Biography

Born Lawal Deborah Olufunmilayo, she hails from Ogun state a Yoruba speaking part of Nigeria.

Kayefi is a recording artist with a unique genre of music, which is a blend of African melody, a fusion of Ijala (a traditional African chant from the Yoruba speaking part of Nigeria) and pure soul music thus producing an enticing brand of music aptly called Afro-soul.

A highly gifted singer who takes singing to a whole new level because of her unique performance ability which will be a plus to any outfit she chooses to identify with.

Her recorded works include; Oreske, Idowu Ogbo, Iya Mi O sin’leyi, underrated, street credibility (a duet with 9ice), Ojeje, Journey and many more.

In 2016 she released an EP tittled CRAZY WORLD.
The title track brings to mind Erykah Badu, before kicking into a gentle root-reggae pulse for a whole different neo-soul vibe; HERE THEY GO AGAIN is a driving, Afro- rock-inflected  number:

IDOWU OGBO, about a love-affair gone bad,  switches the mood yet again, with elegiac keyboards against a sweet horn section and Kayefi’s unique Ijala vocals;  MA NI RARE casts a small string section against bluesy trumpet in this distinctly Nigerian take on a song with a gospel-tinged Southern Deep Soul feel:

The beautiful OJEJE  is a folk-jazz tune with a cautionary lyric –when do you give advice to your loved ones, and when is it better to let things take their own course?

But Kayefi knows, too, that, sometimes, she has to give her fans something to hit the dancefloor with: ORESKE, in several different mixes, had been getting solid mainstream radio action over the past few years from the likes of DJ Toddla T  (BBC Radio 1/1X and elsewhere) as well as on all quality Naija club floors in Lagos, London and Germany.

But –as Kayefi rightly insists – there is more to music than just dance, you will realize what she means when you take the time to read her poetic and poignant lyrics, whether or not you understand Yoruba, because a large part of Kayefi’s unique message is in the lyrics as well as the notes.

In 2016 she travelled to the republic of Benin for the MIA festival which she bagged the award for the best traditional music of modern inspiration.

In 2018 she was made she was made the Nigerian ambassador for the MIA festival.

In 2019 she was invited to Guinea Conakry for the SICA festival where she was crowned the best female vocalist in a competition that stared about 30 African countries.

Kayefi keeps making us proud as she always draws attention with her great voice everywhere she goes.

She released PONRAELE in 2018 a cover of Reminisce’s PONMILE which was widely accepted and created some sort of controversy due to its lyrical content.

In 2019 Kayefi released ORO, a song about her view about the happenings in her country Nigeria. You might consider your current results mega moolah $1 deposit. It is still enjoying airplay on TV and radio till date.

In late 2019 she released ORIN ADAN and JE KA BARA WA SORO. Both songs were written by ace movie producer Abbey Ojomo with some parts written by Kayefi herself.

Both songs are sound tracks to movies, THE SOCIOPATH and THE COUNCILOR respectively, both projects of AFRICA MAGIC. Both songs are played almost every day on TV.

In 2016 she was hosted at the Lagos country club where she dazzled and wowed her Audience with a world class performance not to be forgotten anytime soon.

In 2017 she headlined her own concert which she called THE ROOTS AND RHYTHM. The first edition was held at the freedom and featured great musicians like her former record label CEO 9ice, IDCABASA, Lord of Ajasa, her former label mate Seriki and a special performance by the late Wale Aboderin the chairman of punch news paper and his enroute band.

The second edition was done in 2019 at the same venue. This time she featured the yorubad boy Qdot, Seriki, idcabasa, Aduke, Maka, Ifetope, Olori Africa and her former label mate Snow. The show was sold out.

She also had a residency at the Cheif Segun Odegbami’s sports lounge in Abeokuta. She performed regularly at the venue with her band for almost a year.

She has performed at various events both internationally and locally. She is a sweetheart of the corporate world as they always enjoy her performances at their end of the year parties

Kayefi!  OSHA, in Yoruba, means roughly ‘mysterious deity’. In her music Kayefi continually gives thanks to that deity, who guides her soul and gives her the strength and talent to write such.

She has worked with many leading producers both locally and internationally amongst whom includes Majornotes (U. K) ID Cabasa and TY mix..