The Afro-Drill rapper is paving the way for a new generation of West African rap fans and is currently riding the wave off his viral hit ‘Declan Rice’ named after the West Ham midfielder.  In his interview with Dotty of Apple Music, he discusses his decision to write a song about Rice, his new found love for West Ham, meeting Declan in person, watching Burna Boy perform at the London stadium and more. Excerpts…

Odumodublvck tells Apple Music about the making of ‘Declan Rice’ …

I was playing it for my exec, Tizzy, and Tizzy was like, “This is a serious record.” I said, “Yes. I know it’s a serious record.” God does give me that record. And I knew from the get go when I put out the snippets. It was mad. Declan Rice commented, everybody was going wild every day from comments and dms, asking “Brother, when are you dropping this tune?” And when it came out, it did more than intended.

Why I chose to focus the track on Declan Rice…

Sometimes, as an artiste, you know what you want to do before you enter the studio, even when you’re writing. But I had gone like a minute into the song before I even started talking about that it feels like Declan Rice, you know? So after I recorded it, I realised that it was God that pushed me through this trajectory. And look at Declan. He plays for West Ham. Normally people who play for the England national team are from Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea City, but this guy is a West Ham player and his spot on the English team is undisputed. That’s underdog mentality. He represents everything I represent now. You get what I’m saying?

 

On ‘Declan Rice’ going to number 1 in Nigeria and linking up with Declan…

West Ham is like Hip Hop in Nigeria, but I’m still there. Right now, my song is still top 10 in Nigeria with the Afrobeat guys. You know, with Manchester United players, with Manchester City players, but why not a West Ham player. You know? So it’s just the underdog mentality kind of kicking in. I’m so grateful to God for giving me that kind of intuition or the spirit of descendants to translate this into the music. A  big shout out to Declan. I’ve seen a lot of footballers, they sing about them, but they never really show love. But Declan messaged me like, “Brother, I’m coming to see you”. Big shout out that guy.

 

About my new found love for West

I am (a fan) now. That’s the best club in the world. Come on you Irons. I’ve been a Barcelona fan all my life and I’ve been an Arsenal fan all my life. None of them has helped my career. I knew West Ham like barely three months ago. They’re following me, posting my stuff. That’s new family. That’s the best club in the world.

 

Challenges of being a rapper in a country dominated by Afrobeats…

I’m a Hip Hop artiste. I told my guys in Nigeria, I said, what an Afrobeat artiste is going to do, a Hip Hop artiste cannot do it if he tries it. If an Afrobeats artiste, let’s say Fireboy, drops ‘Peru’ in January, that song can last him the whole year, because that sound is more acceptable to the society. But as a Hip Hop artiste, I should be dropping like five songs to match up to that ‘Peru’ start.

So, when they call all of us for Glastonbury Fest, all of us will perform there. But I have to do more than them. Like an artiste who’s 30 years old and an artiste that is 24 years old, his 24 hours is my 12 hours. Whatever he achieves in one year, I should be doing it in six months. You know?

Dream to have J-Hus and Drake on the ‘Declan Rice’ remix…

Imagine having Drake and J Hus on ‘Declan Rice’ remix, it’s going to spin the world on its head.

 

Watching Burna Boy perform at the London stadium…

It’s so inspiring. The first time I saw him perform in Abuja, it was a place called Harrow Park. When he was performing, I was front of the stage. I had to leave. I went on one hill to watch him, to soak in the performance. When Burna is performing, I enjoy it, but I’m not in the crowd. I’m learning. You get me? As God will have it, this was five years ago. Last month, I headlined that same venue that he headlined back then and it was the same reaction. So, looking at the stadium, I feel like if I could do the little Harrow Park, one day I can do the stadium just like Burna has done it, you know? That day I enjoyed the show so much because I learned a lot.

 

Experience meeting Burna Boy for the first time…

A blessing it was. I’ve looked up to that guy for the longest time. He’s my best artiste in Africa as a whole. Right now, he’s out of my league. But as a whole, it’s Burna. I look up to that guy. His tenacity, his spirit, doggedness to always go forward regardless of naysayers or whatever, people talk about, you know? So, meeting him in the flesh, even from the musical perspective of it, the guy’s an icon. The guy’s an idol. The guy is heavy. I was so happy to meet him. And surprisingly, he even knew me more than I thought he would