How Wizkid and I produced ‘Caro’ – LAX

Hewas an underground artiste before destiny brought him and Wizkid together. But today,  fast rising pop star,  and Star Boy artiste, Damilola Afolabi popularly known as L.A.X  whose first official single, “Ginger” featuring himself and Wizkid has become a club banger recently opened up to Showtime Celebrity, on how he began his foray into music; what he has learned working with Wizkid, and the mystery behind the wave-making song “Caro”, featuring the two of them among other issues…

By Benjamin Njoku

YOU are born with silver spoon, what are you doing in the music industry?
Music is my passion and that’s why I am making a career in it.
Also, I am doing music in order to stand on my own and be able to do things myself. I have a strong passion.

At what point did you realize music is what you wanted to do for a living?
I didn’t start music from childhood, rather I started music like a flunk. My friend called me up to accompany him to the studio. It happened that his car broke down. So, I escorted him to the studio, but surprisingly, on getting there, the producer picked interest in me and wanted me to do something for him. When I did it, he was impressed, saying that, I have a distinct voice. There and then, he advised me to consider pursuing a career in music. This happened in 2008, at a studio located around Opebi area of Lagos. I later started training with him to learn the craft. He’s currently D’banj’s producer, Bevi and I was with him for two years. That was how I started my career in music.

When you decided to go into music professionally, why did choose to pitch your tent with Wizkid?
I started pushing myself without my parents’ support back in London. I was using my savings to pursue my career in music. While I was schooling in London, I shot a couple of videos. So, when I returned to the country, I had a show organized by Hennessy. I was billed to perform at the show. On that day, I met one woman, Toyin Lawani who said she liked my swag. ‘I like your dressing, I’m a stylist, I’ll want to style you’, she told me. So we spoke for a while and we became close, and she’s also Wizkid’s friend and was also styling Wizkid at that time. Later, she called me up and said, ‘send me some of your stuffs, I want to play it for Wizkid and see if he likes it. So she played a couple of my songs for him and he liked it, he called me up. I went to his house one night around 1 am, and about two months later, I got signed on to Star Boy Records in 2013.

Could you recall the first meeting, you had with Wizkid?
It was in Wizkid’s house and that happened around 12 midnight, in 2013.

How long did it take you to sign a contract with him and what’s the nature of the contract?
I have a record label deal with Wizkid, for two albums, expiring after two years. The contract can be extended. I travelled back to London, immediately after our meeting. While in London, we did a couple of songs together and that was when we recorded “Caro.”

L.A.X
L.A.X

For the few times you have worked with Wizkid, what’s your impression of him?
He’s a cool guy, he’s focused and he motivates me. He’s a workaholic, he goes to the studio almost every day, working tirelessly.

What project are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on my next  single. I have about 40 recorded songs and I am also working on my first ever album.

When is your first album dropping?
It’s supposed to be out next year.

What are you taking away from Wizkid?
I am learning to build my own craft, my own type of music.

What’s your own kind of music?
I can go on any beat: reggae, pop, Afro-beat, Fuji sound. I’m just trying to create my own sound. I’m very good at speaking Yoruba because of my background. So, I like to add Yoruba in my music and to appeal to my fans out there.

Would you say Wizkid inspired your going into music?
Wizkid started off as a kid doing his thing. I was looking up to him while I was in school. He has inspired me a lot, even working with him has been a source of inspiration to me.

Apart from Wizkid, who else do you look up to?
I look up to Wande Cool because I used to listen to his music while I was growing up.

Impact on music scene

I look up to a lot of Nigerian artistes. Every one of them is trying to make an impact on the music scene.

Back in London, were you tempted to kick start your career in music even as a student?
While schooling in London, I was involved in music. I used to have a studio in my house in addition to visiting the best studio in the city. I used to work with a producer that worked with Beyonce and Jay Z for about two years.

I couldn’t go far then because I was honing my craft. I just completed my Masters degree programme over there. Then I was focusing on my studies as well as building my career in music, hoping that when I’m through with my education, I would go into music professionally.

When you told your parents your were going into music after your studies, what was their reaction?
My dad particularly was not happy with my decision. This is because he wanted me to head the board of one of his companies. But when a couple of his friends called him to commend my music after they had listened to it, he started supporting me.

Are you in a relationship?
Not at all. I am focusing on my music for now.

Why?
I’m trying to be focused and ensure that I succeed in my career in music.

How do describe your ideal woman?
Honestly, I have a lot of female friends, but I’m looking for a woman that will understand me. A woman who will love me not just for my music but also, for who I am.

Among the female artistes in the country, who do you have crush on?
I don’t I have crush on anybody. But I am enjoying Cynthia Morgan at the moment. I like her sound and her type of music. I also think she’s bold.

How did you come about your stage name, LAX?
I got the name during my secondary school days. My friends used to call me LAX because I used to wear expensive shoes. In my school then, we were not allowed to wear leather shoes.
But after speaking to the school authorities to allow students to wear shoes of their choice to school, I was nicknamed LAX. So, when I started singing I adopted the name as a stage name.

Who wrote the song “Caro”?
‘Caro” was a Star Boy Record project, featuring Wizkid and myself. It was studio session we did together. Wizkid wrote his own part of the song, while I wrote mine too.

You started off as rapper, what happened along the line?
I started off as a rapper in 2008. Along the line, my sound evolved because I wasn’t doing music professionally. So, when started, I realized my strength lies in singing. I believe I can go back to rap someday.