In the shimmering, relentless crucible of Nigerian Pop, where fame can ignite with a single viral clip, the slow, deliberate cadence of Elestee’s ascent feels not just counterintuitive, but quietly revolutionary. Her story is not one of spontaneous combustion, but of conscious construction. The artist who first stood before a crowd as Life Size Teddy didn’t simply emerge; she assembled her presence, piece by piece, through a deliberate practicum and a profound act of inward conviction. From a mechanical engineering graduate to the continually-evolving artist she is today, her journey unravels the alluring fantasy of the instant star, revealing the deep, personal alchemy that occurs when a steady, unwavering vision finally meets the world prepared to hear it.
When Elestee opened for Ladipoe in 2018, she didn’t realize she was learning anything. She was simply working, pushing forward with the kind of single-minded focus that looks like stubbornness to everyone else. Five years would pass before her official unveiling in 2023, but she never saw it as waiting. “I didn’t really think I was learning a lesson at the time,” she says. “I thought I was just striving and just continuing to persevere for the things that I wanted.” The delay between those two moments taught her something fundamental. Timing matters, but only when preparation meets it. Everything happens in alignment, she learned, but you have to keep working while the universe catches up to your vision.
Coming from what she describes as a “very typical Nigerian family,” Elestee’s path was supposed to be straightforward. Her parents offered three options: lawyer, doctor, or engineer. She chose mechanical engineering, graduated with the degree, and then announced she was making music. The household erupted. “When I got to that point and my mind didn’t change, it seemed like I was crazy,” she recalls. Her mother went to church and prayed for divine intervention, convinced her daughter was having an existential crisis. “God kind of answered her prayers in a way. He led me in the right direction, just not in the direction that she thought.”
The pushback came from everywhere. Family questioned her. Friends raised eyebrows. Society looked at her like she’d lost her grip on reality. But she’d learned something crucial through those years of doubt. When you truly believe in yourself, your opinion is the only one that matters. That conviction carried her through the moments when making music seemed like the most foolish decision she could make, when her choice looked like rebellion instead of calling.
The name change from LifeSize Teddy to Elestee wasn’t really a change at all. It was more of a clarification. People kept mispronouncing her artist name, calling her “Lifestyle” and other variations that had nothing to do with her actual identity. “Elestee is literally a play on Life Size Teddy,” she explains, breaking down the letters. She found what she calls a “cool way” to spell it, turning the full phrase into something pronounceable while maintaining the essence. But the shift represents something deeper than phonetics. Elestee is the version of herself that emerged after going through the industry’s initiation, the artist who truly knows herself now. “Elestee is the version where I’ve gone through, I’ve started in the industry, I’ve gone through a phase, and now I’ve emerged as a person who really does know myself.”
Her debut EP ‘LifeSize Teddy’ arrived pure and unfiltered, unapologetically her without compromise. But she’s one of her biggest critics, and she noticed something. She wanted to reach more people, especially in Nigeria. To become one of the biggest stars in the country, she realized she needed to communicate in a language the majority could understand. “If the goal is to reach the public, if the goal is to reach everybody, you have to speak in a language that they understand,” she says. This wasn’t about dumbing down or losing herself. It was about expansion. She conducted surveys, asked questions, figured out how to maintain her artistry while creating entry points for different audiences. The people on the streets, in the markets, everywhere needed to find something for themselves in her music.
Her recent work reflects this evolution. She’s calmed down from her high horse, as she puts it, becoming more relatable without sacrificing authenticity. Where her first project showcased raw talent and out-of-reach lyrics that proved her capabilities, her newer material balances that artistry with accessibility. She wants everybody to listen and fall in love with LST music, which means creating songs for every kind of listener while maintaining the core of who she is.
The title ‘Mentally I’m Here’ carries weight because of what came before it. After her unveiling, Elestee lost her mother. The grief lodged itself somewhere deep, and she kept pushing forward, unable to fully process what had happened. She felt stuck, unable to express herself the way she needed to. The project emerged from finally getting herself out of that place, from being able to feel again without the crushing burden of loss. “These are the songs that came out after getting myself out of that place. I was able to feel again. I could make music about love. I could make music about what I want,” she explains.
The intro track “On the Road” became the centerpiece, a masterpiece where she encapsulated everything she’d been holding. That song gave her permission to continue, to keep creating from a place of genuine emotion rather than numbness. It flowed out of her naturally, perhaps because it needed to exist for her to move forward. Creating the project became a form of liberation, allowing her to feel things without grief sitting on top of every emotion.
Ayra Starr had been pushing Elestee toward pop music for years. She believed in her friend’s potential to cross over, to do something beyond the rapper box Elestee had built for herself. But Elestee resisted, terrified because she felt like she had no rhythm to dance, restricted by her own self-imposed limitations. When “On the Low” didn’t make Ayra’s album, Elestee saw an opportunity. She called her friend and asked for the record. “She was like, ‘yes let’s get it’ and that’s how the song made it to my project.” The collaboration represents Elestee finally taking the leap Ayra had been encouraging all along, stepping into a space that felt uncomfortable but necessary for her growth.
Ask her what version of herself she’s stepping into next and she doesn’t hesitate. “Problem Elestee.” She plans to flood the market next year, to give the world so much of herself that they can’t keep up. The artist who emerged from grief and found her confidence is ready to be everywhere, impossible to ignore. “The unapologetic Elestee that is so aware of issues,” she says, describing what’s coming. “You guys are going to have a lot of me to deal with next year.”
The girl whose mother prayed for her to abandon music to the artist preparing to dominate 2025, Elestee’s journey has been about trusting herself when no one else did. She graduated with an engineering degree to make her family happy, then chose herself anyway. She opened for other artists until the moment was right for her own spotlight. She processed grief through music and emerged ready to create from a place of strength. The lesson she didn’t know she was learning back in 2018 has finally crystallized. Everything happens in due time, but only if you keep working while you wait. Opportunity meets preparation, and Elestee spent those five years getting ready for the moment when the world would finally be ready for her. Now she’s here, mentally and physically, prepared to become the problem everyone will want to have.
Written By Wale Oloworekende.
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