Music  

Laycon…Harmonies Of Giving Back

By Chinonso Ihekire 

30 December 2023   |   4:25 am

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram

Everyone loves a grass-to-grace story, but when it comes to Laycon it’s more than just a regular muse. Born Olamilekan Agbeleshe, the 30-year-old singer stepped into the spotlight circa 2020, when he won the Big Brother Naija season 7 edition.

Everyone loves a grass-to-grace story, but when it comes to Laycon it’s more than just a regular muse. Born Olamilekan Agbeleshe, the 30-year-old singer stepped into the spotlight circa 2020, when he won the Big Brother Naija season 7 edition. Nigerians all over the world celebrated his victory like it was a personal triumph. It felt deeply fulfilling seeing another young musician with nothing, but a pocket full of dreams come to the limelight. His humility, wits and musical whiz were among the many things that made him the star of the show. Now, three years later, the same musician is wielding that star power in the grand cinema of reality, extending his light everywhere he goes.

In today’s Guardian Music, we catch up with the musician and philanthropist on his rather eventful year, as he details his experiences from making a comeback album, to become the neighbourhood celebrity Santa Claus this season, among others.

It’s been an eventful year. How do you feel right now?
I FEEL great. I just put out a music video for Shine to end the year. It was a different experience because I directed with Unlimited LA. We worked on the video together. I had fun doing it. I had a different perspective to what life has been on the street and what it entails to put a music video together. I had a different experience of what life is like on the streets and not just as an artiste.

When did you decide to shoot a music video?
I had the idea when I got back from Uni where I went to do my masters. I wanted to do a video shoot but the pricing that I was getting was crazy. It made more sense for me to just take the money and share it with people. I am not disrespecting video directors but I felt that with the way the economy is it would do more going directly to the people. I reached out to some brands and pitched collaboration. It was basically a giving back to the society thing. Some of the brands said yes. Special thanks to Fatgbems Petroleum, PZ and Bet9ja. Some other brands said no. And, ultimately, we had the whole thing going.

Your last album, Bioba, was quite the statement. What were you essentially trying to say?
Most of the music decisions I made this year came after I got back from my master’s programme. I had created that project all through my study. I grew as an artiste during that process; I recorded most of the songs on the album myself. I chopped a lot of samples myself. I arranged the songs myself too. When I was done with the project, the label wanted to release it. It was a project that showcased a different side to me. I oversaw a lot of the business angle of the album also. When I put the album out, I was just done with school so the marketing for the album was not as big as I would have preferred, but I felt like it was a personal journey and it capped all I achieved as at that time. Bioba for me was making the decisions that I wanted to make for myself. It was all about understanding that life is never going to be perfect so there’s no need to wait for it to become perfect before doing the things you intend to do. At the end of the day, it might not work out, but what if it does.

You won’t know until you try and that is what influenced the Shine video. Now, for instance, I have a better relationship with brands on a personal basis. I had to sit down in boardrooms, I did presentations, I had to convince brands to drop money. It was a whole big deal. I still also had to convince people at locations. I remember we went to a location to buy some gifts for people and we had to still pay to buy things for the people. We bought fuel for commercial vehicles. We paid school fees for university students at the University of Lagos and we shared school bags and other stationeries. We gave the market traders and traffic wardens hampers. We also gave money to LASTMA officials. We did a lot. That was just me wrapping up this whole process of growth, musically and as a human being. It was me just saying that it doesn’t have to fit into what everyone thinks is perfect; regardless, you just have to affect another person the right way.

You had an eventful year. What was the experience with studying for your master’s degree like?
I have always been an academic guy. I learn for the fun of it, not because I am supposed to. I took International Relations as a minor during my undergraduate programme at the University of Lagos, and this was just for me to experience it in a different way. I have some new course mates whose goals were to become presidents of their countries but eventually I just wanted to widen my horizon and social currency. I didn’t go as Laycon; I went as Olamilekan. Over there, we hung out and they didn’t know I was a public figure. I was treated as a normal smart intelligent person, which was fun. It made me realise a lot of things about myself. People kept asking why I left Nigeria even as a public figure. I heard things like, ‘What about the brands? Why did you leave to do your masters; it feels like it affected the music?’ I don’t think much of it, because people know who I am. I understand that if you do not know what you want then people would think that you fell off; when they do not know that you fell back. You cannot keep listening to people say that you fell off while you actually know that it’s a fall back; because you are working on other things that are important to you. I didn’t care. The same way I made the decision to go to Big Brother that made me a public figure is the same way I made the decision to go for my master’s in the UK. That is how I am; it is my life.

