The second born of twelve children to Nigerian émigrés in London, Siji spent much of his early childhood in Lagos and London before coming to the US to further pursue his musical ambitions. His own cultural heritage combined with the political and social movements of the age, exposed young Siji to the insurgent, politicized music of the Afrobeat legends Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Tony Allen as well as the soulful grooves of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Otis Redding.