Folarin Falana better known as Falz, the Bad Guy, is releasing his sophomore album in two days. In this interview with DGossip247.com, the son of famous lawyer and activist, Femi Falana talks about his career and how his dad literally compelled him to love and play Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s music.
What’s new about Falz the bad guy?
I’m officially announcing the release of my sophomore album. The slated date of release is November 16 and the title of the album is Stories That Touch. With this album, I’m trying to showcase my artistic side and the musicality in Falz the bad guy.
Generally speaking, there’s an impression that Falz is just a hilarious joker who’s never serious; my brand definitely reflects that but I’m trying to make people focus on the contents of my music. It’s a 15-track album with a lot of features. Phyno is featured in the album, Chigul, MI, Reecadoh Banks and three others which I will leave out till when the album comes out.
Why did you title the album Stories That Touch?
Each and every song in the album is a story. They are stories you can relate with, the ones that will definitely touch you somewhere. I want people to be able to connect with me and have a visual impression of what I’m saying with my music.
How would you assess the acceptance and commercial success of your debut album?
I think the acceptance was nice but with this album, I can do better. In terms of commercial success given the way our industry is shaped, sales of copies of CDs were somewhat limited but in terms of digital sales, online sales, Amazon, and iTunes, the sales were very impressive. It was generally a successful album.
Has Stories That Touch got anything to do about your life?
It’s mixed experiences; they’re all not personal stories. They are stories that reflect something. The general theme is life, relationships, things that are happening around me. Most of the stories that people can relate to in their individual lives.
Stories That Touch is heavy on street slang that tends to verge on rascality. How can the public take you seriously?
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. Now as much as I’m trying to showcase my artistic side, I cannot neglect that funny guy. I cannot neglect that ‘element of razz’ that’s always in my music. As much as you listen to the songs with very serious themes, my alter ego pops in the song because it’s a very important component of my brand. From the title to the theme and the whole music, there’s that unique reflection of my person.
In the video of one of your songs on air, Karachika, you told an amazing story of a lady. Who is ‘Karachika’ to you?
(Chuckles) I cannot say this particular person answers that name, but like I said earlier, from the general theme of the album, the songs reflect things happening around us. For anyone that is becoming successful, there’s always someone somewhere trying to bring you down, that’s who Karachika is – anyone who tries to bring you down.
Is there any woman in your life now?
There’s none actually.
How did you arrive at combining Phyno and Chigul for the music video of Karachika?
It was from the concept of the song that I began to ruminate who would be the best for the job. And the first person that came to my mind was Phyno actually. And as soon as I had the rough idea, I sent it to him and he loved it. After that, he recorded, put everything together and sent back to me. Chigul was in the studio at a time that we were recording and she did some crazy stuffs in it that made sense. That was how it happened.
It’s honestly a work of inspiration based on anointing.
You’re a silver spoon kid but your art depicts something else; how do you pretend to be who you’re not?
I think no matter how privileged you’re as a person, you sometimes want to demonstrate that part of you that’s silly and naughty. There’s always a ‘razz’ element in everyone no matter how much we pretend it doesn’t exist.
What’s happening to the law degree for which your parents sent you to school?
I want to further my education, so the law part of me is something I definitely want to keep alive. At the moment, I’m into music and the best way is to keep the legal fire burning on the side. My intention is to master intellectual property law. I want to develop a sort of clientele while I advocate the law in that aspect.
As a lawyer who also does music, has piracy ever bothered you?
Musicians have found a way to curb the issue of piracy to some extent. They found a way to work with people who actually pirate the music. When an artiste is dropping an album, they go to the pirates and say, ‘we know you’re going to reproduce this anyway, why don’t we have a deal from the start?’ Why don’t we get a certain percentage of whatever you sell?’ You either have a percentage deal with them or they pay you completely for the right to reproduce your work.
That implies musicians also encourage pirates?
Well, I get your argument. But that is in the promotion of singles. If you release a single, we the artistes actually go to the guys and give them the right to reproduce and sell. That’s how they make all the mixes they sell on the streets. Artistes now believe that the more popular your song is, the bigger you are as an artiste. Artistes actually pay them to reproduce the works. It’s now like they’re becoming less of pirates but a channel of promotion for artistes.
You’re in Jenifa’s Diary, Funke Akindele’s comic work; are you also considering going into acting?
Definitely, the film industry is one that I’m very passionate about. And I’m going to focus more on this as well. There’s a film that I featured in and it will be released sometime in February next year and I’m certain that’s something to look forward to. I’m working on other movies but none has been completed yet.
Are you sure your parents are absolutely in support of what you’re doing?
Well, you’ll be amazed that my dad is a fan of my music. He was taken aback because neither he nor my mom had any background in music. It was initially very strange to them but they’ve always supported me and now they listen to my songs.
What kind of music did your dad listen to when you were growing up?
When I was younger, I remember listening to a lot of Fela Kuti’s music. My father was a huge fan of Fela. That’s always in my subconscious and there’s a huge influence of that in my new album and because Fela always had this political theme in his music. He was almost like a politician and a revolutionary in his music. My dad pushed me to try to follow his footsteps.
You said your goal is to build a brand that will grow to an extent that when people see your dad, they’ll ask him, ‘are you not Falz’s father?’
Well, I’m doing well along that line. My dad actually once came home to tell me someone saw him and asked him that. He was happy because people think the reverse would be the case. Instead of asking me ‘are you Falana’s son?’ They rather now ask him if he’s my father.
