Eriq is the new Trap maverick on the block

In a country where people listen to a particular type of music, Eriq is standing out as a Trap artiste. Driven by passion and love for what he does, he is establishing himself as a phenomenon in the evolving Nigerian trap scene. Following the release of his single Bad Man in 2019 and a collaborative 14-track album with fellow rapper JayPoppin, Eriq is becoming a rising star and a promising young artist to watch out for. He delivers a flaming masterpiece in his latest project Coldest, further cementing the mastery of his craft. Taking us on a journey of an emotional rollercoaster, he leaves us with a question hanging at the back of our minds.In this interview, he tells us about the inspiration behind his latest project Coldest, his style of music, the Nigerian trap scene and importantly, his dream.

Tell me about Eriq.
I was born in Delta state, Nigeria but grew up in Benin, where I schooled and also started making music. I started music as a hobby with friends, which later became a full passion for me.

How did you get into music and what influenced your style of music?
First off, I’ve always loved hip-hop music. When I was in Benin, I was listening to a lot of rap music and artistes. I loved rapping and writing music and this was how it started. I also had a friend then who was into music and was doing it seriously, I’d always go with him to the studio. For my style of music, I think I watched a lot of Lil Wayne’s videos growing up and it influenced me greatly. My style is a little bit different from Trap, it is a blend of both trap and the Nigerian flavour. There are many trending genres at the forefront in Nigeria. 

So, why Trap? Is there a story behind your choice?
I just love making rap music. I used to just rap back then and over time, I started trapping and I discovered I was way better at Trap than Rap, so yeah, I just keep getting better over time. How do you feel doing something that is not quite popular amongst other genres?
Well, I think it is very challenging but I am doing it already and I feel like if I am not doing it, who is? A lot of people are doing a lot of popular genres these days, someone has to do something different and it’s not like I just want to do something different, it is something I love doing. I’ve been doing it for a long time and the vision for me is changing how people see Trap in Nigeria. 

What is your creative process like? Do you need to get into a mood to be able to create?
I think I record better when I am alone than when I am with people. It also depends on the beat; I can just get inspired from listening to a beat and jump on it. When I am alone too, I might just hear something and think it is dope and then move to record. 

Tell me about your latest project Coldest. What is the inspiration behind it?
I was in this relationship and it ended badly. It was really heartbreaking for me and that was the whole inspiration behind the project. The idea behind Coldest was: after a breakup, what else is left but a cold heart?

Do you see yourself evolving from what you do now to doing another type of music?
I try a lot of genres though, not just trap. For now, I just drop traps because I don’t think I need to be doing multiple genres, you know, not wanting to get fans confused and stuff like that. I also have afro songs I haven’t put out. With time, I can still do other genres.

What do you think about the Nigerian Trap scene? Do you see it becoming something major?
I feel like Nigerians love Trap. They just haven’t seen someone do it right for them. When I go to concerts, I see people vibe to Trap, singing lyrics line for line of foreign artistes but here in Nigeria, we don’t really have an artiste doing it and this is why I am putting in the effort to make it work.

What is the vision (dream life) for you?
These days, I am making plans to pull a show together with my team. I also have a song coming out soon. I also have a remix with PsychoYP from one of the songs on Coldest.