Nigerian singer Bfire says his stage name, short for Bush Fire, references the biblical story of God appearing to Moses as a burning bush, and he is using the confrontational Fire and the achingly open Press Play to argue that men should be able to express emotional vulnerability. The two tracks sit at opposite ends of the same emotional register, with listeners sometimes reading them as a diss track or a love letter, and both are always more personal than the metaphors let on.
In an interview, Bfire discussed the culture shock of moving from northern Nigeria to Lagos, the theology behind his name, and why he thinks vulnerability from a male artist still catches people off guard.
Early life and the move to Lagos#
Raised in northern Nigeria on church music and a secondhand Walkman full of oldies, Bfire moved to Lagos and found a city that reshaped both his sound and his pace of life. What has not changed, he said, is his insistence on emotional honesty, particularly the kind he says men are rarely given room to express.
His earliest memory of wanting to make music goes back to childhood. “At church, I used to feel drawn to the music,” he said. “It was a natural inclination for me.” He grew up in a strong Christian background, with uncles and aunts in the choir who played instruments, and he always wanted to be around that space, messing around with their equipment.
“Coming to Lagos was a completely different environment. The first thing you notice is that this place is headache. Lagos taught me speed. Things move very fast, and the sooner you embrace that, and stay resilient, intuitive, and consistent, the sooner it brings out something special in you.”
Bfire grew up listening to Afrobeats and R&B (rhythm and blues), including artists such as Craig David and Keith Sweat. His uncle had a Walkman, and he would take it and play tapes. When he picked up the guitar, a local musician taught him, so he started out playing Hausa church music. “It was more generic, natural music,” he said. “A lot changed once I got to Lagos, though. Even now, I use more Yoruba influences in my songs than Hausa.”
The meaning of Bfire#
The name Bfire comes from Bush Fire. He said the idea came to him as an epiphany while thinking about the biblical account of God appearing to Moses as a burning bush. “The bush was already there, but what was different, what signified his presence, was the fire on the bush that didn’t consume it,” he said.
“That fire signifies the presence of God, and that’s how I translate the name.”
Over time, he cut the name down to Bfire.
Influences and creative process#
Bfire cites Wizkid, Drake and Asake as inspirations, artists with very different styles. The common thread, he said, is authenticity. “The aura, the way they carry themselves, how true they are to their sound,” he said. “They’re great sources of inspiration, especially looking at how they started and how they’ve kept it going.”
His creative process is driven by inspiration, which he said can be drawn from anything if he is paying attention. He does not need a perfect setup to record. “I’ll start listening to a beat, I like it, and the words start coming one after another,” he said. “Sometimes I get the words before I even know what I’m singing about, and then I realise what the song is about.”
Bfire also lists several interests alongside music:
- Cooking
- Anime
- Entrepreneurship
- Research
He said all of it blends into one personality. “It all has one thing in common, and that’s vibes,” he said. “The creativity, the patience and balance that comes with cooking, is still something you can apply when you’re making a song.”
Emotional honesty in Fire and Press Play#
If he could send only one song to introduce himself to someone who had never met him, Bfire said he would choose Press Play. “I’m someone who wears his heart on his sleeve,” he said. “I love hard, and I love genuinely. It doesn’t take a moment to notice that about me.”
He has described Fire as open to interpretation, saying it could read as love, conflict, passion or persuasion depending on who is listening. One interpretation surprised him: some people heard the chorus as him singing against haters. “That’s not necessarily what I meant, but that’s how they’ve translated it, as shaking off your haters,” he said.
Press Play is about wanting someone who keeps sending mixed signals. Bfire said that kind of emotional honesty is rarely heard from a male perspective. “We live in a society where men are treated like their hearts are made of steel, not muscle, not flesh, no blood pumping through it,” he said. “When you express those emotions, you’re considered weak. I’m just trying to bring out that point, letting people know that men have feelings too. Men can hurt. Men have desires too.”
Asked where the line sits between protecting his privacy and being honest enough to make music that works, he said the line is in the metaphors.
