So what did you listen to growing up?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of Soukous music, Highlife, Afrobeat, Afro beats– because there are people like Fela, but then there’s people like Wizkid and Burna Boy. I also listened to Dancehall. I was very diaspora-focused, because, my parents came over relatively young, so they were trying, I believe, to hold on to certain elements of their culture. Because of assimilation, there were a few things that would slip through, like my father was obsessed with Michael Jackson, both of my parents actually. So we were listening to Afrobeat and dancehall and all these things. And then occasionally other things would slip in like "Funkytown" I forget who sings it, but it's like, “why don't you take me to Funkytown,” stuff like that. It was very much immigrant, but that's also trying to assimilate in a way, so it was weird. Even in the car with the radio, my mom, would maybe listen to the radio the first 10 seconds we’re in the car, but then she would just put in a CD that we had heard a billion times.
It wasn't until fifth grade for Christmas, I got an mp3 player. I had begged and begged and begged and I got it. My brother's computer was the only computer I had access to in the house. So I just connected it, and downloaded whatever I could before I could get caught. It was like Jay Z's second Blueprint, and a bunch of Lil Wayne. That's how I got into Lil Kim and Biggie. I took it way, way back, and started researching. And you know, from that moment, I kinda was able to identify more with what I was hearing outside, I was able to connect with kids because I could listen to what they're hearing, I could hear what they're listening to. And at a point, I lived in Langley Park, which was predominantly African and Latin immigrants. So then, if it wasn't Afrobeat, and it wasn't Hip Hop, it was Reggaeton. So my sonic world started to kind of cement itself from that point. That coupled with like, the pop and the random funk and all these things that my parents would slide in. So it was weird, I heard so much from a young age. But certain things didn't get introduced until later.
Ok–can you explain the Afrobeat, Afrobeats distinction? I feel like so many people don’t know that and just use them interchangeably.
So Afrobeat is more so an overarching genre and identity that encompasses Western & Central African music, jazz, highlife and funk. The more popular regions are Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. This sound is also much older than Afrobeats and its most notable pioneer is Fela Kuti. Now - Afrobeats is an umbrella term for contemporary West African popular music. So when you hear Afrobeat, think Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango. When you hear Afrobeats, think WizKid and Davido.
What are you listening to now?
Yeah, fast forward till now, I think my sound is just an amalgamation of all of these things. I'll play the hip hop, play the afrobeat, and now that I travel so frequently, I'm exposed constantly to different cultures. I'll throw in the jungle. I’ll throw in the baile funk. Fuck, you know, I'll throw in the Parisian trap that I heard these kids singing along to the time I was there. They all play a part. I've been able to build this world where it's almost like we're constantly traveling, where we've never really arrived.
Where do you want people to arrive through your music?
I want people to arrive at a state of pleasure, confusion, introspection, maybe even a bit of sadness but overall - euphoria. I want them to feel how you do at the other end of a shroom trip. The experience that I strive to create is one that's out of body. I always want for people to be changed. Honestly, whether it's for the better or for the worse is totally up to them. But I want them to come out of the club, like "I don't know where the fuck I just was, and I don't know what we're doing after this, but like, I need more of that." Because I would have to say my favorite feedback is a person saying, “You gave me everything.” I am well-rounded and I am chaotic. And I honestly kind of like for that to come out. I like for people to have headbanging whiplash moments where they're like, “No was that this over blank, like, that's insane!” And I want people to just kind of re-approach the way that they interact with and perceive music, or even songs that they've heard before that are being presented in a new way. So yeah, I just want people to come from a site of experience that I lead, and be changed and transformed completely.