Kiing Lu… Rise of Nigerian Hip Hop

With more successes being recorded by both emerging and experienced hip hop artistes in Afrobeats, all eyes are fixed on the genre’s big comeback. Among the most iconic music releases ushering in this era is the 10- track masterpiece dubbed, Militant Mindset, executively produced and directed by foremost industry player Kiing Lu.

Assembling hip- hop heavyweights, including Odumodublvck, Jeriq, Vector, Dremo, Eugy, Layydoe, as well as genre fusionists Odunsi, Killertunes, Alpha P, Ria Sean, Lyandra, Rowlene, among others, Kiing Lu created a mixtape soaked with themes of survival, strength, hope and other didactic ideas. The album rings through with towering gusto and vibrance, making it one of the most spirited tapes in the Nigerian Hip Hop scene, in recent times.

After beginning his career as a musician and music producer, in 2005, Kiing Lu, born Lucas Emeodi, has worn several hats in the Afrobeats space, mostly working behind- the- scenes. Born in the talent- laden plains of J- town, Kiing Lu worked his way up into several big rooms, including Universal Music Group where he helped elevate Nigerian superstars for years as an A& R and Promotions Executive.

In today’s Guardian Music, we catch up with the hip- hop senior prefect, unearthing the muses behind the album, his creative process, early days of selling CDS in Alaba, as well as the imminent global boom of Nigerian hip- hop.

How did you start out in music?

ICOULD remember that, in 2004, I had my first studio recording. I was in a group in Jos called ‘ Too much’ back then and we split in 2007. Then, I travelled to Ghana. I started making music in Ghana, but I didn’t release music; rather, after I came back to Nigeria I stopped making music. What I started doing was interning for Record Labels and managing artistes. I was also blogging and just doing a bunch of stuff. I even worked in Alaba at some point distributing music and all that so, basically working behind the scenes and studying the game, its marketing aspect and whatnot. And it would be nice for me to also mention that I run a promotion company called Speed Plug promotions. It handles marketing and promotion for a bunch of artistes from Tiwa Savage to Tems, Odumodu Black, Yemi Alade, Bloody civilian, Alpha P, Victony, Wurld, Bella Shmurda, and a bunch of artistes.

I rebranded as Kiing Lu, sometime, last year, to focus the brand on being an A& R and an executive producer. What we are basically doing is mirroring Dj Khaled’s brand. DJ Khaled is one of my favourite guys. I love his energy. I love the fact that he understands how he connects and showcases his talent. Then I also admire the fact that he is also a family man that makes sure family is priority at most times. That is the same life I’m living; I’m married and I have two kids and I don’t joke with my family. So, DJ Khaled is someone that I really really admire, and he inspired my journey and we birthed the brand ‘ Kiing Lu’ although the industry knows me as local J, because that was the name they knew me with earlier on before I transitioned.

From the album you just released, which are your favorite songs?

As a creative, I put a lot of intentional work into creating each of the songs on this record. I wouldn’t say I have a favourite. I love all the songs in the album. There are some songs that are really doing well right now on the project like Jaiye everyday, featuring Alpha Ojini and Dapo Tuburna, and No apologies,

featuring Killertunes and Odumodublvck. Those records are doing well, and then followed by Pull up, featuring Vector, Bryan The Mensah from Ghana, and Idyl. These are the records that are doing well. But another special record that I love and that I’m definitely going to push this year is Pay me featuring Layydoe and Lyandra. That record is very special to me; I want to shoot a video for that record this year. My music fans should be expecting a couple of videos off the Militant Mindset tape this year, and then there is the deluxe equally coming with a lot of features from the UK, Ghana and all that.

What are your thoughts on indigenous hiphop becoming a big global sensation?

At the end of the day, pidgin is our language at the end of the day, you get what I mean. At the end of the day local hip- hop is our thing. No matter how we try to sound like the Americans or the UK rappers, you cannot take away the fact that you are African. And if you cannot infuse your roots into your music, then you are losing touch with what makes one African. That’s our own hip- hop, and that is our priority at the end of the day. Local hiphop has a lot of chances to make it big globally; look at the Puerto Ricans and the Spaniards. They don’t need to rap in English to go global; they are focused on their own languages. So, why can’t we equally focus on making our music and then exporting it. Local hip- hop is the foundation of whatever we are doing. There are people like Reminisce, Olamide, Phyno and Jeriq as forces to reckon with when it comes to indigenous hip- hop. Jeriq is doing so well right now when it comes to making indigenous Hiphop; he embodies the lifestyle. At the end of the day, it is not about making indigenous hip- hop. It is also about incorporating the lifestyle that embodies hip- hop into whatever you are doing. Hip- hop is a lifestyle; it’s a culture, and it is not something you just adopt. If it is a lifestyle, then it’s in you. If our indigenous rappers could incorporate that into their lifestyle, their music videos and whatever they are doing, we would see the difference. If you must make hip- hop, make sure you do it the right way, make sure you embody the lifestyle. Look at what Afro pop is doing today. Nigerian hip- hop is incorporated into whatever mainstream Afrobeats is doing and we cannot take it away, the way that our artistes dress, their manner of lifestyle, their fashion sense, is all hip- hop. There is hip- hop in everything we do; it is a lifestyle we cannot take away. So, what I’m saying, in essence, is just to make sure we are intentional about incorporating that culture and that lifestyle into what we are doing. After that, there is no way we cannot sell it and match the international community.

Now that hip- hop is having its moments, which other genre or music style do you think should be making a comeback too?

I think alternative music is going to come back again from what I have heard. The music I have heard from guys like Odunsi, Santi, and others is proof. At the end of the day, these guys once pushed their own movement and it was actually rising in Nigeria. But at some point they stopped releasing music, and then the movement went down. However, right now, they are trying to reawaken that movement and to just keep pushing it. They are coming back with different sounds, because alternative music means you are making a sound out of a norm. And what these artistes are making and are about to release is going to cause a lot of problems and disruption in the music industry. So, I think alternative music is next up after hip- hop. Big shout out to Afrobeats; it is the frontliner of the entire Afrobeats- to- the- world conversation.

What is your vision in the long run?

My journey is always a very purposeful journey and a very intentional one. I have always been that guy that loves impacting and putting people on. You can see that even from the companies I set up, helping promote our Nigerian music market and other artistes. So, my legacy should be the man that set a foundation or set a pedestal for a lot of artistes or people to grow. If I’m able to achieve that and people from zero to 100, then my spirit will be happy. The legacy remains to lift the generation of creatives and take them to the next level. This is the legacy we are trying to leave. And we are trying to set a foundation where even our own kids would benefit from, that is what we are trying to build.