Written By Babajide
Awonyinfa
If indeed, the words
heard about them are not to be taken lightly, then they are likely to be, in
the next few months, Nigeria’s next successful boys band. L.O.S., a quartet of young talented boys - three rappers and a
singer - formed in 2008 is currently referred to as the “THE TAKEOVER” group in
the music industry.
Since debuting with
their single “Home With Me” in 2010, the four-man ensemble has been endlessly
working day and night on new materials. Currently LOS is the rave of the moment
on the Internet, particularly on Twitter, especially after the release of their
singles “Taking
Over Me” and “Boys Are Not Smiling.” Since the release of three
other new singles online namely “On Fire”, “Bad Guy P’ on January 30, 2012
and “Pamparampe”
in June, the group’s fame and popularity skyrocketed.
In the words of Obi Asika, CEO of Storm Records, “L.O.S is what the industry has been
waiting for, a group with the right blend of lyrical content and good music.”
In this encounter, Entertainment Express meets the versed and versatile group
whose blend of afro-pop, hip-pop and R&B is sure to make the boys the next
household names in the Nigerian music industry. Excerpts.How did the band got its name?
We got the name in high school. At first it was just L.O.S. which stood for
Lagos. But later on we decided to go with ‘Loud On Sound’. We all used to rap
in school for fun. Then we met each other along the way and decided to form the
group.
Why do you want to pursue a career in music as a group?
The fact that we believed in ourselves, that we want to take the Nigerian music
industry to the next level, the level where it will be accepted and respected
not by Nigerians alone but by the rest of the world too.
How would you describe
your music?
We are different, in the sense that we don’t have one particular genre of
music. We are very versatile with rap, soul or R&B.
What was your first
experience with music?
A song we did three years ago called ‘Home With Me.’ We were still in high
school at the time. But we put it up for download on the internet and people
loved the song. That was cool for us. We did a lot of songs back then that we didn't really promote but ‘Home With Me’ was the first song that we put out as
a group.
What type of music did
you guys hear the most back then? How does it differ from what you listen to
now?
We listened to a lot of rap, R&B, Soul, Afrobeat. We still listen to old
songs. Music does change with time. Music now is fun to this generation, and
everyone wants to dance now. Our songs are about things we go through in life
as we grew.
What has been your
biggest break so far?
Our biggest show has to be the Loud On Sound concert. There was nothing better
than performing in front of a sold out crowd that came to watch us do what we
love doing best. Our greatest challenge has been combining school with music;
but we are handling that fine.
You’ve heard of the term
“starving artists,” how do you hope to scale that hurdle?
We all come from comfortable homes; we don’t really think about that, plus if
you believe in yourself and your brand and its quality people will buy into it.
Do you have a fan club?
We have fan pages on twitter (@team_Los) Facebook (losofficial) Google Plus and other
social networks. People tell us how much they love our music every day, even
when we do shows they come around.. It’s nice everytime.
How will you rate your
live performance?
We have been performing live now for two years. We get better with each
performance. We try to be at our best on stage and in the studio. We are
definitely better now because we have all grown as artistes
Who does most of the song
writing?
We all write our songs ourselves. We all have different styles, so we come up
with different ideas and find ways to mix them together.
What are your plans?
We are releasing new videos, more singles and a mix-tape before the end of the
year as well as our collabos with Wizkid, M.I and other artistes we’ve worked
with. We just came off a university tour around Nigeria with Spinlet/Samsung.
We are currently planning our London/Dubai/US tour all scheduled for next year.
What record label are you signed on?
We are currently with Storm Records and Bankhead Entertainment; it is a joint
deal between Storm as the record label and Bankhead as the management team.
Do you have any video and audio links where your music can be downloaded?
Our videos are on our Youtube page - http://Youtube.com/officiallostv.
You can also access our Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/losofficial
The
team
Tomi Thomas:
Born on November 9, 1992, he attended Greensprings High School, and has been an
active member of his church choir for a number of years. In high school, he
joined CR. He left the group with Olade Brisbe and joined the LOS. His vocal
skill has attracted a lot of positive comments from music reviewers. He is the
voice behind most of the LOS choruses. His musical influences include Usher, R
Kelly and Chris brown.
Bolaji ladipo: Born October 8, 1993, his
stage name is Yung. A rapper, song writer and producer, he signed with Bankhead
management in 2007, and then in 2011 signed with Storm Records, under the LOS
musical group. As the youngest of five children, he started rapping at the age
of 13 after his cousin showed him the basics of rhyming and word play. Inspired
mostly by rappers such as Method Man, Lupe Fiasco and Tupac Shakur, he
developed love for telling stories in his lyrics at age 15.
Olade Brisbe: Stage name Briss, he was born
July 5, 1994. He wrote his first rap song at age 9 when the family moved to
Adeniyi Jones, and he joined an amateur rap group called CR with co-member Tomi
Thomas. Later, the duo joined LOS. An alumnus of Greesprings High School, is
often referred to as a “lyrical scientist” back in school because of his unique
method of combining words. He admires the likes of Eminem, Twista and Andre
3000. Aside music, he is also interested in fashion.
Winner Forster: Born on September 20, 1994,
his stage name is Bridge. He can rap, sing and produce songs. Raised in Lagos,
he became musically-inclined at the age five, but began rapping recreationally
at age 11 while attending Dansol High School. He admires the likes of Jadakiss,
Ludacris and Big L. In 2006, he performed at the final of a freestyle battle
against now bandmate, Yung, where both ended the fial as draw. And they became
friends and started free-styling and making mix tapes tracks which eventually
earned them a spot at Jimmy Jatt’s Jump Off freestyle studio session.
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