Idris Lawal

I discovered music growing up listening to my parents’ mixes and Hollywood soundtracks. I can recall weekends and car drives in Lagos where my dad would play long mixes of popular Nigerian musicians (Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Sir Shina Peters, Sonny Okonsu, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Ebenezer Obey). My exposure to western music came from soundtracks I heard while watching movies like The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston) and Indecent Proposal (Sade) with my mom & aunts – having to close my eyes during make-out/sex scenes would expose my ears to the background music that accompanied those scenes.

At 15, an Introduction to 2pac’s ‘Changes’ by a friend would spark an interest in rap music and inspire a focus on poetry and lyricism that shapes my writing even today. Growing up in Nigeria, Qatar, South-Africa and Canada; again I was blessed to be exposed to so many cultures & I think that early exposure would become the foundation of my genre-bending sound.

Today, I draw from a variety of musical influences including rap, afrobeat, highlife, afro-pop, r&b, soul music and blend into what I call

“Afrobop”