Album: Ladies First Ep by Dice Ailes

Fusing together Dice’s kaleidoscope of influences, from fuji, highlife, R&B, gospel, and hip-hop—gained during his multicultural upbringing spanning Nigeria, Benin and Canada—the EP also marks the first release from Dice’s label imprint, The Money Mob. “I had a lot of time on my hands [during lockdown] and I had just left my previous label,” he explains, “and I felt that it was the right time to create a platform that allows me and my music to grow, and also just give back.

There's a lot of young talents in Africa, that don't necessarily get the opportunities that they deserve. I'm trying to create a structure that allows for talents that don't necessarily have the finances to be able to grow. And we just want to do a lot of development for emerging African artists. On the EP, I'm working with a lot of emerging creators, and also trying to build the guys from the label. We're just trying to put people on and show people that you can make beautiful music regardless of how ‘big’ you are.” Here, Dice Ailes (Shasha Damilola Alesh) breaks down Ladies First, track by track.