Twenty-four-year-old Olorunyomi Oloruntimilehin Timothy is a computer scientist known as Bad Boy Timz on the music scene. The singer and songwriter rose to prominence with the release of the song “MJ,” and a follow-up remix which featured Nigeria singer Mayorkun. He has done well for himself in a short time and remains a fast rising act. Despite some issues with the record label he was signed on, he has remain a relevant act on the scene. In a chat with THE NATION’s ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR GBENGA BADA, he opened up on how his dad had been a major support, his challenges and how he’s faring as an independent music act.
Tell us about your educational skills
I’m a graduate of Computer Engineering from Bells University and I studied for five tough long years. My first hit song came out in my second years and the lecturers kept telling me to pick one because I was missing classes. I had to do summer twice just to graduate. My GPA dropped. I would not drop a hit song and people would not see me. I started getting bookings and it was during the pandemic. Before then I had an EP that was doing okay for itself. I was getting some small bookings and MJ happened during the pandemic and I couldn’t perform or travel. We were doing school from home. When pandemic ended and we had to go back to school it was tough but my lecturers made it easier for me towards the end because they also didn’t want me to stay back.
To start with where does the name Bad Boy Timz comes from?
When I started making music my stage name used to be Timz and it’s a combination of two of my names; Timothy and Timilehin. I had to add the Bad Boy because there was another artist bearing Timz and I couldn’t continue using that name. That’s it basically.
One of the things people have said about Olamide is the fact that he is a support system for artists from the street; knowing that you have worked with him, tell us how it came to be and the type person he is?
I made a freestyle video in 2017 for Davido’s ‘If’. I posted it on my page but it didn’t go viral. Someone else posted it and it went viral because he tagged Olamide and he retweeted the post and the video went viral. I reached out to him after and told him I want to take music seriously and I don’t have a direction yet. That was my first freestyle and it went viral because of Olamide of YBNL. He invited me over and I did back up off some songs on the album ‘Lagos Nawa’. Fast forward to after MJ and he said he was compiling his album and it would make sense for me to be on it. I was at my parents’ place. I had to leave there and go there because I had been waiting for him to reach out to me after the first time. I actually felt like I had fumbled, we made ‘Loading’ and another song but it stuck out because at that time Amapiano was just coming out.
Olamide’s personality is cool, calm and reserved. He thinks about everything twice before he says it. Before the producer came, we were having normal conversations and he started playing old songs to prep me for the studio session. I feel like that is what a legend should do. Whenever you have an artist over, prep them and don’t just jump into the studio with them. He’s a mentor and I look up to him because he is also a business man. He is not just an artist; he is also an A&R analyst amongst others.
At the moment what are you currently working on?
I’m working on a new album and the goal of that album is to remind people of old Afrobeats songs. I have seen that a lot of people are sampling international songs but they barely sample the old Afrobeats songs. That’s one of the things that I’m working on for my new album with sampling songs by veterans that includes Lagbaja, Obey amongst others.
Any plan to work with these legends on the new album?
I’m just working on sampling, I’m still in the recording phase. When we start clearing, they can always a day they want to be on the song. I will always reach out for that as well.
Talking about international presence, how do you intend to take these songs internationally?
Basically, I’m not going to be sampling just Afrobeats music. I’m sampling both Afrobeats and hip hop. My plan is that if there is a song that depict something, if I’m sampling an international song, I want to interpret it in an African way. That sets me apart from what everyone is doing.
Who are some of the musicians that inspires you while growing up?
The likes of Asa. I used to listen to a lot of her album. I had this driver when I was young that used to take me to school and he always played Asa’s music throughout. I soaked in a lot of Asa music, my dad’s music as well (my dad makes music). He owns a band that still active. Baba T International.
Any plan to sing with your dad?
Yes, definitely.
You have released a couple of big tracks, what is your thought process when making songs?
Sometimes they are freestyles, sometimes I write the songs without having any instrumentals for them. There is no formula for the way I make my music. It’s off my reality, other people’s reality, social awareness and I also sing about youthful stuff because I’m a youth and that’s what my people want to hear.
There is this believe that musicians need some sought of highness to be inspired, do you feel that way too?
I will speak for myself. If I’m making a club song, I get high to be able to feel the way I would feel in the club in the studio. It’s not like I do needles it’s just basic high. I feel like that’s most of the reason why artists like to take alcohol Just to feel the same way they and the public would feel when they are in the club.
Citing the late Mohbad case, have you ever been bullied in the industry?
The kind of bullying I faced was arrest by my ex-music label and I feel like is just the way the system of the country is. The justice system doesn’t protect the average people from the rich people. If a contractual agreement is even breached, the police is not meant to be involved. It shouldn’t get to the point of arresting. The lawyer can just write to the artist that you have breached the contract. I feel there needs to be more awareness on stuff like this and programmes on bullying because it runs deep. The fact that someone is bullying you, you might sleep and out of fear you don’t wake up. Life is like that. For me, I say no to bullying.
