Life is in stages, people are in phases, and F3line just wants to make you feel it all. The Akwa-Ibom-born and raised songstress, real name – Etietop Bassey Utin – is one whose journey is as unique as it gets; going from a suspension in university to modelling, before a chance meeting with Jimmi Abduls changed everything. A full circle moment from writing her first song at the age of 10. Her moniker, ‘F3line’, derived from her love for cats, symbolizes agility and uniqueness and complements her journey of resilience and self-discovery. With her single, Day One, being her introduction to many, F3line seeks to take on even bigger stages and wants you to experience the art of true love on her now-out EP, Hopeless Romantic. 

In this interview, John Eriomala of WeTalkSound speaks with her about growth, her creative process, and her perception of collaborations within the Nigerian music industry. She also touches on her inspirations and influences, meeting Kai Cenat, and how her family has reacted to her journey so far. Read on! 

As F3line the artist and Eti (Etietop) the individual, how would you describe yourself? 

As Eti the individual,  I’m just a shy, fun-loving girl, but also a brainiac, but as F3line, I’m more outgoing, more confident, and show more poise. So, Eti and Feline are two different people, and I’m just trying to merge the two in the best way possible. The major difference is how outgoing I am. Eti is more of an introvert, but F3line is more outgoing, and extroverted, but we’re both good people.

How did growing up in Akwa Ibom influence your music?

Growing up in Akwa Ibom was really fun. Akwa Ibom is really quiet, really small. But then I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life there; I wanted to leave, and school was a way of leaving because my school was in Ogun state. But then when I got suspended, I realised school may not be the easiest route. So I just did modelling, and then from modelling, I entered music. But all in all, I just wanted to leave Akwa Ibom. It wasn’t the place for me. 

Would you say that reflects in the way you write? Not escapism per se, but are themes of wanting to leave, wanting to explore, themes that come up in your music? 

Not really. Akwa Ibom doesn’t really play that much of a story because I’ve been travelling out of there. Akwa Ibom is just my home and that’s where my mom is. That’s where I grew up from ages five to eleven and then my dad moved to Lagos. But because my mom was also in Akwa Ibom, I had to go back and forth. I just couldn’t stay there full-time. My music is just about emotions, and right now, it’s more focused on love and heartbreak. Not necessarily escapism, except escaping the toxic situation of a relationship.

That’s quite evident on Day One where there was this perspective of a lover dealing with unrequited love and still offering reassurance. Is this from personal experience, or is it just you drawing on creativity completely?

Yeah, I write from personal experience for all my songs. I don’t know how to cook up stories, so I only write from my personal experiences for now.

Do you see yourself doing that (writing from external experiences) soon or in a couple of years? 

Definitely. As I grow as an artist, there are more things that I would love to explore or be open to. When that bridge comes, honestly, I’ll cross it. But right now, the writing process is quite organic, focused on whatever resonates at the time. 

I’m not opposed to it, but I believe music should be authentic, and I prefer to write from my heart. I want listeners to truly connect with what I’m experiencing.

What was the writing process for the Hopeless Romantic EP like?

It was fun. It was definitely something, especially because I was still in school when most of the songs for the EP were written, except. XOXO, which was the first song I made during my IT  (Industrial Training).  When I was in school, whenever I had moments of distractions, I would jot down experiences in my journal. People thought it was my journal for personal notes, but it was actually my songbook. 

The writing process was very intimate for me. I’d write the songs  and then when I went home during the holiday, I’d record them., Sometimes, additional ideas would come to mind during recording sessions. Whether it was a producer suggesting something or I felt like adding some extra pzazz to it, those moments were spontaneous. But everything in this EP came from my room in Covenant University.

You mentioned how one of  your major influences is wanting people to experience what you feel and how it’s a very intimate process – 

It’s not as if I want people to experience just what I feel. I believe these are feelings that multiple people in the world relate to. My goal is to make others feel heard and seen, to create a sense of connection through shared emotions

Oh, okay. I get you. Still talking about influences, who are your external influences i.e. artists and producers you look up to? 

In terms of producers, I love the work that London is doing. I also like Type A. When it comes to artists, I kind of draw inspiration from SZA, Summer Walker and Jhené Aiko. I really love Sza, I love how she’s so good with songwriting and expressing my thoughts even before I think of them.

These are the patron saints of toxic RnB. 

(laughs) You know, interesting things are kind of toxic or a bit of toxicity is interesting, either one. But, yeah, there’s just a certain type of lyricism that they have that I want to emulate and as well in my songwriting; not necessarily the toxicity or whatever but just that lyricism, melody and so on.

Moving on, there’s something somewhere about a Jinmi Abduls music video after modelling. What was the exact transition?

I love talking about the story because it was so random. During my year off from school in 2019-2020 (around the COVID period), I worked at a makeup studio to earn extra cash. One day, one of my clients there said, “You’re so pretty. You could be a model”. I took it quite seriously because I wasn’t making that much money with makeup. By then, I hadn’t done video vixen work

 I was quite popular on Twitter at the time and one day Jinmi Abduls sent me a DM asking if I modelled. I said yes and ended up in his music video.  I remember the day I got to set, my sister took me because that was my first experience with the music industry. There, I kept telling her, “I’m so happy. Look at people just singing and doing their thing. This is their life and this is what they enjoy doing. They’re making money, touching lives, and everything. This is what I want to do with my life, not modelling, not makeup, not even engineering. I want to sing like this”. 

