Adejumo recently said he had quit dubstep in a light-hearted interview with NME. The comment went viral on the internet, prompting discussion about whether he was serious or taking the piss. “When we first did that interview, it kind of came across as joking, but I did mean what I said. I did mean to say that I’ve quit dubstep,” Adejumo says. “I didn’t mean to shock people as hard as I did but it was definitely time for me to start announcing that I just make Benga music.”
And when it comes to making Benga music, he’s been busier than ever lately, wrapping up his new solo album and making plans for another Magnetic Man album in the new year. But in the meantime, he’s taking well-earned breaks wherever he can. “I’ve written a lot of music in the last couple of months, and I’m still trying to add to the Magnetic Man catalogue, but, while I’m doing that, I also want to take a break from it all, so I’m watching Entourage,” Adejumo says, laughing.
Incidentally, he’s just started season five, which finds Vinnie Chase and company reeling from the commercial and critical flop of their all-or-nothing project, Medellin. Taking risks is something that resonates with Adejumo.
“As an artist, especially as an artist in my field, a lot of things you can do are gambles,” he says. “I mean, you know that if you cross this barrier or you do this, you could risk your fan base not liking it. But there all risks that I’m willing to take; always. Always,” he says. “[As I progress] in my career, and make better music and better songs and keep my life interesting, I take risks, and I certainly have done with this album.”
One of the most significant changes he has made for Chapter 2 has been his approach to songwriting. “I have always wanted to make songs, but, I just didn’t have the vocalists around me at the time, my music wasn’t as advanced as it is now, I didn’t know my way around the studio like I do now,” he says. “The production is different, every song is different. I’m not sure if you can even compare any of the songs to [Diary Of An] Afro Warrior; but, then again, on Afro Warrior could you compare any of the songs to each other?”
Recording Chapter 2 was a painstaking process for the artist, complicated by moving his studio while it was in the works. “I just have a kind of sound that I want to achieve, and moving studios is always a funny one… Unless the sound in the studio that you’re in is right, then you just, basically, wherever you move to, you move yourself into a bad situation. I had a studio built in my house, and I thought for a long time that the sound was basically correct, and while I was making this album and writing this album, I went through so many dramas in trying to find the right balance,” Adejumo says.
“I would make a song, and I DJ every weekend so I would be out playing it, and [it was] so offputting because I’d play it and it wouldn’t sound right, and I’d have to go back in the studio and try and figure out why it’s not sounding right, and I messed around with mixdowns for so long,” he continues. “Now I understand mixing a lot more, and I’m in another space, and I understand that.”
Adejumo has also changed his show to be more live, mixing snippets of his own tracks on the fly with Ableton. He says it makes for a more engaging performance, although there is a downside – he’s not able to crowd surf. “I don’t think, since I’ve done [my] live [sets], I’ve crowd surfed once,” he says. “There’s so much, for me, going on… so I don’t really have time to have my crowd surfing moments.
“I have actually spent a lot of time in the studio producing this album, and I’m not scared or anything, I’m not worried, I never regret anything I do,” he says. “Whether or not you like the singles from my album, I think that you’ll be surprised at what I’ve done on my album. For me, I think it compares with nothing else that’s out there at the moment. It’s Benga music, so hopefully I’ve done my fans proud and all the new people that are now entering my music, welcome.”
BY JOSHUA HAYES
