Afrikan Boy burst onto the UK music scene with Lidl back in 2006. Going viral before going viral was a thing (which, funnily enough, was precisely how the artist describes the song’s whirlwind success – a phrase we also used independently, when talking about it earlier the same day). The song became a cultural phenomenon. An amalgamation of musical styles and a comedic but also rather poignant insight into the British migrant experience, it was considered by many as a true snapshot of our times. He continues to work as a musician to this day, whilst also dabbling in other performing arts, acting and a variety of educational arenas.
We sat down for Black History Month to have a discussion on what his artistry looks like nowadays and to find out what life looks like almost 20 years after Lidl.
Black Rainbow Collective: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me!
Afrikan Boy: Yeah, man. No, thank you, man.
BRC: I had a brief look at all of the stuff you’ve been doing at the moment. It seems like you’re more of a performance artist now?
AB: I’ve always been a performance artist, really!
BRC: Yeah, I suppose. I mean, musicians perform, don’t they, but it looks like there are real levels to what you’re doing at the minute, like it feels like it’s grown and grown. The scope of the things you’re doing – based on my perception of what I’ve seen – is really impressive.
AB: Right. No, I appreciate it, man.
BRC: I mean, obviously, I have a very brief overview that’s based on what I’ve seen on Instagram or whatever, but if you could fill me in, I would be grateful…
AB: The last project I worked on was a soundtrack to a live circus theatre company. We kind of did the soundtrack to the show and curated each sound to fit the specific scenes that we had. Personally, now, I’m working on the next record. My next album. It’s been in the works for a little bit, but where society is at now, the album feels like it’s a good time to bring that out and, you know, every day someone says to me “oi, cost of living bruv – we need to bring Lidl back!” (Laughs).
BRC: Yeah, that’s almost too real. Too relatable!
AB: But yeah, I mean, I’ve always spoken about things like immigration, I’ve always spoken about the experience of a migrant here in the UK – as a British-born Nigerian – so I feel a lot of these conversations are now coming to the forefront once again. Just in terms of where things are and how people are feeling – and musically, I’m excited about this next project because I’m going to continue to experiment with sounds and genres and bring in a richness to the music. A blend of organic sounds and electronic vibes.
BRC: I noticed that when I was listening to your stuff. I was listening to a cross-section of your work the other day, and I thought exactly that – I thought the music touched on little bits of lots of things.
AB: Right.
BRC: I think it’d be so easy to jump on the afrobeat train because it’s so popular, so successful and so prevalent now – and there are definitely elements of that in your music, like that Butterfly song for example (I played it to my daughter yesterday – she’s 14 – I was like, “you’re gonna like this one, listen to this” and she said “yeah, what’s this?” and I said “I thought so.”) – and there’s nothing wrong with that, people like what people like. But when you’re pushing and you’re mixing and blending – just like with cultures – the reason that I think that immigration is beautiful is because when you mix things you get something new and you get the sum of its parts and they make something wonderful, so I think you’re definitely onto something there, carrying on in that direction sounds like a plan. Sadly, it sounds like these sorts of things are more relevant today than ever – the immigration conversation – and it’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you, really. The Black British experience is not something that’s covered massively in the media, really, so it’s always nice to get an additional perspective.
AB: I agree. I think even on the film level – if you look at the different kinds of film that writers are making – I feel like the Top Boy expression of London has definitely gone overseas, where people are like “innit bruv, where’s the food, bruv?!”
BRC: Exactly – fam!
AB: Yeah, so people get that – but there’s another deeper story that could be told. I think that’s represented in some of these shows where they’re talking about, you know, the kid who has come from Nigeria and is dealing with the first generation, second generation, and touching on it lightly, so it shows a cross-section of what it’s actually like to live in London. But I feel like there’s still scope to really delve deeper into those stories and that experience. And the Black British experience is something that I find – using America for example – they don’t get it, aside from Top Boy. They still think we’re – well, I am drinking tea right now, so I’m not helping! – but I feel like it’s underrepresented. They don’t have that insight, they don’t really understand what the Black British experience is like – when I talk to some of my friends from the States, outside of Top Boy.
