Mimoe: Why I Dropped Accounting For Music

Mimoe — the most influential musician on earth, as he chooses to call himself — has explained why he dropped accounting to do music professionally.

Born on January 28, in Lagos, to a Pastor and a civil servant, Joshua Adekunle-Levites, the soulful singer, impeccable storyteller, and music producer who loves to be called Mimoe started singing at the age of 4.

“The first time I sang in front of a large audience was in my dad’s church, on a Christmas day. I was 4, but I think I impressed enough to have had the congregation spray me plenty money to fill the pockets of my lace bùbá.”

From starting a band at age 6 with his brother and some other friends, to being a choir director in his dad’s church when he was barely 15, Mimoe did not start recording music professionally until he was 21.

“I no dey ever settle” he stated, “I like to be the best and truest version of myself at every phase, and that takes a lot of courage.

I remember telling my dad I’d study civil engineering because I knew he’d like the idea. He always wanted an engineer in the family. Later, I changed my mind and said I wanted to be a chartered accountant instead, but deep down I knew that wasn’t it. I had always known I would never explore a career in accounting even before I proceeded to study with the ACCA, so it didn’t look like a sudden decision to me when I decided to quit. It was only a matter of time. In sooth, everyone in my life saw that special gift of music in me since I was a kid. They all knew it. But It took me years to be courageous enough to embrace my path without caring much about what people would think.”

For a boy from a family with three medical doctors, it would most definitely have seemed like delusion to express his intention of being a musician, little wonder he needed as much courage as he could muster to eventually embrace his course. Mimoe went ahead to study music and audio technology at Tenstrings music institute, arguably the best music school in Nigeria, and has done well to lay the much needed foundation for his very promising career.

“When Mimoe sings, you picture a prime John Mayer and a vintage Johnny Drille at work”, music journalist Emmanuel Daraloye once wrote about the singer in a review, and with back to back EPs in 2020 and 2021, he is establishing himself to be one of the hardest working musicians in the industry.

Mimoe sees himself as the most influential musician on earth, and I don’t think there is much anyone can say to convince him otherwise. That, to a large extent, says so much about his doggedness and self belief.

Will Mimoe go on to become everything he has set out to be and more? Time will be kind enough to tell.

Listen to Mimoe’s newly released song