Eddieroll is embracing individuality and success, but not without acknowledging their many faces.
From facing difficulty finding his feet in Ghana to moving back to Nigeria to his involvement in the careers of artists of prospects (scoring a string of hits in the process), and from making an unbelievable switch from the behind-the-scenes guy to the artist whose days are now spent coveting fame, Eddieroll's string of activities to artistic dominance could be made into a blockbuster.
For most artists, fame is the invaluable currency; for it allows them to gain entrance into territories previously unreached. Fame, as a means of exchange, allows for the acquisition of worthy valuables and, sometimes, it makes way for the acquisition of vanities. So far, however, Eddieroll's motivator is clearly the first point.
When Wida You was released in 2017, none was ready for the havoc and the shift in culture it would put in motion. But years on, Eddieroll's fame and his wielding the staff of authority and control over a self-created genre still pay homage to the very streets-penetrating, suburban voice-giving and, for urban dwellers, fear-giving song. In a sense not so vague, Eddieroll had gained entrance into two worlds-- one as a leader and interpreter of the "underworld", and as a villain, whose presence connotes mishaps in another.
In spite of the frequency of attacks on his brand, Eddieroll's mastery of maneuvering situations and producing the best from them, gives him an edge.
Fame has been fair to Eddieroll, but not in its entirety. Inasmuch as his blessings come from it, fame has also exposed him, his family and his relationships to public scrutiny.
"
Hand Go Touch You was never intended to be a full-blown jam. I did that song in response to a statement a Facebook blogger made about my son which I didn't take funny. So based on my slogan 'na we musicians we don come if you make us vex we go sing for you'.That was me being genuinely upset, guess my emotions took control (laughs)", Eddieroll said during an interview with entertainment blog The Sleek Buzz.
What else has fame offered Eddieroll? A platform on which to release his debut album.
The "king of the street" in December of 2020 dropped Street Hop, an album that celebrates his dominance since breakout single Wida You pushed him into the limelight.
The rapper was on The Sleek Buzz to talk fame, family, and his album.
You just released your first ever album, how do you feel about it?
Fulfilled! Like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. There is so much relief now knowing people see and perceive me differently now.
You sound like you were worried of how people initially saw you and your music.
I had to swallow criticisms, backlashes and all that is based on my style.
But that wasn't the issue, the issue was the fact that I knew what I had in store and how versatile I am yet wasn't able to showcase my full abilities and potentials because because I was waiting for the right time to showcase.
And yeah, it's definitely relieving serving a meal cooked differently by the same chef.
What was the experience making the album like?
Thrilling, stressful, challenging. I was excited about the fact that I was making a body of work that would definitely excite my fan base, stressful because I had to produce, write, record, mix and master everything myself, challenging because It was like a God-given task that needed to be completed.
On a lighter note, you sound like you need a lot of time away from creative duties.
Not every artist works as hard as I work,
fairly speaking. I'm a workaholic.
But all work and no play would definitely be exhausting.
So you see, no time away, just need to be seeing more results based on my work input
What inspired the album?
My determination to introduce my own genre of music.
And what is it, your genre?
My fan base call it AFROCULT but it's actually STREET HOP.
Eddieroll is a household name and while some may feel you blew out of the blue, we know it took you a lot to get to where you are now. What was the Journey to becoming the 'king of the street' like?
Well, [it's a] journey full of highlights.
When I started this musical journey, I had no idea I would one day be an originator of my own genre of music.
I've always loved Reggae Dancehall, and I started with that genre which yielded the name "JAMMAKER" pronounced as Jamaica.
The STREET HOP genre came up when I started wanting more uniqueness in my sound. I wanted to stand out (not to be a regular artist. [I] wanted to bring my own form of entertainment to the industry and so far so good, we are being acknowledged and accepted. Though at first, people never understood where I was coming from and since it's not something I could explain without practical, I had to endure every negative feedback, leveraged on every positive feedback and kept working to this point. And I'm not even there yet.
Being the KING OF THE STREET is not a self acclaimed titled.
I'm still getting used to the crown because I still have more to offer.
Most persons believe your music is an ingredient for negative actions in listeners, but a lot of the songs on the album preached positivity, for example 'Use Your Head'. How were you able to achieve this balance?
I have always preached positivity but people never took out time to listen to my songs before judging especially because they have stereotyped me to be "that person".
For instance, songs like Work Well, Disembark, Focus, they all preach peace and abstinence from social vices.
I deliberately worked more on my delivery of my messages in this album because I needed people to know what the Abobi Movement is all About.