BRC: That’s interesting, even things like Supacell. Supacell is basically just like Top Boy on some superhero shit, isn’t it? Really? You’re right. Even Misfits – I think there were some black characters in there – that’s going back a while now, but it was similar to Supacell – you’re right, it seems kind of one-dimensional in the media. Certainly, in the media that goes internationally. Did you see that BBC program called Pru about troubled kids that went to a special school for troubled kids? Or kids who were troubling.
AB: I work in Prus. No, I haven’t seen that. I’ll have to check that out.
BRC: It’s worth a look. Again, it’s just a representation or an angle that you don’t often see. People talk about mental health and educational difficulties and stuff these days, but they delve deep into it. Why is he this way? What’s going on? How can we influence it? You know, soft touch vs hard touch. It was a good show. Some of the acting is a little bit dodgy, but the notion is worth looking at.
AB: That’s interesting, yeah, yeah. I’ve done a lot of work in Prus and am working in that sector of young people and youth work.
BRC: Part of the reason I wanted to talk to you is – and I could be wrong – but are you from Woolwich or did you grow up in Woolwich or live in Woolwich, or what?
AB: My parents have lived in South East London for a long time, so yeah, you could say I definitely grew up in Woolwich.
BRC: I don’t know how I knew that – I guess it must’ve come up in conversation. I live in Charlton and I used to live in Thamesmead, so I’ve spent a lot of time in those kinds of areas. Yeah, I must’ve just heard and made a little mental note. Afrikan Boy: Woolwich. (Laughs) So, when did the Lidl single come out? It was a long time ago now…
AB: Lidl came out 19 years ago. Meaning next year is the 20th anniversary.
BRC: Wow.
AB: Crazy. Even saying that, as the artist. Like, yo!
BRC: Time flies!
AB: It really does. Yeah. 19 years since I released it.
BRC: I think that was the first time I heard you. Was it the debut single?
AB: Sort of. It was the first thing that the world heard that went on to be a massive thing, so you could say that. But I was already doing stuff, but that was my first attempt at writing a song. Because you know, growing up on grime, you just have loads of lyrics in your head and you reel them off, reel them off. But I was like, I want to write a song. I want the chorus to link with the verses, and I want them to be seamless. And that was my first attempt.
BRC: Were you properly thinking about the structure of the whole thing?
AB: Absolutely.
BRC: Right.
AB: The structure, thinking of how I wanted the verse to start with the first line of the chorus, so there was some continuity. I thought about the beginning, middle and end of each verse – how to get to the end within a short space of time and limited bars. I need to get to reach this point here and then here’s the end, whilst still having fun with it, so it was definitely a good first try!
BRC: Yeah, absolutely. And then after that, the next big thing was working with M.I.A. How did that come about? You’ve probably told this story before, but you did a feature on the Kala album and you appeared on a remix of Paper Planes – there might be more, but those are the ones that I know of. How did that happen?
AB: That came about through Lidl doing its thing and kind of going viral before viral, and I received a message on my MySpace from M.I.A.’s account – but it was her brother. He was just saying, “Yo, they want to get you on an album, they’ve heard Lidl. The album is wrapping up in 7 days. What you saying?” I just remember reading this message as I was reading through other messages. I went to her page, looked around and saw that Timbaland was in her top 5 friends – remember it used to be top 5 or 8 friends?
BRC: Yeah, yeah! That’s really running it back!
AB: And then I saw that she was in the Top 5 people on Timbaland’s page, and I was like “oh shit, this is Timbaland’s proper page – this is a proper serious request!” – and then I listened to her music. And for a kid who was very much into grime – I wasn’t even really listening to too much hip-hop at the time – her music was definitely left of field for me. But it reminded me of Lily Allen. You know how she used to do crossovers with the urban scene and so on and so forth, so it kind of reminded me a little bit of that. I’d heard examples of a female vocal mixed with something else, so in my mind I was like “ooh, this is different, but this could work”, and I’ve always just been a person who would experiment with different sounds. It was definitely far removed from what I was used to, but I was like “oh yeah, this could work”. So we met up in the studio, I recorded my verse for Hustle a couple of days after responding to that message on MySpace – we were in the studio within a week. I wrote my verse there, and the rest is history! I think the record was pretty much done, because what I heard of it was pretty much how it sounded when it came out. It was in its final stages, and Hustle was one of the finishing touches, so that was dope.