How were you able to over this?
I didn’t drop music for a year. I couldn’t continue the contract because someone that arrests me today for breaching contract, I don’t know what to expect and it’s not a conducive working environment for me.
So, did you run of the country as a form of therapy?
No, I had to leave Nigeria because I was seeing my mates perform and I couldn’t. Even when I was recording with a producer I didn’t know when I am going to drop the song. I went out of Nigeria to clear my head and see things from outside. Traveling out really helped me bounce back me because I had to see things from a different angle. I thought about how I would package myself in front of the people as a new artist after a full year and I think it’s God’s grace that I bounced back.
On the bullying by your Ex-label, did you at any time open up to any industry mentors?
I could not really open up to the industry OGs because there is this mindset that artists are ungrateful. I need people to understand that artists are human beings too. For example, if you are working in a press company and they ask you to do a job that you know that you are meant to be paid for and you have to ask over and over before you get your pay. Things that were in the contracts that you signed when you agreed to work for that company, they were not doing it and you still continued working there but it got to a point of them arresting you. It just doesn’t make you feel safe. Everyone just felt I wasn’t loyal. Nobody knew what I was going through and they didn’t care.
How did you deal with emotions during the bully period?
I had a girlfriend. She was my therapist and I was hers. She really helped me and she was there for me. When I got arrested in Abuja, I was with her at that time and all through that she was there even though she was not my girlfriend anymore. That was one of the reasons I felt attracted to her. She’s just my friend now.
In all, how were you able to sort out with your Ex-label?
We had to reach an agreement and I had to pay them off. I had to give them some shares off my last album for everything to clear. I’m only just recovering from it.
For someone whose dad is in the industry, how did he come in to help?
It’s very important that when artists are going into deals that they carry their family along. My dad being in the picture made things a lot easier for me. Even though I had to not drop music for one year, it made a lot of things easier for me. He was not actively in the industry, he’s just this guy that owns a band and people know that he is talented and they give him shows. He’s not active in the industry but he loves music. His main job is that he is an accountant, he is my accountant basically. He couldn’t really do much but he just made sure I was in the right frame of mind. He was telling me to continue recording. I feel time sorted things out and Empire Music came into the picture as my distribution company. They came into the picture and they helped with some part of the money because I still had to invest in music, I had to drop music videos, do radio shows. I was paying a debt and I was investing in music so I had nothing. I’m just getting back on my feet.
At what point did you expose your singing career to you family?
I was making music but I didn’t let them but the found out through the freestyle video. A friend of theirs in the UK sent a screenshot from Facebook. The video wasn’t only viral on Twitter, because Olamide retweeted it they sort of screen recorded the video with Olamide’s tweet. They sent it to my parent and asked if they knew about it. They forwarded it to me with the message in 2018 close to a year after and luckily for me that was the same night I was getting an award from school. When they sent it to me, I just snapped the award and sent it to them.
In all of this, what role did your mum play?
First of all, I am my mama’s boy. She supported me with a lot of prayers and she still does. She’s the one that takes me to vigil.
How then do you handle fame?
It intoxicated me a few years back and they are some things that I did then that o can’t do now. I’m growing, I’m learning. It was when I couldn’t drop music for a year that I had to reflect. It’s not something I’m used to and I get it, it’s just like that for every artist that blows up when they are young.
Being from a Christian home how did your parents react to your name Bad Boy Timz?
Till now they are not cool with the name but it’s not the right time to change the name. They have plans for me to change to my original name; Timz or Timilehin or Timmy. The rebranding cannot just happen now. The street might not welcome it. People know me for this so let me just stick to it.
You acted in Prime Video most streamed series ‘She Must Be Obeyed’, tell us about your experience and how will you describe Funke Akindele?
Yes, I must say this, she was one of the people that helped me with my label issue. The lawyer that helped me, she was the one that introduced us. She is a really great person and she has been awesome. For my appearance in the series, we had other artist on set that did just cameo appearance without uttering a word but Funke Akindele made sure I acted fully in the movie and that is one experience I cannot trade being my first time acting on big screen.
Any plan of exploring the movie industry more?
Definitely. At some point in my life, I really want to be a director like 50 cents.
What do you have to say about artiste who signs contract with legal backing?
For the contract, I used a lawyer but he was not an Entertainment lawyer and that was something I got to know about after I was in. Getting out of the deal would still have had K-leg because the people I was working with probably didn’t want me to make music again but they just had to let me go. I committed to do something for them which I was always open to doing.
After the late Mohbad case, there were issues around cultism raised in the industry, have you experience such?
For the cultism thing in the industry, I have never experienced it. All I can say is that we can see that it is something that is happening in the industry and we can only hope it does not dig deep.
