Coming on the heels of a successful first album, Folarin Falana, scion of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has unveiled plans to launch his sophomore project. The rapper, whose style of music has earned him the nickname Falz The Bahd Guy speaks to OVWE MEDEME about his soon-to-be-released album, Bahd Guy Persona, foray into movies among other issues.
WHAT is the inspiration behind the album, Stories That Touch?
I’m trying to showcase the artistic side of me. So every song on the album is a story; a story that you would either be able to relate to or a story that will touch you somewhere. I want people to be able to connect to me. I want people to listen to the music and have a visual impression of what I’m portraying in the music. That was the inspiration behind the title. The album will be released November 16
What are your fans to expect from the album?
Generally speaking, there is an impression out there that Falz is a crazy guy. Falz is that guy that is unserious in some way. The brand definitely reflects that, but with this album, I’m trying to make people focus on my music, I’m trying to make people see the content of my music. It’s a 15- track album with a lot of features. Phyno, Chiggurl, MI and Show Dem Camp are all featured in the album. There are a few other features but I leave that till when the album comes out.
How would you assess your last outing in terms of acceptance?
I think the acceptance was pretty decent and I would say it was good. But I think with this album, I will even do better in terms of commercial success. Because of the way our industry is shaped, commercial success in terms of sales of hard copies of CDs is somewhat limited. But in terms of digital sales, the sales were very impressive so commercially. I would say it was a successful album.
Is Stories That Touch your personal story?
It is a mix. It is not all personal stories. They are all stories that reflect something. The general themes are life, relationships and things that happen around us. I want people to listen to the music and be able to relate. I want people to get a visual picture of what I’m portraying in the songs. So they are not all personal stories. Some of them are, but most of them are just stories that everyone can relate with and that is why it’s called Stories That Touch.
Does the title not contradict your intent to showcase your artistic side?
Falz the Bad Guy is an all encompassing brand. The funny guy is still in there. The funny guy will continue to be in the music. As much as I’m trying to show my artistic side, I cannot neglect that funny guy. I cannot neglect that element of razz that is always in my music and I’m always going to continue to portray that. As much as we listen to even the songs that have very serious themes, you still hear my alter ego pop up in those songs because it is a part of the brand and it is very important part. From the title to the theme to the whole project, everything still has to reflect that part of me.
What is the inspiration behind the song, Karashika?
Karashika is not necessarily a personal experience. So I cannot say that this person is Karashika. But like I said, from the general theme of the album, the songs reflect things that happen around us. For anyone who is becoming successful, anyone that is making it in life, there will be people who are trying to bring you down. And that is the general theme of Karashika. That is who a Karashika is.
Is there a Karashika in your life?
There is no Karashika in my life right now, if I can fully understand what you are asking (laughs).
As a lawyer who studied abroad, how did you come about this Bahd Guy persona?
(Switching to his bad guy lingua)It’s more from inspiration, at least. Based on anointing. I think everybody, generally speaking, there is always element of razz inside them. So what happen is that I want to tap into it. You understand. I tap into my anointing from above. And generally speaking, I want to project it. I believe we need to embrace it our razz. And that is what I’m trying to do. Everybody have it in them. There is a razz in everybody.
You are known as a rapper, but how do you describe your sound?
It is a mix of hip hop and indigenous Nigeria sounds, so there will be a lot of Afrobeat. There will be a lot of Fuji, all mixed with hip hop. It is a sound that I don’t think anyone out there has. And because of the fusion of the razz in it, that also gives me a unique identity. I have a term for my own genre of music. I call it Wazup music.
Would you admit that your razz is your selling point?
I believe that it is a very strong selling point. But now, I’m trying to show the other selling points I believe that I have on this album. That is why you wouldn’t necessarily hear skits on the album. I don’t want people to be too distracted by the funny. I want people to pay attention to the serious messages and to be able to tap into the spirit of the album.
You seem to be grounded in music. What happens to your legal career?
I will definitely keep the legal part of me alive. At the moment, I’m still into the music. The best thing is for me to find a way to keep the legal fire burning. The way that I have come up with is to focus on entertainment law or intellectual property law. Actually, I have plans to further my education in that regard. What I want to do is to develop some sort of clientele base because I’m already in the entertainment industry.
Do you hope to be a SAN someday?
That would be great. But to qualify to be a SAN, you need a certain number of years of active practice, a certain number of cases at some level in the legal system. That I don’t have yet.
Your first acting gig is Jenifa’s Diaries. Do you have any other pending scripts?
Yes, definitely. The film industry is something that I’ve always been passionate about. And I’m going to focus on that as well. I have a film that I featured in which is coming out early next year. That is also something to look forward to. I’m working on some other film projects but that is the only one that has been completed and will be released pretty soon.
Do you play the bad guy role in these projects?
In most of them, yes.
How does your dad take your music career?
He is a fan. Initially he was taken aback because it is not something that he expected. Neither he nor my mum had any sort of background in music. So it was initially strange to them. But I think they’ve always supported me and they’ve grown to like the music. They listen to my stuff.
When did the music start?
I must have been in the university at the time. Way before then, I was already recording but that was when I put together my first official mixtape. When I put that out, the reviews that I got looked good. That was when I decided to focus on it.
What kind of music does your dad like playing?
When I was younger, I remember listening to a lot of Fela Kuti. He is a huge Fela fan and that is always in my subconscious. And on this album, you will see the influence reflect. Fela always had this political feel to his music. He was almost like a politician. He was almost like a revolutionary in his music and my dad always pushes me to try and toe that line, to try and follow those footsteps.
You once said you prefer people saying Falz’ father instead of Falana’s son; how far have you gone with that?
I think I’m doing a pretty decent job because my dad actually said to me that someone approached him and asked him if he was Falz’ father and that he was actually surprised and at the same time, impressed.
