Meet Crayon Surviving and Thriving in the Hustler City of Lagos.
Upcoming artist Crayon has been making waves across the Lagos/Nigerian scene. Being nominated as a rising star in the Headies.
Photography by @scrdofme • Instagram photos and videos
Crayon has had notable collaborations with artist such as Rema and being signed to the star-studded Mavin Records run by Don Jazzy. The Nigerian born artist is one to watch. I sat down with the rising star to talk about growing up in Lagos, the journey from handing CDs out to radio stations and building a family through his fan base as well as his goals for the future.
Joseph (J): “Okay. Okay. Three biggest musical inspirations.”
Crayon (C): “I think Drake is bad! His Sonics! The fact that he can tap into different cultures and still maintain his sound. That's genius right there. I'm fully in that step because I did it, I did the collab with Tessllated from Jamaica and I got a collab with Kelvyn Boy from Ghana, and a collab, with French artists too, you know, different cultures. So, I'm very intentional. (Other inspirations he listed such as Fella Kuti and Superba.) You know, there's a lot. The list is endless bro. Don Jazzy, Olamide, it's endless, endless.”
J: “That makes sense. Because when I listen to your music, I can see it resonating across the diaspora. . Okay, last quick-fire question. What would you say is your dream collaboration?”
C: “Drake. Crayon featuring Drake.”
We went back and forth and laughed about how on an average day he can be listening to anything from Trap to Afrobeats to RnB. He spoke about growing up in Lagos or rather “surviving in the hustler city” and the crazy work ethic has to be to thrive in a country like Nigeria. Anyone who follows Crayon on social media can see how his song Jackpot reproduced this culture and was a song for all the hustlers out there. After we joked and laughed about his dream collaborations, Lagos then we got into what it was like growing up in Lagos.
C: “Growing up in bigger cities was fun and it was quite fast. If you wanna survive in Lagos, you have to be on your toes. Like you have to be on the road, like twenty-four-seven, it’s a hustler city. It’s a city where young boys and young girls trying our trying to survive. Trying to be successful in life. I think that is what inspired 'Jackpot' as well because it was like an anthem for winners. Jackpot was for the people that are aspiring to be great, people aspiring to be successful, people that can hit a bag with whatever field they do whether it's doing football, music, docs or whatever, as long as you want to hit a bag and want to be successful Jackpot, is for you.”
It was clear that Lagos had shaped Crayon and so did his fans. Even today his loyalty to them their loyalty to him was evident. Crayon painted a picture where you had to be on your toes planning your next move. However, he said the most important thing that shaped him was the hustle of his mum. Seeing her wake up at 4 am every morning to sell fruit at the market, day in day out. He reminisced how sometimes his mum wouldn’t be home till 11 pm and he wouldn’t get to see her much but she provided him with that hustler state of mind and they’d connect through church and “stuff like that”. Crayon speaks passionately about how his own hustle and how he was inspired to make sure his mother would never have to wake up early to sell fruit again.
J: “Your mum being a hustler she was out there selling fruit for over a decade. Do you think that kind of mentality was kind of instilled into you in terms of your work ethic and do you apply that to yourself now?”
C: “Yes, my mum, my mum... Because she's always going out. She's always hustling. I get to see her in the nighttime 10/11 PM at night... I'm seeing her do that every single morning for 19 years straight, like back-to-back, on the same spot you know, just so much ginger... Like. Since 19, I did it I got her patterned and I'm so happy. That's the biggest goal I achieved that I did for her. And I'm so happy that she's happy. She called me every month last year saying “Oh, thank you I'm not going to the market again I used to be under the rain and under the sun now. Like yeah, man.”
Photography by scrdofme
The Journey for the young artist wasn't quick. He reminisced about going to back-to-back shows, travelling from the mainland and going to Leikki Island, together with his encounters with area boys and travelling to places no one would expect a 16-year-old to go to. All in the hopes of building his audience and his music. He laughs about being out so much he’d make friends with the local area boys while travelling between shows. During the interview, Crayon explained how he’d travel for hours on a bus by himself across the country to go to radio stations and wait outside till they let him in and then he would hand out his CDs to the presenters. Funnily enough, that is how he got his first song on the radio. He speaks fondly about how label mate Rema produced some of his earlier work and really believed in his dream. Highlighting the belief from his friends drove him to continue with music. He also spoke about the “detractors” and “the non-believers”. He talked passionately about and how when you are from the hood and making music people would say "You are only trying to do music because you didn’t get into university and stuff.” But music wasn’t a backup. It was a choice and something Crayon knew was his calling despite the journey not being easy.
“You have to be on the road, like twenty-four-seven, like you said, Hustler city. It’s a city where young boys, young girls trying to survive. Trying to be successful in life.”
C: “Man, it was, it was hectic. It was stressful. It was draining because I had no support, many labor. I had no management. I had no sponsor. So it was crazy. It was crazy, but I loved it because it kind of shaped me to be where I am today. So, no regrets at all.”
J: “So, thinking back on the music and your sound, I would describe it as Afrobeats. What about your background, where did your sound come from? Do you come from a musical family?”
C: “My dad used to sell CDs back in the day of CDs. I had access to all kinds of music, mainly Rap, Reggae, Hip-Hop, RnB, Afrobeats, all types of music. We had different types of albums in our house because he used to bring CDs back in from the office. So, we had different sets of sounds in the house. So, I feel like that kind of shaped me into who I am today and my mum too. She used to listen to some gospel, Christian music at 6:00 am in the morning, every Sunday, banging on your brain.
