Why The "Ultimate Win" For Wavy The Creator Goes Deeper Than Just Selling Out Shows

For Bustle UK's music issue, Noisemakers, we wanted to spotlight the new talent you're destined to find on your playlist in the next 12 months, as well as the industry heavy hitters you know and love. Bustle UK's social media editor (and all-round music super-fan) Charlie Mock scoured the scene to find the finest up-and-coming artists to take on the Bustle Booth. Read on to find out how musician Wavy the Creator is leaving her mark.

On first discovery alone, it’s hard not to get instantaneously hooked by Jennifer Ejoke, or Wavy the Creator as she is better known, and her originality, otherworldly aesthetic, and chilled-back sounds. Although still pretty new to the music game, she has already released some sleeper hit singles, including "H.I.G.H.," "Body Deep," and "Stay." Born in Nigeria and raised in Houston, Wavy the Creator is very much a multifaceted artist whose work draws from both the past and future.

“Music has always been a part of me,” Wavy tells Bustle. “I loved music, I loved the art of making music.... it brought me out of a lot of lows and in my highs, it elevated me.”

And with Wavy, it is most definitely an art. There’s an eclectic and retro-inspired feel to her music and visuals. Take the video for "Shaku," her first record since signing to Disturbing London/Parlophone Records. It has a throwback feel and looks like it was filmed on a vintage, grainy camera. Her music video for "Body Deep," meanwhile, is set in London in 2032. A colourful exploration of Afrofuturism, it places her in the centre of a serialist version of the city. These projects are an apt showcase of Wavy's winning formula — a unique musical style mixed with a naturally cool and futuristic aesthetic.

That said, this formula doesn't come without its difficulties. “In an industry where people are more receptive to the 'norm' of doing things, it can be challenging to maintain and stick to what you truly believe,” she explains. “But overcoming that is the ultimate win.”

While her music career is on a steadily successful trajectory, don't expect to see her confined to the booth. “I am convinced that art is connected in all sense, so if I wasnʼt expressing myself through music, I would definitely be doing it in some other form,” she adds, calling out fashion, photography, and film as other avenues she'd like to explore. And she's already side-hustled pretty intensely in these areas, working as personal photographer for Olamide, a Nigerian hip-hop superstar, and working on a collaboration with the streetwear brand Daily Paper.

So what's next for Wavy the Creator? “Growth, a lot of growing,” she says. “I’m still a freshie in the industry with only three major singles out.” It's a very humble take for someone who has already opened for Skepta — her dream future collaborations are with British singer Ellie Goulding or rising star Khalid — and had a single platformed in Vogue. Expect to see more of Wavy the Creator very soon, and in the meantime, here's what she revealed in the Bustle Booth.