Azubuike, but to most, he's the 'Man of
the year', Phyno. Starting up as a
producer in 2003, a decade of passion
and hard work has seen the "Ghost
Mode" rapper/producer move from
'underground hype' to a household
name in Nigeria.
Having produced for the likes of Timaya, Flavour,
Ruggedman, 2Shotz, Bracket, J Martins and Mr. Raw,
Phyno found his way around the industry and decided
to move to Lagos in 2007 so as to increase his impact.
By 2010, the eccentric producer decided to try his
hands on the other side of the booth, starting his own
Rap career, and Indigenous Igbo Rap has never been
so cool ever since. The multiple hits to his credit as a
producer and rapper, Phyno is putting final touches on
his official debut album "No Guts, No Glory" slated to
drop before the end of 2013.
Invited for a sit-down at the Capital Dreams Pictures'
office, Phyno opens up to Onos O about his journey in
the music industry, life on tour, personal style,
forthcoming projects and so much more.
Before you were "Phyno", you were Chibuzor
Nelson Azubuike. What was growing up like for
you?
I won't tell you that life was rosy and all that but it was
actually fun. I grew up in Enugu. I did all my schooling
in Enugu and graduated from IMT (Institute of
Management and Technology, Enugu) with a degree in
Public Administration. The only thing close to ever
using my degree was my Industrial Training and I did it
in a studio.
Where does your Rap moniker, 'Phyno' come
from?
'Phyno' is my high school nickname. It was given to me
by my close friends and it comes from the word,
'phenomenal'.
How long have you been in the Nigerian music
industry?
E don tay oh! (laughs). I've been producing for quite a
while, since 2003 but as an artiste, it has been since
2010.
How has the journey to stardom been for you?
Between 2003 and 2007, I was actually one of the
biggest producers in the east, you can ask anybody.
But, I'm the type of person that doesn't stay
comfortable in a spot for too long; I always like to step
my game up. So, towards the end of 2007, I moved to
Lagos and started 'the hustle' afresh. After working
with some people and moving my stuff around, by
2010, I felt I was ripe enough to start making my own
stuff.
Who inspired you to start rapping, after you had
been producing for so many years?
I've always known I could rap but one of the people
who had always been on my neck to record my own
music was Timaya, from the first moment I started
working with him. I would also say that Mr. Raw and M.I
have a huge part to play as well. Those are the three
major people that convinced me to start recording my
own stuff, after hearing me freestyle in the studio.
With the amount of buzz you have now, some
influential critics said that you have stolen the
throne of Indigenous Igbo Rap from Mr. Raw.
How do you feel about that?
God forbid (laughs). Mr. Raw is my 'father' and I think I
do a different kind of Rap music from him. People say
I'm hard but I know I have my commercial potential as
well. The only thing I have in common with 'Raw is that
we speak Igbo and we rap, but if you really listen deep,
we don't do the same kind of Rap music. The flows that
'Raw uses to attack beats will start cracking you up
immediately while I, on the other hand, take my flows
very serious. I hate it when people say that because
'Raw, even up till today, is somebody that I always look
up to.
Since your single "Ghost Mode" featuring
Olamide blew you up on the music scene in
western Nigeria, rumours have arisen that you
two are working on a collaboration mixtape or
album. Can you confirm or deny them?
Initially, we were planning to work on a collaboration
mixtape together. But, when I dropped my follow-up
single, "Man Of The Year" (Obago) and Olamide
dropped "Durosoke", the demand for our individual
albums got so high that we decided to change our
directions. We're still working together though. I just
recorded something with him for his album that sounds
even madder than "Ghost Mode". I know we are still
going to work on the project but we just have to satisfy
the fans first.
What's your relationship like with Illbliss and
Clarence Peters?
They are more like family to me. I have a very strong
affiliation with them, not really contract-based but we
have an understanding. With regards to management,
the same company that manages Illbliss, Chidinma,
Ayoola and Clarence Peters – the Goretti Company –
manages me but my label is Sputnet Records. Then
again, I run my own company, Penthauze
Entertainment which is also the stable of artists like
Runtown. So, that's how everything goes but as for our
relationship, it's just an understanding. We all know
where everybody has to put in something so that's how
it works for us.
Having been in the industry since 2003 as a
producer, what songs would you regard as some
of your biggest hits?
I think one of the biggest hits I've produced has to be
my own song, "Ghost Mode", because since 2003, I've
been hustling and I've made big songs in the east.
Since I came out, I've produced for almost everybody
that came out from the east – Bracket, Flavour, J
Martins, Mr. Raw, 2Shotz and Ruggedman, just to name
a few, but those singles only reached a certain level.
Another song I did that became a hit was "Life
Anagaga" by Timaya featuring M.I.
it's obvious that ladies love
Phyno. Are you single?