When listening to his most recent EP it can only be described as polished from beginning to end. You can hear the diversity and confidence in his own musical ability and how he effortlessly transitions from more high tempo tracks such as “Jackpot” to more sensual personal tracks like “In Sync”, where the artists talked about a romance with an unidentified girl. Crayon explained how he tackled the juxtaposition between the various subject themes and emotions within the EP and what that back and forth entails.
The fear of being pigeonholed into one genre and being labelled as not versatile is a destructive mindset many artists find themselves in but for Crayon the fear of being pigeonholed as just an afrobeat artist was irrelevant. He notes the versatility of his already released bodies of work and how he stays away from putting himself into a box musically.
C: “Being a big fan of music. I can't be put into a cage I listen to all kinds of music. For me, I just go into the studio and just be myself, like whatever topics are coming to my mind I just say. I never let you know what's going to be the next thing. You don’t know until it comes out. So for me, I feel like I'm growing more into myself, and growing to my sound.”
J: “In your album, you have features with artists like Baby Fresh which makes sense. You then have a feature with Rema, that makes sense. And then I saw a One Acen feature on the tracklist and I instantly gravitated towards it, how did that unexpected collaboration come about?”
C: “I made a song, I made the first verse and the hook, but I wanted to achieve that Lagos and London vibe since I was bringing the Lagos vibe to it, I wanted the London vibe as well. So, I'm really thankful to One Acen for coming through on that one. A big shout out to one Acen man, big love. And I definitely want more. U.K. artists on my tracks as well. When I pull up in the U.K. man. It's crazy, we going dumb. “
J: “Yeah. For real, we are waiting bro. There's always been that kind of relationship between Lagos and London.”
Even though we're miles apart, there's a growing relationship between London and Lagos. Second and third-generation Britan's with Nigerian parents is an ever-growing demographic within the U.K. There is a clear connection between British-African artists and their counterparts back home in Africa. It is apparent that the fans resonate with that, even if we're not living life like they are day to day.
With notable collaborations, hundreds of thousands of streams, high budget music videos and more, I asked Crayon what he felt his biggest accomplishment was and his answer was simple and said a lot about who he is as a person.
C: “Um, I'll say the money I gave to my mum. That's not music though. So, I think my biggest accomplishment is that I was able to build a fan base that remains 100. Yeah, even when I don't drop songs. They always texting me. They're always tweeting at me, they always checking up on me. Like, I feel like I've built a family. I don't get any fans anymore I call them family now because they are so close to me, like so close to my heart. They have been part of my journey from day one. So, I think for me, that's my biggest accomplishment, you know, to be able to have people that don't even know you from different places, connect with your music besides the music but the persona as well. And they just love you for who you are they are not judging. They can queue for you. Like. Yes, that's my greatest accomplishment in music. My biggest.”
“I want to push the culture forward, to a place where at the Grammys we start seeing them make a category for an Afrobeats. I want to take the African sound to a level that elevates the whole genre.”
J: I mean, the dedication of your fan base is something you notice as soon as you go on your Twitter mentions. Your fan base, they are active. How would you say Crayon the artist aligns with you as a person? Would you say it's more of a persona?
C: I think with time they understood me better, you know, kind of understood my person better, they understand my music. They, gauge my persona. I think that's the reason why they love me this much because I allowed them to be part of my journey. You know, some people just shut the fans out, just like, out now and stuff. But for me, I take them personally. I talk to them like my brothers or sisters every day so I think that's why the love is really real, it’s unreal. I want to thank them big, a big shout out to them, amazing blessings.
J: So I have a few final questions. So, why name the EP TWELVE AM?
C: You know how fans stay up to 12 am Fridays for new music? Yeah, it makes sense to me. For me it’s the start of a new era, it’s the start of a new beginning that starts with a new dawn. In Nigeria, in Lagos, you see, they don't break. It's like, it's a new day. Like it's a new beginning, you know? And it's every one of the fans that have been working with me through this journey from the days of my first single, back to my first song in 2016 till now. It's for everybody that stayed up with me through this journey, ended up showing me love and support from day one and this key piece for them, you know? So yeah. That's why I called it TWELVE AM the new day, a new era, a new beginning.
J: What would you say was the main difference creatively between the last EP you dropped in 2019 and your most recent EP?
C: Hmm, I've grown as an artist. As well as a person. I'm more direct in my music now, more direct. I feel like my fan base understands me better now. I think it's also just a growth in the music and the sonics. The choice of sounds and directing has improved improve everything that's improved so far. I think the writing and my sound has evolved so well that my fans would be telling me stuff like, '‘yo, this crayon is crazy’. I'm like, yeah, man, I've always had it in time.
J: So last question I promise. Where do you see your career, going moving forward?
C: For me, I want to push the culture forward to a place where at the Grammys we start seeing them make a category for Afrobeats. I want to take the African sound to a level that elevates the whole genre. I always want to push the culture to a place where I get to see an Afrobeat record on Billboard top 100, which I believe is possible. I know I can do it. I also want to push the culture to a place where I can see an Afrobeats artist on the main stage, not the outside stage, you feel me? I know we'll get there. I never stopped working.
Follow Crayon on Instagram here.