I didn’t even wait till the shoot was over. I just went to Jinmi and was like, “Do you (Jinmi) know that I can sing?. Like literally, I can sing.” And he laughed and said , “You know what? Come to my studio tomorrow and then show me what you got”. That was my turning point, honestly.

F3line in the music video for Kosi by Jinmi Abduls . Source: YouTube

How has your family reacted to the journey so far?

My family is very supportive. My mom has been the most supportive person. My siblings are just waiting for me to drop. Nobody listens to my music as much as them and I’m very grateful for that. They never worried about me not finishing school, because they knew how important it was to me to finish. But then, you know Nigerian parents have their worries. “Oh, my child is not going to be a doctor”. “She’s not going to be this or that or that”. So obviously, the worry is there, but they suppress it as much as they can because they support me 100%. I couldn’t have asked for a better support system. 

Still on your music, how would you describe your sound?

My sound is a blend of Afro R&B and Afro-Pop. This EP highlights my emotional side, the hopeless romantic side, focusing on themes of love and romance. It’s soft, but you can bop your head to it. I feel like the listeners would appreciate the melody and the lyricism of the project. My music is supposed to invoke emotions. Afro-emotions, if you will.

Afro-emotions is an interesting way to put it. Just by the way, do you know of Tomi Thomas’ Hopeless Romantic?

Yeah, it’s a fantastic song. Tomi Thomas’ Hopeless Romantic was a beautiful song that also expressed his own emotions.  But I’m doing my own thing, which is not related to his song

Who were the producers you worked with on the Hopeless Romantic EP  and what were the recording sessions like? 

I worked with TMXO, BigFish, Auxxi (Auxxi with the vibe), Ramoni who produced Stupid Love, and Rore who produced Day One. They’ve been amazing to work with. TMXO was the first producer I worked with off the project. He kind of opened up everything to me, because, as I said, XOXO was the first song I recorded off the project.

He gave me a journal to write all my songs in, which I was very grateful for. We sat down (all my producers) and we acted like we were about to make the best song ever. And I just love when both parties are into it and we put the time and  work in to get an amazing song. All in all, my experience with the producers was amazing and I look forward to working with each of them again.

In five years from now, what is one specific milestone you would love to have attained? 

I want to go on tour. I want to top the charts. I just want to feel connected. I want to feel connected to my fan base; the people out there listening to F3line. And hopefully, within the next five years, it will happen.

What should fans expect from Hopeless Romantic? Both day-one fans and people who knew you from Day One. 

Expect the unexpected. (laughs)  No, I’m just joking. Expect world domination. Expect to listen to an amazing, fresh sound and heartfelt lyrics. This EP marks the beginning of my musical journey, and I want fans, whether day-one supporters or newcomers, to feel like they’re part of it

Are there any artists or contemporaries you would love to collaborate with? 

I’m definitely interested in collaborating with other artists. Right now, there are a few on my radar, but I prefer to keep that under wraps for now. Stay tuned, though—you’ll see some exciting collaborations coming your way.

You’re holding out on us, you know?

(laughs) The element of surprise! But no, I want to work with some of the big names and those with cult classics. I  just want to work with so many people ‘cause I’m just starting. Whatever happens organically, really. 

When not writing or recording or not being F3line, what does Eti do? 

She’s hanging out with her cats or with her friends. I always hang out with my best friends and my cats, whether it’s just reading a book or going for cocktails. I’m very girly, so I like to do girly things and hang out with my girlfriends. Plus, I love the beach a lot, so any excuse to go to the beach, I’ll be there.

As a girl’s girl, what’s your take on female collaborations in the Nigerian music industry?

From what I’ve seen and from what I’ve observed it’s been great. Women are supporting women. The girlies are doing what needs to be done. You feel me? Like I say to  the girls in Afrobeats in Nigeria, “We’re princesses”. And I love how we are all supporting each other. As of right now, I’ve been seeing some collaborations. It’s good. I love it. Looking forward to more women, we’re our own community. We have to support each other. I’ve gotten the most support from women. That’s why I have nothing but to say women supporting women, always. 

How was the Kai Cenat experience like? 

It was actually fun. It was supposed to be fun content and that’s exactly what happened. Kai is arguably one of the biggest streamers in the world with millions of views every day so of course I got traction. There were like 100K views on my post within a couple of hours. it was just supposed to be fun content. When people see it, they laugh, they vibe. I implore you to watch any of their videos. It’s always fun like that. So yes, to answer your question, there was traction on my page and my music.

F3line and Kai Cenat Credit: @onejoblessboy on X (Twitter)

As far as Nigeria is concerned, are there any content creators you would love to partner with or whose work you admire?

There are so many great content creators that are doing really well. There’s this content creator on TikTok and Instagram, Life with Jai. She’s really good. But obviously I’d want to work with whichever brand or content creator that’s good for my brand.

Back to your music now, do you play any instruments or produce?

I play the violin and keyboard, and I’m eager to dive into music production. Right now, I’ve taught myself to record and mix my vocals to a certain extent. I’ve been learning gradually, picking up tips from my producer during sessions and then practising at home to recreate what I’ve learned. It’s been a fulfilling process so far

What’s that one thing about the EP that fans should look out for? 

I just want people to hear my EP and  be like, “She’s here to stay”.  Like, “Damn! That was good. That was great”.  Immerse yourself in the project. Feel it.  Speak up, if you might. If it provokes a conversation, who am I to stop it? 

Also, what I want people to take away from it is that my EP is not necessarily about heartbreak. It’s just about allowing yourself to feel however you feel and not allowing yourself to stop loving. “This particular experience may have been bad, but I am not going to stop myself from experiencing love or giving out love again.”