I'm single and available.
Are you enjoying the single life or are you
looking for 'Mrs. Right'?
I'm still young.
Do you have any celebrity crushes?
Genevieve of life! Genevieve Nnaji, the real Genevieve
(laughs).
On the recently concluded nationwide tour with
Star Music – 'The Trek' – you were billed to
perform at a lot of their stops. What is life on
tour like?
It was crazy. Apart from Agege, most of the venues that
I performed at, I could actually perform ten songs back-
to-back and my fans would sing along with me. I
actually really enjoyed that tour very much.
Will you be on the road again anytime soon?
Yes, I will. We're doing the Hennessy artistry now and
I'll be doing my South African tour by October. There
are a couple of tours lined up already but with all of
this, I still find time to squeeze in my own work
because I really need to complete my album this year.
Marketers are calling so I just really have to.
What's your debut album going to be called?
No Guts, No Glory.
Are there any artistes we should be expecting
you to collaborate with anytime soon?
Yeah! I'm working on stuff with Ice Prince Zamani but
the other big collabos are under wraps right now. I
don't want to give away some of the surprises on my
album.
Back to the tour, it's common knowledge that a
lot of artistes get a lot of love – approached by
fans and 'groupies' – most especially when they
are on the road. How do you handle the girls who
come to knock on your hotel room door?
It depends on the kind of artiste you are talking about.
Yes, we do get a lot of love but forget about anything
you see, I'm a loner. I like my privacy. So, if we enter a
city during a tour, as an artiste, I stay on my own to
prepare yourself for the show, that is, unless of course I
have a friend to show me the town with or I want to
play catch up with. Apart from that, with any other
person, whatever happens is their business oh!
(laughs) That's exactly how I see it because, as for me,
my best friend is my headphones. Most times, I'm
either working on new music or studying it so I can
blow my fans away. Everybody has their own motives
though.
For a Hip-Hop act, you have one of the most
eccentric fashion styles in the industry. How do
you keep us guessing what you'll do next? Do
you have a stylist?
Yes, I have a stylist but most of the stuff that you've
seen me rock, I did it myself. Fashion is something that
I know I have passion for. Sometimes, I look at things
and think how I would have done them differently. So,
instead of using someone else to do the experiment, I
use myself. One good thing about it is that if you really
want to achieve some things in styling, don't care
about what anybody says. Do it once and you'll see
that everybody will start doing it, even if it feels wrong.
From astronaut suits to flaunting a tattoo-covered
chest, you've tried out a lot of different fashion.
Are there any fashion items that you would never
be caught dead in?
Hmm… (Long pause) The type of styling I do, I can
almost wear anything but you can never catch me
wearing a g-string, I'm sorry (laughs).I had to really
think about it and I know that I'm the type of person
that can come out wearing female clothes to achieve
what I want but as for a g-string, no way.
Who are your style icons?
I love Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. I love Fred
Durst from Limp Bizkit – that's if he really wants to
dress up though because sometimes, he can wear just
a vest and shorts. There are just some stuff I pick but
these are the three people. One thing I love about
Kanye is his colour combinations. He really knows how
to do it very well. Then, I love Janelle Monae's styling as
well. She comes up with something very different and
you know that she had to think before she comes up
with her outfits.
How did you come up with your signature
Mohawk hairdo?
I actually wanted to look different. I didn't want to look
regular. It was also inspired and 'forced on me' by
Clarence Peters. After I showed him a video of popular
American drummer, Travis Barker and told him that I
could pull it off; when we were about to shoot the
"Anam Achikwanu" video, he insisted that I do it. So,
that was exactly how it came up.
Critics have insisted that most of the tattoos we
see in your music videos are not real. Confirm or
deny.
They should find out for themselves.
With your iconic hairstyle, you've been compared
to a cartoon or a superhero. If you were to be a
superhero, who would you be?
Superman na, Superman definitely. I also like this guy,
Venom, although he's not a superhero, from the
Spiderman 3 movie. That's one person whose
character I really like but Superman is number one.
What's the next music video we should be
expecting from you?
"Man Of The Year" (Obago) just dropped but I want to
shoot my "Kush Music". People are saying that my
tempo has been very very slow and I know that "Kush
Music" is actually extra slow; but there's something
about the song. When I went to Enugu to shoot the
"Man Of The Year" (Obago) video, I actually realized
that it's one of the biggest songs in the whole East. In
fact, when we started the video shoot, my fans from
the street where I actually grew up thought we came to
shoot "Kush Music" and not "Man Of The
Year" (Obago).They were actually disappointed when
we they heard "Man Of The Year" on the speakers so I
can't let them down. I'll be shooting in Lagos though.
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