Ladé recounts how hardship inspired ‘Adulthood Anthem’

Nigerian singer Ladé has revealed that her hit song “Adulthood Anthem” was inspired by the challenges she faced after leaving her parents’ home to pursue her music career.

Speaking in an interview on TV3, the singer recalled that she had little support while chasing her music career, making even basic things like commuting to the studio and feeding herself a daily challenge.

“I had just left my parents’ house. I was chasing music, and there wasn’t any form of support at that point. I was doing covers and all of that. It was crazy because the distance between where I lived and where my producer was was so far. I kept asking myself, ‘How do I even get there? How do I eat when I get there?’” she said.

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Ladé explained that she initially wanted to record a short song for TikTok. However, when her producer suggested making it a love song, she rejected the idea because it did not match what she was going through at the time.

“He said, ‘Let’s do something about love,’ but I told him, ‘I’m not feeling love today.’ I was dealing with so much, so I suggested we talk about growing up and how crazy life is instead. We started having a conversation, and the lyrics just started coming. That’s how Adulthood Anthem was born,” she recounted.

According to the singer, the first version of the song was only about 45 seconds long and was meant to be used as a TikTok sound. However, after playing it to her team, they felt it was too good to leave unfinished.

“They kept waiting for another verse and told me, ‘This is a banger.’ So I went back to the studio the next day and recorded the second verse. It was even deeper than the first because I had already connected with the song. I wanted everyone to feel exactly what I was feeling,” she added.

@tv3gh_official

Ladé takes us behind the scenes of creating her hit song, “Adulthood Anthem.” #LadiesCircle #TV3GH

♬ original sound - TV3 Ghana