Meet Wande Isola of Reach Records in Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wande Isola.

Austin is more than just the capital city of Texas, the Lonestar State. The city has positioned itself as a cultural staple adopting the nickname The Live Music Capital of the World. Anyone whose experienced an Austin City Limits or South by South West festival would hardly disagree. Between Austin’s festival scenes, and UT-Austin’s collegiate culture and sports legacy, there’s little wonder if anything special can come from the Capital City.

Wande, born Yewande Isola, is a budding Hip Hop artist dynamic performer, Austin, TX native that is here to inspire. Using her infectious rap skills and personality, she accomplished an impressive 11-song release cycle in 2018 that featured a mix of features and original songs, earning her a Rapzilla.com Freshman nod for 2018, and launching her rap career. The momentum culminated in her being offered a recording contract offer from Reach Records where she worked as an A&R administrator and would become the first woman artist in the label’s 16 years legacy. “It was fulfilling knowing my work didn’t go unnoticed, given how much effort I put in,” said Wande.

It wasn’t all just music. With Instagram as her preferred social media outlet, Wande grew her audience to over 10K followers with a daily regimen of photos and videos that spoke messages of hope, faith, and creative inspiration. Now signed and with over 40k she shares “It’s encouraging getting to interact with people all over the world and see firsthand the impact these little nuggets can have on people.” “It also encouraged me to keep going with my music career based on the love and feedback I was getting from people,” Wande said.

Has it been a smooth road?
There have been many struggles that shaped who I am (You can find a complete breakdown here with five categories: https://www.omgitswande.com/ (Heritage, Faith, Femininity, Ambition, HipHop)

Heritage wise being a Nigerian immigrant:
It’s an interesting experience because you’re essentially an immigrant surrounded by a family that has to start over. America doesn’t recognize many African degrees so I watched my parents go to school all over again and advance to provide for our family. Since I was an infant when I came, I grew up with the same American experience my classmates had. However, mine was different in the sense that when I came home I was my parents’ personal teacher on American culture. I think it widened my lens of being in America because I knew the lingo and felt at home, yet I realized how much of a privilege it is to be in this country and could connect with the international world.

Artist Wise:
The hardest part of being an artist is managing everything beyond the music. You’re essentially a CEO of your brand and you have to make smart business decisions from who you choose to be on your team, to how you represent your brand, all on top of taking care of yourself and putting out great music.

Woman in hip hop;
With Hip Hop being male-dominated, its a recurring theme to be the minority. The area I’ve seen this the most is with shows. Often many artists want to support their “bros”, which seems unproblematic at first. But when you begin to realize that the artists with the largest platforms are men, it leaves a reoccurring cycle of all men line ups. Overall I’ve had to overcome the “underdog” position.

Discussing faith:
In hip hop culture many times what sells is “sex”, so with me being an artist who talks about my faith and other topics outside of sex I often have had to come harder with my music to gain a look. Even artists like Cardi B have mentioned that they’ve tested it out and people will blast the sexual songs and go “eh what is this” to the songs with a deeper meaning. I think I’ve had to make the conscious decision to stay true to who I am and let the culture come to me rather than change who I am to fit the culture. Some people will rock with it and some won’t and that’s ok.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m “Wande” known on social media as “OMGitsWande.” I specialize in being a hip hop artist. I’m proud to be a part of a movement of music that encourages people to explore faith and hold on to hope. I’m also proud to be the first woman on my label and be a voice to encourage and empower women around the world. The movement is so strong that many people have tatted “116” on their bodies because of how much they have been impacted. 116 is our motto and stands for Romans 1:16 which states “I am not ashamed of the gospel…”

All of these factors are what set me apart from others in the hip hop industry. I just got off tour and it’s crazy to see thousands of people turning up like a normal hip hop concert but chanting uplifting words. I’m glad to continue this movement with my new debut album dropping soon

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love how black culture is everywhere. Coming from Austin, Texas I was a minority so it’s great to be surrounded by my people.

What I like least is everyone is trying to be an artist so you got to work 10x harder to stand out. But I think the competition is healthy for growth.