BRC: I imagine that was a very good stepping stone for you to come to more people’s attention after Lidl. Regarding what you were saying about combining elements and sounds. I went to see Gorillaz recently – I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen them before, but at one point they had like, 20 people on stage, and they had all these different guests and I thought “Afrikan Boy. Akrikan Boy would work very well with Gorillaz”. So, next time I speak to Damon, I’ll mention it! (Laughs)
AB: Yeah, big up Damon Albarn – that’s my guy. We’ve shared a stage a few times, and Seye, their bass player as well, is a good friend. I love what they do.
BRC: I could definitely see that working. Again, blending elements. He’s pretty much the king of blending elements if I’m honest. I don’t think that anybody is doing that kind of effortless fusion in such an effective way as he. I can’t think of anybody who blends things in the way that he does. I’ve got a lot of time and respect for Damon. Who else, at the moment, for you, is worth looking out for? Going back to the Black History Month theme, I guess I’m most interested in black artists operating in a specific sphere who you think are particularly notable or pushing boundaries, or unique, or inspiring. Anything like that.
AB: I like Jojo Abot, she is a female performing artist who uses sound and voice, but she’s also a visual artist. I love the kind of things that she does. She creates these beautiful visuals using make-up, using paint, and then these lovely sounds, which are often ethereal, often very charged, along with her spoken word, delivered in a way that is just not in any box. It’s just pure performance art, so I’m always inspired by her work. Big up my sister Jojo Abot. I like Pastor Lou, I like the things he’s been doing, I like the whole African rebel thing. You know, he went back to Gambia, to his roots and that whole infusion. Again, as AB, I’ve been able to go on this journey myself earlier, so it’s nice to see different artists on their own journey that I can relate to – you know where they’re at musically, I love the addition of instruments like the kora and the world music fusion that is happening where people are tapping into the richness of the culture and the sound that it brings and adding it to their realities and their sound. There’s this kid, an artist called DC3, who’s in the gospel field. Young artist, I love his visuals, he’s blowing up on TikTok and the Insta right now. I love his style of delivery and the way he just flows on the beat, and what he’s been able to do visually in the actual content creation space is great. He’s a great example of how the music video era is kind of dying, you know what I’m saying? Like, you don’t need to shoot a video – you can – but really, I’m gonna do a song and make 100 contents using that song. Whether I’m on the Piccadilly Line or if I’m in the gym, I’m making content. Make the content good quality, make it engaging, and really, that’s serving the same purpose as what the video would’ve done without having to do multiple takes! (Laughs)
BRC: Absolutely, it’s a different era for promotion, isn’t it? It’s the same thing, but different, right?
AB: Yeah, same form, but different. I think he’s been used as a great example. Not only is his music great, but the way he markets the music and puts it out – it’s been noted as a great example of how to really build your audience and make use of where things are at now. Simple things done in exceptional ways, in other words. So those are three, off the top of my head!
BRC: That’s a good list! I need to look them up, I’m not familiar with any of them. I need to look them up for perspective and to get a little more context. You mentioned people working in multi-disciplinaries – Jojo Abot, you mentioned, you touched on her doing different things – you’ve branched out quite a bit, haven’t you? You don’t just do music, you do various things… What are they?
AB: Ha, yeah, jack of all trades! So, when I’ve got my educational hat on, I’m a facilitator of drama/creative writing, film and music workshops and also trauma-informed workshops that help to engage young people to deal with real-life issues they may be going through, but using different arts as a medium. So I have that hat. We have a One Day I Went To Lidl creative writing workshop, which I run across primary schools, colleges, and secondary schools. And on the music side, I compose music for film, TV, and myself – production-wise, focusing on the sound design aspects. That’s been really fun to be able to do that as well. I’m a label owner, I run my record label and publishing and work with different service users to move my catalogue and make my catalogue work, as well as working with artists in artist development, coaching and mentoring as well.
BRC: Wow. That’s a lot.
AB: Yeah, yep! (Laughs) It is what it is.
BRC: You must be a busy man! That makes me feel even more grateful that you’re taking the time out to talk to me, so thank you for that.
AB: Oi, love man, appreciate it.
BRC: OK, so plans for the future. You said you were working on a new project. Will you be touring it or anything like that? Or releasing anything physically? I know you mentioned running your own label, and obviously, there will be a cost involved in physical releases – or more cost, let’s say – but is that something in your plans? Physical formats are on the rise and have been for a while now.
