An Interview With One Of Nigeria’s Biggest Stars – Falz

Falz, one of the biggest artists throughout Nigeria and Africa has recently made his highly anticipated introduction to the UK with one of our best female rappers, Ms Banks.

With four award-winning solo albums behind him, Falz quickly flew to the very top establishing himself as one of Africa’s elite artists. Gaining over 6 million followers on Instagram alone, Falz has collaborated with the likes of Patoranking, Yemi Alade, Olamide, Davido and has built his own record label.

Not afraid to use his platform to touch on the more political issues going on in the world whether it causes controversy or not, tracks like This Is Nigeria back in 2018 caught the eyes of many. Inspired by Childish Gambino’s This Is America, Falz delved into issues surrounding gun violence, racism and the distraction of entertainment and social media.

Now back with his brand new single Bop Daddy featuring Ms Banks, I got the opportunity to ask Falz some questions.

How did your journey within music begin?

While i was studying in secondary school, I started writing songs during my free time & that was when I discovered that I enjoyed the process of making music. However the decision to do it professionally came at a later time, while I was in University.

Coming from a political background, you have always been very open regarding political issues within your music in tracks like “This Is Nigeria”. I think in our current climate it’s important to use your platform to your greatest, how important is it for you to touch on these type of topics?

It’s very important for me. In this current climate, so much is going on all around the world. I personally feel music ought to be a tool to inspire change. The perfect avenue to motivate an entire generation while still keeping them entertained off course.

You have recently released a song alongside Ms Banks “Bop Daddy” – which by the way is an absolute banger! Tell us how this came about?

I met her last summer on my way to Portugal we exchanged contacts and stayed in touch. When I started working on this record, I figured she would be a great fit so I reached out to her. We weren’t in the same city at the time so we recorded and sent files back and forth!

I believe you also own a record label named Bahd Guys Records, what made you want to start your own record label?

At the time, I wasn’t signed but I desperately needed to get the ball rolling and get my music heard, so I decided to start my own. That was the push initially & i’m happy I did it because it’s an avenue that i can now use to groom other artists as well.

What do you feel are the biggest differences in the music scene between Nigeria and somewhere like the UK?

I think the lack of structure in the music industry in Nigeria is probably the major difference. Some policies need to be put in place here and there in order to iron out areas like data keeping, collection of royalties, etc. On the flip side, because of how flexible and off-the-book things are in comparison to the UK, there is more room for independent artists to flourish. There is a massive amount of musical talent constantly flowing out of Nigeria and I think this has a part to play in that.

You have an insane fan following behind you now, with over 6 million followers on Instagram alone! On your come up, did you ever face any problems or challenges on the way?

Every artist faces challenges. It’s part of the big story. Because of how uncertain the business is, it was initially very difficult to know what I had to do to get heard. I had to find my own uniqueness and build my brand along the way. It wasn’t easy.

There is an abundance of emerging Nigerian talent shining through at the moment. Has owning a record label and having drawn from your personal experience in the industry changed the way you view new talent at all?

This has definitely changed my perspective and approach towards talent. One major thing I have learnt is that having the talent is only a small percentage of succeeding within this business. There is so much more!

You have a healthy catalogue of music behind you consisting of many projects. If you had to pick one as an introduction to someone who had never heard of your music before, which one would you pick and why?

I would say my album titled “27” because it has a healthy mix of sounds and shows a good level of dynamism.

What more can we expect to see from you this year? Have you got a project dropping?

I plan to release a couple more singles and then later in the year I should put out an album. Hopefully all the madness going on in the world would disappear soon enough! It’s been a rough year for everyone.


You can keep up to date with all things Falz over at his Instagram here!