NEXT 2 BLOW: We Are The Revolution – L.O.S
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 artistesWho 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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