Kayode Ijaduade, known by his stage name Styliman, has been making music for more than a decade, and his passion for the career remains as strong as ever. Known also as Ikọyi Eso, the Ogun State-born, Lagos-based Afrobeats artist started recording professionally in 2005. It’s been over 20 years now, and he still remains committed to music.
He has witnessed the industry before streaming and social media became crucial. He has also experienced the opportunities and frustrations that come with building a career independently. Yet, through it all, Styliman is still here. “Music has never been just a career to me. It has become part of who I am,” he tells Rolling Stone Africa.
Styliman’s journey isn’t one built around a single breakout moment or a viral record. Instead, it is a catalog of persistence with close to 100 songs, collaborative projects, EPs, singles, and years of recording, performing, learning, and reinvesting in his craft. His discography includes Greatness, a collaborative EP with singer, rapper, and producer Hefty Baddest; Mainland Rules and Island Rocks (MRIR EP); and It’s Now or Never (IN&ON EP).
Across those projects and beyond, songs such as “Pon It,” “Jaiye,” “Trenches,” “Sugar,” “Baba,” “See Me Today,” “Koma Gbon,” “Lyrically Bad,” “Love Language,” “Dangerous Love,” “Rain Remix,” “Wahala No Dey Finish,” “Woman Wrapper,” and “Walk Alone” captured different moments and experiences in his life. “I don’t simply want to make songs that sound good; I want my music to carry experiences that people can recognize, feel, and remember. Every record is another page,” he explained.
Styliman’s sound does not only draw from Afrobeats; it blends Yoruba culture, Fuji, and jazz. Street experiences, love, relationships, hardship, survival, and everyday life all find space inside his music. “I don’t like to put myself inside one small box,” he said. One song can be about love, while another addresses survival, money, or enjoying life. He told Rolling Africa that at the end of the day he wants listeners to understand that Styliman is a storyteller who happens to express his stories through music.
When asked about the three songs he will recommend for someone that is just discovering him to understand his journey, he mentioned “Pon It,” “Jaiye,” and “Blow.” According to him, each song represents a different part of his mindset and journey.
““PON IT” is a song I wrote to remind people never to lose hope, especially during difficult times. Life can put you through situations where giving up feels easier, but I wanted the song to encourage people to keep believing and pushing forward,” he said.
Styliman added, ““JAIYE” is my way of telling our generation to enjoy life, but to do it with caution and wisdom. We all deserve to have fun and celebrate our achievements, but we should also understand that life comes with responsibilities. Then there’s “BLOW,” which speaks about my aspirations. It represents ambition, determination, and my desire to take Styliman to another level. So, if you listen to those three songs, you get three important sides of me: hope, enjoyment, and ambition.”
The words “hope,” “enjoyment,” and “ambition” explain why he has remained in the game for so long. The journey, however, has not been easy. He has learnt that talent alone is not enough. Without the infrastructure of a major label, he has financed his recordings alone. There have been moments when he questioned why years of work weren’t translating into the numbers he expected. There have also been disappointments involving people who seemed more interested in what they could gain from him than in supporting the work he had spent years building.
But those experiences haven’t stopped him. If anything, they have sharpened his understanding of what independence means. “I’ve also learned patience. You can release a song you believe is great, and the numbers may not immediately reflect the effort behind it. That can be frustrating, but I’ve learned not to allow numbers alone to determine the value of my work,” he said.
Styliman has survived multiple shifts in the Nigerian music industry without losing his love for music. Survival, for him, isn’t just about remaining visible but continuing to create when visibility is limited. “Recognition is important, but the ability to create, express myself, and leave something behind is what has kept me going,” he stated.
Now, Styliman believes he is entering his most intentional chapter yet. He shared with us that he is entering the chapter of purpose, maturity, and legacy. The earlier years were about finding himself, experimenting, surviving, recording, and proving that he could remain in the game. Currently, he is less concerned with becoming somebody else and more focused on fully understanding who Styliman already is. “I don’t feel like I’m trying to become somebody else anymore. I know who Styliman is,” he said.
He wants bigger music, stronger projects, better business decisions, more meaningful collaborations, and an audience that extends beyond the places his music has already reached. Styliman isn’t done; he wants to tell more of his story to a wider audience.
“I don’t think I’ve reached the final chapter yet,” he said. “I want to tell more of my story. After more than two decades, I have enough experiences to fill many pages, and I’m still creating new ones. So when I call my career a journal, I mean it literally. Every song is another page. Every project is another chapter, and I don’t think I’ve reached the final chapter yet. I’m still writing.”
You can find Styliman HERE
