What first got you into music?
I’m Sabrina Love, I come from a home where a majority of my family members are into music. So, I can say I grew up in a very beautiful musical environment and when I was in high school, people really enjoyed me singing. That was when I really realised I had something in me. Then, I started going to some studios to record some song covers and people really appreciated it. And after passing my advanced level of education, I had the opportunity to meet Afrobit Productions, which is a record label with whom I have been working for four years now. That is how everything started.
Who inspired you to make music?
Growing up then, I used to admire one of my aunties a lot. She has an amazing voice and she used to perform at the choir. She was a mother and every time I watched her performing, I just wished to always be like her. And I also got used to listening to the artists she had on her playlists like Charlotte Dipanda, Fally Ipupa, Celine Dion, Beyoncé. After signing with Afrobit Productions, I just said to myself that my dreams are about to come true and all these I mentioned actually influenced me to make good music.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
First, I am a versatile artist, so, I have the capacity to adapt to any genre of music but I also identify myself more to Afro fusion which is a genre of music that blends African rhythms and melodies with other genres of music such as Pop, Hip Pop, Reggae, Jazz and R&B. There is this genre of music that everybody likes and is trending right now – that is Amapiano. I’m in love with it and I’m actually working on it in my second album. These two genres of music are definitely going to be represented in my album.
What is your creative process like?
The way I create music actually depends on my mood. There are some days where I take part in everything from the scratch with my Sound Engineer. We both find melody together and exchange our ideas and when we have a good base of the beat, he just send me a loop and that is what I use to write while he continues with some modifications and adjustments on the beat.
What inspires your music productivity?
I’m more productive in a very quiet environment, so, when my sound Engineer sent the beat to me, I just go to somewhere very peaceful and quiet, I then think for what I want to talk about in the song and anything that comes first either a chorus or a verse, I go back to the studio, record it and everything continues from there. And there are some other days where the Sound Engineer would just send me a full and complete beat. I will just sit quietly in my room, write everything and then go back to the studio and we record it. That’s it.
Which artist would you want to collaborate with?
Actually, there are a lot of great artists in different parts of the world. To me, music is the strongest form of magic and I strongly believe that a mixture of genres from different parts of the world will sound so amazing and beautiful. I will collaborate with Angelique Kidjo from Benin. I had already had a collaborative work with Koffi Olamide from Congo and that meant a lot to me. I would also love to collaborate with few great artists like Yemi Alade from Nigeria, Charlotte Dipanda from my country – Cameroon, Beyoncé from US, Diamond Platnumz from Tanzania, the list is so long but I really wish all of this turn to reality because it will really mean a lot to me.
If you could go open a show for any artiste, who would it be?
If I could open a show for any artist, it would be Burna Boy. I would love to share the same stage with him. I admire him so much and I love his energy on stage.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
One candid message for my fans is that as long as we breathe, and as long as we live, there is hope and we can achieve everything we wish to. We just have to be disciplined, we just have to be focused and put in some efforts and then pray to God to bless our efforts and the magic will happen.
What is the most useless talent you have?
Twinkle in a funny way. I can even do better by moving my noise and rolling my eyes countless (… laughter)
Do you sing in the shower and what songs?
Of course I do, most of the times when I’m just recording a new song, I will just be super excited and I keep on singing it every time, everywhere including while having my shower or when I remember a song I love so much like ‘Love is Crime’ of 2Face Idibia, ‘Long Distance’ of Brandy or one of my songs titled ‘Frenemies’, which you will discover in my upcoming album.
What would you be doing right now if it wasn’t for your music career?
Honestly, I don’t imagine a picture of myself doing any other thing than music, that is just the truth. But I guess I would be in school studying Human Resource Management because that’s what I was doing before I got into music and activities have just been flowing one after the other.
Where have you performed, and what are your favourite and least favourite venues and do you have any upcoming show?
I had a concert with my fans for Christmas last December which was amazing. I opened a show for Charlotte Dipanda, one of our artists here in Cameroon. I recently performed in one of our beautiful nightclubs here in Cameroon. I would be performing at the Trace Award ceremony in Kigali, and this December too, I would be performing for Christmas with my fans to end the beauty.
What’s your sad moment?
My sad moment is when I have an idea of what I want to do in the studio and when I finally do it and it doesn’t sound the way I want it to sound, then it makes me so sad. Generally, it makes me feel like I’m not good at anything. When it happens, what I do is I allow the project for one or two days, then, I come back and start working on it again.
What is your favourite song to perform?
My favourite song to perform right now is ‘No Time’ because while I’m performing this song, I’m passing information and at the same time talking to myself like ‘eh girl! you must succeed and you don’t have a space for any distraction’. It is an Amapiano song. So, while I’m doing all these, I’m also dancing and having fun.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
I admire Yemi Alade, her energy and personality. I also admire Tiwa Savage for her swag and for her personality too. I admire Burna Boy for his uniqueness and I admire Asake for his originality
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Ooh! I’m not a troublesome person and I always try as much as I can to run away from trouble. I remember in high school, my friends got into trouble and it went to the extent that they planned to fight after school hours. Immediately I heard that and they rang the bell, I just quietly carried my bag and went back home because I cannot fight to save my life. So, the next day, I was just listening to what happened and I was like ‘oh sorry! oh sorry!!, oh sorry!!!’ (…laughter)
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice I had been given is to practice discipline and put love and determination in everything I do and honestly, this advice is gradually taking me to where I wanted to be.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Well, if I were given the opportunity to make a change in the industry, I will focus on enhancing the promotion and discovery of lesser known artists, maybe by providing increased access to music so that it should be gaining visibility.
What’s next for you?
I will be releasing my second album soon. I’m currently working on it. I am also preparing the performance I’m going to give at Kigali for the Trace Award ceremony. I will be doing a concert this December with my fans to end the year, and I will keep on working on how to propose good melodies to my fans.