AB: Yeah, no, absolutely, some vinyl is overdue. There’s a Lidl 20th Anniversary vinyl that’s in the making, with exclusive remixes that have been made over the years. I love the physical format. I even miss iTunes – just being able to buy an album digitally in its entirety. It’s still there – but the streaming side of things has overshadowed that emphasis. It was a nice feeling to get an album that’s yours. Touring 100% is going to happen because you can’t really feel the music until you see it live, in my case. I feel like you watch an Afrikan Boy show and you go “OK, I understand”. The music now becomes the memory of an experience of that live show. Which I think any great gig is going to do for you. You go back home and you listen to that track – still a great track and a great recorded performance – but you’ve now experienced it live, which is a whole other thing and expression. So yeah, touring, 100%. But for touring, we need some new music, we need some vibes. And with the touring and the physical things – that’s the way artists eat, as well. It’s a proven model – and I’ll say this for any young artist who is going to pass this interview – you don’t even need a big audience, you know, you just need some dedicated fans, some good merch to sell at your shows, you need to be able to connect, and you can make some good money. You can make a decent living without having to worry about streaming numbers or creating the content and this and that. If you actually get out there and your music is good and your performance is good. People are always gonna wanna buy your merch after a great show because they want to take something away from the experience, and they actually want to support you. People will tell me, “How can I buy your music, AB?” And they’ll be very specific, like “I’m not asking for your Spotify link; how can I put money into your pocket?” and I love that my supporters are like that. So I’m like, OK, cool, go to the Bandcamp link, I’ve got my own iTunes. My albums are there, you download the .wavs. People want to support you like that. You can take payments on your phone right now, and the rise of vinyl is definitely great. And they’re lush, beautiful. So anyway, I say all that to say look out for the Lidl vinyl! (Laughs)
BRC: Absolutely!
AB: And many more physical things! As well as the online stuff, it’s always gonna be a combination of both because you can reach fantastic new audiences online. You can look at your data, and if you want to go book a small gig in a place that you notice you have some great listeners, you link up with a promoter, you go there, you sell your records, you sell your merch, it’s good.
BRC: Definitely. I wanted to ask, again, in the spirit of Black History Month – I asked you earlier about people who you think are particularly impressive at the moment. But what about – and this is a bit of a Fantasy Football question – dream collaborations? If you could collaborate with anybody who is still active, who would that be for you? And what would they do? How would you work together?
AB: Oooo, I’d work with Tems. Shout out, Tems. I’d work with her, leading the initiative she has, which is an initiative for female creatives and musicians that she’s doing – this program across Africa. I’d love to elaborate on that aspect, providing youth programs and creating initiatives, as well as music. We’d make some dope music. I’ve actually got a list… Pastor Lou, I’d do something with Pastor Lou. Jojo Abot. Who else? What’s the dream team? Let me call it out! Let me call it out into the world!
BRC: Manifest it! Manifest it! (Laughs)
AB: Boy. Odumodublvck.
BRC: Was that Burna Boy you just said?
AB: No, I didn’t say Burna Boy!
BRC: The call broke up!
AB: But yo, you know, if the collaboration aligns, a track with Burna would be cool. I don’t know what the vibe would be.
BRC: If it wasn’t Burna Boy, who did you say? Who was it?!
AB: I said Tobe Nwigwe. He is a Nigerian/American artist, rapper and composer. Who else did I say?
BRC: You said Pastor Lou and Jojo Abot – they were on both lists!
AB: They are on both lists, yeah! Let me go back to my list. My collab list..
BRC: I love that you have a collab list. That’s brilliant.
AB: Well, you know when you sit down and you just think, “you know what, actually, these people would be good”. OK, Black Sherif – that would be dope – these are all people I’d love to work with on the next record. J Hus. That one would be dope. Just because when he came out, everyone was like “yo, have you heard of J Hus? He kind of reminds me of you!” So shout out to my man. (Laughs) Big up J Hus. There are tonnes of artists.
BRC: It’s a good list. A solid list. I had an interview list of people I wanted to interview – you were on that list, obviously – so it’s funny that you’ve got that list and I’ve got mine. So, we’ll see how it all goes! (Laughs) So when is the new album due? Is there a ballpark period?
AB: Working on recording this year and ready for release and promotion next year.
BRC: Alright, cool, will look forward to it!
Interview by The Black Rainbow Collective