We preach positive STREET, not the other way around.
We preach RUGGEDITY without CULTISM!
We talk about GUNS but we don't give BULLET!
We preach TALENT not VIOLENCE!
You're really big in the South. Could this be because of the great relationship between your music and the environment; the people and their realities?
You got that right! My relationship with the environment.
Aside the music, I'm an easy-going guy, [it's] probably the first thing you notice about me when you have an encounter with Abobi.
The fact that I represent my music off and on the mic, makes it easier for people to relate with me home and abroad
In other words, "I BE CRUISE" (smiles).
Let's talk about the guest artists on STREET HOP, amazing lineup!
They all played a major role in the songs they were involved in.
Sarah has an amazing voice and vibe to go with it. We came up with
Layefa in about 30mins, we already had a song just extra touches to finish.
1da Banton recorded over 6 songs with me and we dropped just 2, still have 4 killers unreleased.
Young stunna and I have been working over time. We actually have a joint project coming through.
J Boogie is a great rap artist who has the charisma everybody should recon with. But time will reveal everything.
One argument that has persisted is the quality of music by Bayelsan artists. With regards to 'quality', how would you rate the music from this side of the county?
We have no issues with Quality.
We have quality sound and professional sound engineers... ...all we're lacking is "Genuine Believers of the Bayelsa Content."
For instance, it's a shame that I stay in Bayelsa, recorded my album whilst in Bayelsa, dropped the album [living] in Bayelsa and yet, the appreciation I get is from the diaspora.
I'm not saying I don't have a fan base here, God knows we own the streets but, when we talking about music business, we cant depend solely on a fan base to do the work. Fan base will stream, investors will promote the product (audio, video, pictures, etc) to enable the right audience easy access to that product.
Now, I have an album that I believe can be compared to any other album out there, professionally, but where is the support system for the likes of us who have the zeal and drive to actually make a difference in the game?
So my point, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bayelsan industry;
we only have unbelievers of the Bayelsan dream.
But most spectators feel different about the issue of lack of support; they feel the artists aren't putting in the work.
Who are these artists they're r talking about?
Because I'm doing the most [I] don't see them putting in so much effort to support me or my project.
My point is, nowhere is perfect but I believe exporting a low quality good content is far better than promoting a high quality bad content.
Like what is the one of the most talked about happenings in Bayelsa other than Cultism? And that is bad content, you get my point?
Yea, I do. Now, what challenges did you face putting the project together?
Well, the choice of songs to put out was my only challenge because I recorded over 50 songs and ended up selecting 18.
I needed to be sure of the kind of sound I was dishing out for consumption
So most of the time, our energy was spent on choice of songs, number of songs and artist to collaborate with. And that was all.
My favorite song on the album is Burs out, what's yours?
Man, tough one (laughs). Use Your Head and How Ya Side are my go-to jams.
Use Your Head is amazing. "Hand Go Touch You", It's about who?
Hand Go Touch You was never intended to be a full-blown jam. I did that song in response to a statement a Facebook blogger made about my Son which I didn't take funny, so based on my slogan "na we musicians we don come, if you make us vex we go sing for you". That was me being genuinely upset. [I] guess my emotions took control (laughs).
As an artist that is considered celebrity by some, do you take the privacy of your family seriously?
Not really, it's an inevitable thing. Their privacy will definitely be tampered with, unless I want to hide that aspect of me and I don't think that is fair on my boy.
I need them to be part of my business but with boundaries to the outsiders.
Know them, love them, call them, tease them online. But messing with their mental state of mind? Nah, that's bad for business.
And what we read and watch also affect us--
not just what we're told directly.
I wouldn't want my son to grow up and feel like there was any kind of negativity around him as a child. Just [him] vibing to the fact that his father is the King of street hop and that's it.
Unrelated— but tell us about your relationship with K-SWitch.
Baba just put me on say him dread our national STREET anthem o [
Wida You].
[I] was in the car with Yawngboss when I got the call from him (
K-Switch), saying he loves the track and would love to remix it with me, so that's how we got talking.
Finally, for an album that is coming from this side of the country, what impact do you want it to have on other environments?
That we have other resources other than Oil.
They [investors] can also drill our talents and refine our acts and export our products as well.
Thank you Eddieroll for having this time with us and good luck with "Street Hop" and in all your endeavors.
My pleasure!
Na we musicians!
-1.jpg)
Beautiful piece. Eddieroll is an amazing content creator.
ReplyDelete