Runtown in Jozi for more sound fusion
Nigerian muso attracts attention
Nigerian singer Runtown is a melting pot of influences, having grown up surrounded by politics.
His father was a political player in Nigeria with the family moving from Enugu state to the capital Abuja. When his father died his mother also delved into politics.
He dreamed of being a basketball player and even went as far as playing for the Enugu state side. But keeping the company of aspirant musicians off the basketball court drew him closer to his true calling, which was the music studio.
While he was travelling to the US a lot he signed up at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to study fashion management.
Today, as the 27-year-old sinks in the white sofa of his Melrose Arch, Johannesburg hotel suite, he is one of the most celebrated emerging talents out of the intensely competitive Nigerian music scene.
His five-month-old hit single Mad Over You is sitting at 24 million views on You Tube, but it’s the message behind the video that makes it special. He deliberately cast darker skinned girls whom he says feel they are not appreciated and well represented in mainstream media.
“It’s a choice I made to affirm the darker girls. I stayed away from the light skinned.’
The love ballad is an intoxicating mix of what is known as Alkhayida sound from Ghana. It has done the trick, especially after a bitter break up with his last recording company.
“I needed to rebrand and start a new phase. I had to channel positive vibes. I always take influences wherever I go.
The first time I came to South Africa in 2015 I worked with Uhuru and recorded The Banger and [they] influenced my sound heavily.”
He broke onto the scene with Gallardo featuring Davido and has since worked with Wizkid, yielding the hit single Bend Down Pause.
Staying on top demands his attention. Runtown shares that he only goes to bed at 3am to be up at 9am as a studio rat.
“I pay attention to my art and craft. The version of the song Lagos to Kampala that was released was the 11th recording. I take my time. I’m at my happiest in the studio. When I set out in music I didn’t want to be an artist depended on producers, so I spent time fine-tuning my production skills,” he says.
While in Johannesburg, Runtown did his bit for the Stop Child Trafficking Africa campaign, for which he’s one of the ambassadors.
He visited a safe house in Hillbrow to see some of the children who have been rescued from certain slavery. His own foundation, RTF, operates in education.
Runtown performs at Vanity in Pretoria tonight and will be at Taboo in Sandton tomorrow night.