Falz Can Be Whatever He Wants To Be
From being a ‘Baby boy for life’ to a ‘Sweetboy’, and then becoming ‘Bop Daddy’, Folarin Falana aka Falz is a perfect example of versatility. The lawyer turned rapper has been an enigma since becoming relevant in the industry and his choice of words, diction, flow, delivery and story-telling while rapping is reminiscent of other legendary hip hop artists in the universal hip hop hall of fame. There was a time when I thought of the hip hop industry in Nigeria and could only muster up a few names, I’m happy that has changed and I’m fortunate to witness an era that inducted a new class of quality artists.
Falz is cut from same cloth as lyricists that are not scared to experiment and confidently deliver on any genre, and let’s be honest in order to entice your fans, attract new ones and stay relevant, you need to be a versatile rapper in any music industry, especially now that genre bending /crossing is an important and inevitable norm. It is seldom to see pop singers cross over to rap like rappers do with other genres, although Chris Brown had the help of a rapper, Tyga for the Fan of a Fan collaborative projects, and Beyonce always delivers when given the opportunity, it is hard to get past the image of Taylor Swift and T-Pain’s ‘Thug Story’ whenever I hear, see or think of a pop star rapping.
Rappers worldwide have appreciated the advantages of being creatively experimental with other genres in their music, and that include Nigerian rappers who see the importance of fusing different sounds with their music, and fortunately, Nigerians are more open to rappers mixing genres now provided they find a way to stick to their true origins.
Being an impeccable jack of all trades- Let’s not forget his acting ability, Falz can decide to be an afro beat sensation while sticking true to his rap origins, like we see in ‘Jeje’, ‘Loving’ and ‘Workaholic’. Or he could be a teacher and guidance counselor to his fans dishing out words of advice and encouragement, he can be that activist and voice that fights for the interest of the people with his music, matter of fact he named his fourth studio album Moral Instruction. This album was used to address societal issues such as corruption, inept politicians, social injustice, prostitution and internet fraud. Churning out socio conscious records like ‘Johnny’ ‘Talk’ ‘Hypocrite’ and ‘Amen’. His desire for social justice and activism goes beyond just rapping and singing about it, recently he wrote a letter to the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr Muhammed Babandede, protesting grave yard postings metted out to five female officers as punishment for taking part in the #BopDaddychallenge.
Also, He can switch it up entirely and be that dude that shuts down the club with hits like ‘Soft Work’, ‘La Fette’ ‘Bad Baddo Baddest” and tapping into the UK soundscape to give us ‘Bop Daddy’.
Its enjoyable to watch an individual display such versatility without breaking a sweat while doing all these interchangeably, and even spotting a white beard ‘old daddy’ look earlier this year, that concretely affirms the title of this piece. Oh! I almost forgot that he can also be part of a super group and still stand out, a listen to his collaboration EP with Boj and Ajebutter22 ‘Make E No Cause Fight 2’ is evidence of how he can blend effortlessly in a collaboration project. Tracks like ‘Ronaldo’ and ‘Rock Your Body’ are exhibits to justify his talent. These different personas explored by him, although distinct are remarkable and impressive, because even when he treads these waters, he decides to be careful in order not to sail too far from his original course which is hip hop. It already looks like a long and promising career for him, and it’ll be interesting to see how far he can keep up with this genius impressions of genre blending, creativity and originality a path that has made geniuses and virtuosos like Kanye West, Drake and Olamide so relevant and impressive for years, or will he fall into musical oblivion like the B.O.Bs and Ice Princes?. I don’t think so.
By K.D for Urban Central [Tweets @Durhminick]
Remember you can also follow us on Twitter @TheUrbanCentral
If you enjoyed this story, please click the 👏 button and share to help others find it! Feel free to leave a comment below.
