The musician to go one step further than Burna Boy
Victoria Falana goes one step further than Burna Boy as she incorporates soul, Afro beats and electronic music into her style, addressing topics such as identity, empowerment and, last but not least, social justice.
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00:00You could call her a globetrotter, because it's not just musically that she likes moving
00:11around.
00:13Before we find out what's the newest project of this charismatic singer-songwriter, let's
00:17find why Victoria Falana decided to settle in Lagos, Nigeria, after traveling the world.
00:24I think one of the most interesting things about traveling and coming back to Nigeria
00:33is seeing the different ways that Nigerian culture has influenced culture around the
00:39world.
00:40I lived in Cuba, and I'm there seeing in the purest form Yoruba stories, Yoruba culture,
00:50embedded in their culture.
00:51It's so rich.
00:52So for me, coming to say, OK, I'm now going to sit down in Lagos as a place where I'm
00:58going to make sure that all my music is rooted here, it just makes sense, because it's the
01:02source of everything.
01:13Born in Canada to Nigerian parents, Victoria Falana lived abroad in the UK, Cuba, Denmark,
01:18and the United States of America.
01:20Falana has created sounds that reflect her journey, inspired by sounds of these various
01:25cities.
01:26Let's find out why this musician decided to live in a place her parents call home.
01:30Being home is like being rooted and grounded in yourself and your truth as an artist.
01:36That's the place you need to create from.
01:38As an artist, when you have that, the energy, the vibrations, the rhythm, the histories
01:42of who you are beneath your feet and in the air and in the conversations that you're having
01:47with people, it just, it makes your art come to life in a different way.
01:54With her move to Nigeria, Falana has become a fixture in the Lagosian soundscape.
01:58But before we get to know more about her sound, let's find where she gets her musical influences
02:03from.
02:04To be a musician, you have to be crazy.
02:07To be any artist and to pursue art history, there has to be a little bit of like, craze,
02:15because it's so unpredictable, you know?
02:19And you're literally putting yourself out into the world to be judged, to be ridiculed,
02:24to be adored, to be ignored, all of those things.
02:27For me, I always knew that my voice carried power and weight.
02:34And I always knew that singing fed me in a very special way.
02:39And then it just grew from there, you know?
02:41Stage after stage, after stage, after recording, after recording, and then you begin to find
02:46that people resonate with the stories and the songs you're singing.
02:54Every day is different.
02:55So I brought you, I wanted you guys to be in the studio with me.
02:59I might start on the keys, for example.
03:05So for example, I remember when N-STARS happened.
03:10It was a very emotional moment in our history, and I just felt so overwhelmed with emotions.
03:18So one of the first things you'll hear...
03:35This multilinguist is adept at meshing Afro beats, R&B, and other Black diasporic sounds
04:03into her music by musicians she cites as her primary influences, such as Falakuti,
04:09Nina Simone, to Lauryn Hill.
04:11But before we get to know about her sound, let's hear more about her musical journey.
04:15I think one of the artists that I admire when it comes to collaboration is, I keep saying
04:20her name, but like Sia, she can collaborate with anybody.
04:24I think people think that they have an idea of the artist that I am, but that's the fun
04:28thing about being an artist, you can change at any time.
04:31Rihanna's passion for her craft is evident in her stage performance, from drumming her
04:35percussions to her dance moves.
04:48Music for me was always me trying to search for different tools, so like, cajon, I'm self-taught,
04:53I never took classes on how to play this thing.
04:56You know, I remember when I started singing, I used to hunch my back, you know, it was
05:00all like a learning process, learning how to produce eventually, just a journey really,
05:06you just have to keep learning.
05:07The more you learn, the more hungry you are and open to new things you are.
05:11The sky is your limit, really.
05:13Falana's recital sound caters to diverse tastes, blending African-inspired rhythms
05:17to Cuban-inspired sounds, with her velvety soul vocals and thought-provoking lyrics on
05:22themes of life and love.
05:28I've always been the kind of person, when people are going right, you know, I don't
05:32even go left, I go up, you know, I like to just explore, so my hair has evolved, people
05:40remember me with the puff puff braids, that was a look, that was a moment, but we're in
05:43a different era, so as I evolve, my hair changes, but I'm still myself, now people have to look
05:49into my eyes, look at my face.
05:52The creative landscape of Nigeria has flourished, with musicians like Falana emerging as remarkable
05:57voices within it, showcasing her blossoming talent.