What is your creative process looking like now?
I make music a lot more now. I am back doing the things I love and music is number one on that list. The fact that I have allowed myself to experience the things I love has made me realise that one doesn’t have to stop for the other. I have been creating music since I can remember and I have loved doing other things I love since I can remember. When you love yourself, you make sure that every other aspect of your life is growing. You are going to be starving yourself for yourself. I have been recording music. I slept late last night because I was recording in the studio. Even on my birthday I was recording. 2024 is going to be awesome because I am going to be doing the things I love. I am going to be fulfilled doing all the things I love.

Do you have projects coming up in 2024?
I have some projects to put out next year. When I finished my master’s degree, I had an opportunity to do my PhD but I declined it. I wanted to return to Nigeria to enjoy the growth that I have experienced. It is still part of making decisions and knowing what you want. It was going to be fully-funded and even the sponsors couldn’t understand why I was refusing their request. They think that my whole life is based on academics, because of the abilities that I have in academia. I think that if they see me that way (for my academic prowess) then it means that I have reached a level where I should be regarded without having a PhD. I am always looking for what could be better. If you think this is great, then I am looking for other parts of my life that could be better. I don’t think I want to pursue only one aspect of my life and ignore the others. It is the same Leonardo Davinci that drew the Monalisa that also drew the Vitruvian man that is being used in human anatomy till today. It is the same Michelangelo that painted the Sistine chapel that sculpted David. Do you know what it means to have that level of creativity in two different forms of art? I am sure someone would have told him to focus on one. Being an artiste or a celebrity doesn’t stop you from doing the things you want to do even if people perceive that life as a normal life. What is wrong in living a normal life?

Afrobeats is growing on a global scale. How does that inspire your music decisions?
I am happy that Afrobeats has grown to a bigger level. I am feeling great about where I would fit in that space. Last, you have to reconnect. I remember the time when Reggae was popping. There were a lot of American songs that fused the sound and when they were done they moved on to the next thing. Now, they are going to be doing the same thing to Afrobeats. Now, when they ask you about the reggae artistes you know, you are likely to be calling Lucky Dube and Bob Marley. They were the ones that were around when this thing was popping very much. It is important that that same thing doesn’t happen to Afrobeats, and that we are conscious of the type of content we are putting out and the way we push our culture. If you want to do an Afrobeats concert, come and do it from where it is done. If you want to learn about the genre, come to where it is being done. That is you making sure that you sell not just the music, but you sell the culture, the people and also the country. Let’s take everything to them and not just the music. In 20 or 30 years, I think a new sound might be what they are going to be listening to.

So, what can we get from this present Afrobeats-to-the-world movement for ourselves and not for the individuals who are going there? These individuals are still taking the shows out there. What about bringing it back here? The genre, from the way it is being positioned, is not generic to only our culture. It means in the next 10 years you can see five Grammy nominations for Afrobeats categories and the entire five nominations could come from other non-African countries. Are you going to then go and beat them? No. It happens because you are exporting the sound but not the culture and experience that comes with it. Most of the songs that are sampled today were not the biggest hits in their own time. Music lives forever. In the next 30 years, are they going to be looking for the number one song on Apple music to sample? They would be looking for impactful songs to sample. That is why I always ask, ‘Who are the reggae artistes that you know?’ Was it only Bob Marley and Lucky Dube that were doing Reggae then? It is not because they were topping charts but their songs were impactful.

What was the favourite song you made this year?
Out of the ones that have been released, I would say Shine. It changed my life. It made me look inward and not only outward. It made me think about what I could do for others that could genuinely touch me. I just realised a lot about shining through other people and other people shining through you. If your light shines through other people, then you are not shining if they are not shining.

Lastly, how would you want people to experience your artistry in the long run?
I don’t have a word for it, but I feel like every time I encounter someone I want them to feel like they are interesting enough to interest me. If I find you interesting, the best thing I can do for you is help you find yourself interesting. If I am talking to you and I find you interesting it means that there are multiple layers to this person, but the big question is, ‘Do they know?’