How To Write A Song With Victor Ndigwe

Model Life • Feb 17
After competing on Elite Model Look in 2014, Victor Ndigwe became the first Nigerian model to work for some of fashion’s biggest brands, walking for the likes of Ermenegildo Zegna, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Versace, Missoni, Hermès, Balmain. He's currently fronting the Missoni campaign. When he’s not making fashion history, Victor is a keen musician, and spends his downtime on set writing songs. We sat down with him to find how to pen a track.

Learn to write anywhere

"I write songs during castings and waiting to get on set [laughs]. Why not write a song or do something else rather than just wait? I misplaced my last notebook so I gave up on writing things down and I use my phone instead - I'll never misplace my phone! I just record things on my phone, it means I won’t forget it."

Be you, everyone else is taken

"Inspiration comes from anything really, what I see, feel and hear. I pick what I can relate to then make a song out of it. For example, I come from a place where there's so much going on, good and bad things alike, but in the midst of all the suffering you still see people laughing and trying to have fun. I see things like that everyday and it inspires me to write a song which these people can relate to when they hear it. That's how I get inspiration from anything."

Find your hook, and run with it

"The way I write songs differ, sometimes I could be beat boxing or making up a tune in my head then I just fit in words that will go with the tune or it could be that I have the lyrics then I work on the tune later on. I started out as a drummer - I played in a percussion band at school but I left the band in 2012. I’m also learning guitar."

Keep an open mind

"I'm listening to a lot of things from Afro pop to rap, R’n’B to rock. A good song to me is something that I can relate to, something that makes sense to me, regardless of what genre the song is. If it doesn't make sense to me then I have to be able to dance to it. I have so many favourite artists: The Fugees, Fela Kuti, Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Asa, Burna Boy, J.Cole, Wale, Sia, Chris Brown, Wiz Kid, to name a few. They're all phenomenal, their sound gives me life."

The revolution will be digitised

"I go online to download free instrumentals and beats, and then, I take them to the studio and record them. I work with some Nigerian producers - like Doc-Side, Ab-Joes or Gentle. We listen to the beat then I tell them how I want to sing on the beat. They advise and gives their ideas on how they think it should go before we start recording. I want to release my music but the truth is I'm scared to! I don't know how people will accept it because it's quite a different sound. But I will probably release something regardless!"

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