Ani grew up in a multicultural family. Cultural differences are not visible in Ani’s everyday life, but they are heard all the more loudly in the music.
Artiste I gave26, life changed at the beginning of the year when his If the truth be told -song hit the radio and music streaming services. The breakthrough has changed both his career and his personal life.
One concrete change is the increase in attention. Ani, who has been working on her artist career for more than three years, is recognized on the streets, the number of followers is growing, and there are more gigs all the time.
– It’s been quite exciting that in the past I’ve had to fight and twist a bit, that I’ve been given all kinds of opportunities and now I already know what I’m going to do next year in August. It’s a lot to handle, maybe even too much. Fortunately, I have people around me who understand, for example, schedules much better than I do, Ani describes to Iltalehte.
Ani’s childhood dreams were related to more than music. Today, however, Ani does everything she can to one day be Finland’s biggest pop star. Pete Anikari
Many of the artists have dreamed of radio hits and a big career since childhood, but Ani’s path to artistry is different.
Ani, real name Aniachunamoso Nnebedumgrew up in Eastern Helsinki in a multicultural family. His mother is half Romani and his father is Nigerian.
Ani is grateful that, despite being multicultural, her experiences with racism are few.
– It seems that in my elementary school, native Finns were a minority and different ethnicities were a normal thing. My Romani background is not visible to the outside world, so people don’t know how to react to it, Ani says.
– Of course, there have been some moments when I have been the target of racism, but they are quite few. For example, I might get a Tiktok comment “slurry”, but nothing else. Of course, that is also unpleasant, but many experience much worse things.
Ani is grateful that she has experienced little racism. Pete Anikari
Ani has grown up in Finnish traditions and culture, but in her music you can hear features from other cultures.
– I think cultural differences are most visible through my art. I know about some of my songs even before the release that this will definitely hit the Roma population or Africans. It’s hard to explain, but for example, certain compositional formulas and drama in music are often in the mind of the Roma, Ani explains.
– I think that my special cultural background, combined with my strongly present Finnishness, is what sets my music apart from others, he continues.
Full support
A music career has become Ani’s dream only in adulthood. In her childhood, Ani put all her time into soccer.
– I wanted to be the next Lionel Messi. It might be too late now. In addition to football, I was successful in school and put a lot of effort into it. I was the guy whose homework was copied and cheated on the exam, Ani laughs.
Ani has two little sisters in Nigeria. Ani wants to share her life lessons with her siblings as best she can. Pete Anikari
Today, Ani has a good relationship with her family. Close circle and family are the biggest supporters of Ani’s career and she is especially grateful for that. Ani has never had to hear doubts from her parents regarding her music career.
– My parents watched from the side as I dedicated myself to music and didn’t go to “real jobs”. Of course, it must have made them think, because often parents take care of their children, although at the same time they hope that their children’s dreams will come true, says Ani.
– The beginning of my career would certainly have been much more difficult if there had been a lot of opposition from my parents, the artist continues.
Ani has two little sisters in Nigeria. Although he has to fulfill the role of big brother remotely, he tries to pass on his own life instructions to his siblings as well.
– I have tried to be as good a big brother to them as possible. Through example, I try to teach them values that are important to me. I want them to keep their head up and believe in their own abilities.
– I myself have been to Nigeria a few times. It’s a really different place from Finland and I feel that my basic feeling is quite Finnish. Although it is a kind of culture shock to go there, I recognize the same traits in myself as in them.
Ani became known from the Summer program in the 2010s. Pete Anikari
Jobs in the entertainment industry
Ani’s family listened to a lot of music as a child, but there were no musical instruments. However, the Romani roots from my mother’s side have brought with them tango and lattar music. From her father’s side, Ani has especially heard Afro rhythms and reggae.
– I have been singing since I was little, but when my voice broke, singing started to cause pain. I stopped it for many years. At the age of 17, I bought myself a guitar and started singing again.
Before her first jobs in the entertainment industry, Ani imagined that she would study law. Around the same time as the guitar purchase, Ani was able to host Yle Buzzer– youth series.
– Summeri was revolutionary in the sense that it opened doors to the world of music for me. I never consciously went towards it, it just kind of happened by accident. I am Buzzer-really grateful for the time and it has made it possible for me to be here today, Ani describes now.
Anin has released two albums in a year and a half: Virgin and Sadekehä. Pete Anikari
Ani herself is embarrassed that she is in the entertainment industry these days. Ani says that when she was young, she avoided all kinds of attention and being on display was far from her personality.
– When I was young, I didn’t have any social media channels, not even Whatsapp. I ended up in the entertainment industry first and then I realized that I should probably also be on social media, he continues.
At the moment, especially Ani’s freshman background belongs to the novel Rain cyclealbum On and off – song. The song especially surprised the Tiktok generation with its genre, because it is tango. According to Ani, it was not his intention to bring the tango back, but it just happened.
– I have many people in my family who have succeeded in the Tango market, and tango is in my blood. However, I had no motive in that direction when I made that song.
– Only after I put a clip of the song on Tiktok did I remember that Finns are a tango nation and there is a pretty big market for tango. Young popular music performers have done quite a bit of tango so far, and all this clicked for me only after the song was already done.
At the moment, Ani is supposed to create a strong foundation for her career. The singer, who has released two albums so far, wants to be Finland’s biggest pop star in the future. For that, Ani says she works every single day.
In November, Ani released a song that delighted the listeners. Pete Anikari