In this interview, Boy Lexxy talks to me about his musical influences, being an Afrobeats ambassador in a foreign land, and his exciting musical career.
Boy Lexxy’s childhood was an interesting one as he had unique experiences from his early days at Ogba where he was raised by his dad after his mom left for America when he was young. He tells me he went to the same school with street-pop icon Terry G who he recalls to be a talented troublemaker.
“I go school with Terry G back in Ogba’ The guy stubborn and he was expelled sef,” Boy Lexxy says in Pidgin before switching to English in an American accent that carries a Nigerian spice to tell me how talented he found Terry G to be “But he was very talented. He was a wizard with the keyboard.”
These early exposures to a wide range of music that includes Highlife, Gospel, Fuki, and Street music will go on to shape Boy Lexxy’s taste even after he left Nigeria for the US to continue his education.
“I left Nigeria to go to middle school in the US. So I was a Naija boy in a new country and I was trying to fit in, especially with school.”
Boy Lexxy tells me he struggled to fit into the US schooling system recalling how he used to skip classes, especially Speech Class. However, despite finding himself in a new country and being exposed to a new culture, he still carried his Nigerian traits with him and that comes with a certain taste in music.
“I always loved Afrobeats so I became the go-to guy for what’s popping in Naija. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of American Hip Hop music because the subject always borders on violence, guns, drugs, and the like so I wasn’t connecting to it.”
Besides his disconnect with American Hip Hop music, Boy Lexxy’s time in Nigeria meant he retained sufficient identity that made him less interested in becoming Americanized.
“I wasn’t keen on making an American out of myself like some Nigerians who move here. I wanted to be Alex who enjoys Afrobeats.”
While Boy Lexxy’s journey into music started in Nigeria, his decision to make music started after he relocated to Atlanta and he met two individuals who played notable roles in helping build his confidence.
The first is a Togolese friend he made who made music and he sat around to listen. And it was an attempt to help this friend out with Nigeria’s Pidgin language on his song that led to talks about him making music.
“So, I had this friend who lived with me and he was Togolese. He made music and I was always around listening. One day he asked me something in Pidgin and I helped him with it and that was how he started encouraging me to make music. I wasn’t really interested then because I didn’t like the way my voice sounded but that was how it started.”
Boy Lexxy tells me the second was his Girlfriend he met in Atlanta who was an American Sierra Leonian. She was a big fan of Afrobeats and she encouraged him to come out of his shell and even perform his music.
“It was my girlfriend Patricia who was a fan of Afrobeats and was pushing the sound in Atlanta that encouraged me to put myself out there and go beyond just recording music.”
Although he was making music in Atlanta, it took some time before Boy Lexxy became fully confident to share his music with a larger audience. He tells me he was friends with a couple of Nigerian artists who were curious about his music but to whom he was reluctant to share his music.
“Before getting into the industry I was friends with Zlatan and Naira Marley and they asked me if I made music but I wasn’t really at the point where I wanted to share my music. Then I also met Shizzy and we exchanged contact. Since then I have just kept going till I got to this stage.”
Boy Lexxy’s decision to become a musician was inspired as much by those around him as it was by Nigerian megastars Wizkid and Davido. For Wizkid, he tells me he was naturally drawn to his sound and for Davido, he drew the inspiration that success was possible after seeing him move from Atlanta back to Nigeria.
“I was naturally drawn to Wizkid and I really like his sound way back from Nigeria. I was also inspired by Davido because it was during the time I moved to America that he relocated to Nigeria and started making music. Davido was an Atlanta guy so it was an inspiration that it was possible to make music and be successful.”
Having been influenced by generations of artists and diverse classes of music, Boy Lexxy is an artist whose music can’t be pigeonholed into one genre. He likens his type of music to a sound that can be felt and enjoyed by listeners irrespective of language and cultural barriers.
“My music is Vibes,” he says as he boldly describes his music. “My sound can be enjoyed by everyone and it carries different influences even though it’s Afrobeats.”
As an emerging artist with a desire to connect with Nigerian listeners, Boy Lexxy tells me he tries to work with creatives who understand that music is an art and whose ego doesn’t limit collaboration and growth.
“Being an up-and-coming artist is not easy, especially as we are in an industry where there’s a lot of egos and I also being General Lexxy can’t bring myself down because I want to work with anybody,” he says laughing. “I try to surround myself with the right people and I’m grateful that I have people like my Girlfriend (Patricia), my mentor Shizzi, Phantom, and other great people around me.”
Boy Lexxy is looking to announce himself with his EP come 2023 and he tells me he has been working on the project for about 2 years.
“I have been working on this project for two years now and I’m excited to share it with listeners in 2023.”
Boy Lexxy tells me the name of the project which carries an element of his personality and he insisted I don’t publish it. He also tells me there’s no release date yet but he intends to be in Nigeria for the release.
“There’s no release date yet but I will definitely be in Nigeria when I drop the project because I want to connect with listeners and also put a face on the name.”
I ask Lexxy which artists he would love to work with and he tells me he loves Rema’s sound and he would love to work with him. He also mentions Wizkid, Olamide, and Oxlade. In the international scene, Lexxy is a big fan of Reggae and Dancehall and he will relish the chance to collaborate with Jamaicans Skillibeng and Shensea.
Boy Lexxy is an artist whose life and artistry are shaped by diverse realities which he combines for an interesting personality founded on originality. It’s this originality and energy (Vibes) that he’s seeking to convey to listeners across continents and cultures.
It has been a long time coming for the young man who grew up in the streets of Agege and Ogba and whose realities he took along to the United States. Having lived an interesting life soundtrack by a wide range of music, 2023 is the year he delivers the Vibes.
