When Femi Ishola walks into the recording booth, you can’t help being swept up in his creative mission. It doesn’t matter to him that the booth is set up in a makeshift studio space in his friend and producer Drew Penne’s spare room. It certainly doesn’t matter that he has no solid plan for what he’s going to record today, even though he’s normally prepared with a handful of verses already written down. All he needs is a space to create and let the music speak for itself. 

The room is bathed in a deep blue light from a small desk lamp. The shades are drawn, so the only other light comes from the computer monitor covered in soundwaves from the day’s recording session. Ishola – who’s only 22 years old – is recording his first full-length project: a currently untitled mixtape set to drop this summer. During this session he’s recording ad-libs, throwing down a few verses, and putting other finishing touches on a few songs at Penne’s home studio. This project will be his first major release since his debut EP, Eureka, which came out in February 2024. 

“I never intended on getting into this,” Ishola said. “Seeing people around me really trying to make their dreams come true, really rapping and doing it well made me feel like I could do it well, too.” 

Femi found a great deal of this inspiration from members of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Hip Hop Collective, or HHC. He started going to HHC meetings at the end of his sophomore year at UIUC, where he recently graduated with a degree in advertising. Penne met Ishola through the collective, immediately recognizing that his skill and his work ethic separated him from the average artist. 

“What really stands out about Femi… is how intentional and how focused the mission is to make really good art,” Penne said. “I think you can tell when people make music just to make music, and when people make music because that’s what they got to do.”

Ishola with others in the collective Hideout, who he’s worked with on their recent album “Until Now.” Photo by Eli Smith

Although Ishola has only been making music seriously for two years, he’s been building his skill set for much longer. Growing up, he wrote poetry, and he learned the rhythmic complexities he uses in his music by drumming in his church’s band and his high school’s jazz band. Most importantly, he has the intangible trait that pushes any artist along the path to success: – obsession. 

“I want to (make music) all the time, which I feel like that makes this super easy for me and keeps it fun,.” Ishola said. 

He writes when he gets up and before he goes to bed. If he’s listening to music and catches a fleeting moment of inspiration, he’ll rap his own verses over whatever he’s playing. 

“Knowing that I’ve logged in all this time getting better is what’s making me as confident as I am today.” 

If anyone can testify to the work he has put into his craft, it’s Yonas Beyene, another rapper and one of Ishola’s best friends. Beyene was the person who introduced Femi to the HHC, and they built their friendship on their mutual obsession for music. Beyene is featured on multiple songs appearing on Ishola’s upcoming mixtape, and they both appear on Until Now, the most recent album released by the collective under the group name Hideout. This musical collaboration helped them develop a strong appreciation for each other’s character. 

“When it comes to people like Femi, it’s a deep reverence and respect I have because I understand how much time he’s put into music,” Beyene said. “He embodies the idea that through consistency and hard work, you cannot be stopped.”  

If he is not putting in this work in the studio, Ishola is on the hunt for a stage. On April 27, he performed on a runway for UIUC’s Circular Fashion Expo. The theme was “Return to Earth.” Minutes before his performance, the runway was full of students decked out in elaborate outfits with butterfly wings, flowers or strands of vines. Standing there alone now, Ishola commanded the stage in a white t-shirt, electric blue joggers, and eye-catching Nike Huaraches. 

Ishola performing at a UIUC’s Circular Fashion Expo. Photo by Eli Smith

His performance embodied his work ethic in the studio. There was no flash and no fluff. Although Ishola is naturally soft spoken off stage, his confidence grew and his delivery intensified with each stride he took up and down the runway. He performed four unreleased songs from his mixtape, with other members of HHC shouting along to each of them. First- time listeners were dancing in their seats to the pounding drums and pulsing horns of the jazz samples that lay the groundwork for Ishola’s lyrics. The setlist served as a signal to the crowd of what was coming next from him.  

“I have all this music ready to come out. It’s miles better than what I have out, but people are saying what I have out is amazing.” Ishola said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, you guys like that? Wait till you see this.’”

Header by Eli Smith