our own thing – but that we are strongest together,” adds Thomas.

Originally released back in April, Ready or Not is the first video single from Thomas's debut release Patience. ­Follow-up video Renaissance dropped last month, and Thomas's team are preparing a further three releases from the 15-track set, a diverse and mature work that mixes R&B with elements of Afrobeat, house, neo-soul and more.

“I love house and trance, obviously I love Afrobeat, hip-hop, R&B and funk – I steal from everything, and force it all together to create something new,” explains Thomas. “Which, at the end of the day, is why I love music.”

Looking further ahead, Thomas has already finished recording another release, titled The Black Couch LP, and is plotting a big headline gig entitled The Tomi Thomas Experience, in February. First comes another new, non-EP single, the moody, minimalist Not My Bae, set to drop on Saturday.

“In two years time, I pray that I will be a totally established ­international performing and recording artist,” says Thomas. “And also have a ­bachelor’s degree – and a couple of Grammys.”

• Patience is out now on iTunes. Find out more from www.tomithomasmusic.com