He has had the pleasure of working with the BBC, Channel 4 and RWD Magazine and has also been described as ‘a young, talented, upcoming musician, an artist’ by Kiss 100’s DJ Logan Sama. You could even say he’s a media mogul considering his track list of achievements, which include designing, event organising, performing, recording and more. Infecta is a musician from South London who is set to release his debut single ‘Sometimes’ from his long awaited album ‘The Bridge’ featuring Oronde Bennett later this summer.
I thought I’d catch up with Infecta himself to find out where it all started his views on the current industry and more.
Infecta initially got into music as he ‘just wanted to communicate’ with others, He explained ‘after arriving in London around the birth of the grime music scene I gained a lot more influence from everyone in the scene’ especially from artists such as ‘Dizzee Rascal, Kano, and Wiley. This gave him the initial kick-start to 'actually spitting lyrics and joining in the playground cyphers' which where he says 'it all started’.
His alias 'Infecta' stands for: 'lyrically sick and influence others to spit' which was given to him by a close friend who passed away, yet he decided to keep the name in his honour. Sadly, he experienced prejudice in the form of bullying so music quickly became ‘a form of art therapy’ for him. He says, ‘I wanted to find a way to overcome my language barrier as I was a young black boy fresh from home so I couldn't speak properly’, in terms of homes he means Nigeria, where he lived for 10 years before coming to London.
As a child he was ‘influenced by all forms of music’ and spent hours sat in front of the radio, he would say his three major influences were Madonna, Michael Jackson and Missy Elliot. He focuses mainly on vocals, so whether it be gospel, poetry, grime, spoken word, rap, singing or song writing he would say ‘he’s about it' he says, 'what I make is good music that has a positive theme to it. It carries meaningful messages most of the times, plus I try to keep it clean rather than dirty. I’m not here to take your money or win souls or do something that is silly, twisted or corrupt because I believe that music was made for expression and once you start using it for other singled out self gaining goals you add to the corruption which we all know exist within the scene today.’
‘My music represents myself firstly as I know I can't speak for others. It represents positivity, morals, originality. The things that play a part in my life like my surroundings. I convey this through my lyrics and reflect on them through what I record. My motivations are my dreams and my ambition is to make them a reality, by sharing my gift and not saving it to myself so that way hopefully I can influence others’.
When asked if he would choose fame or fortune he says, ‘If you mean fortune as in wealth then I choose fame because there’s a lot more with the favour you will gain from fame, than just having the money. I chase the rank not the bank so I’d rather leave my mark. Everything I do, I do it properly, or at least try to and I always say I only wanted fortune then, as far as music is concerned I would’ve been a songwriter or ghost-writer’.
‘Aside from music my talents lie in acting and directing. I’ve featured in films and helped with some which have been on BBC and Channel 4. I design for my clothing label called 'i&i' which is in sync with HustleBucks which was recently featured in RWD Magazine recently. I also model, I’ve worked for Nike, Addidas, IFeelExperience, Urban Development, Box Frsh, Forreduci, and other fashion and runway Shows. I’ve recently started an Electrical Engineering Apprenticeship because I’ve always loved technology from a young age, I remember the day we were making my alias I wanted to be called 'Gearz' because I was interested in Electrics and Mechanics. I also do a lot of youth work with a number of companies such as; Prince's Trust, Black Police Association, Safer Southwark Partnership, Kickstart, and Foundation 4 Life'.
‘I promote myself through any means necessary literally. Anything I can get involved, from flyers to posters. I’m always building contacts and networks when I go to music events, talent shows, music competitions, and other online opportunities. I also promote through all my social mediums and outlets which are on on my official site’.
‘An example of promoting myself successfully was when I emailed Whtvr.org for around 2 years asking for support as a Southwark resident, so I thought that it made sense for them to support me. They just launched and showcased someone close to me so I though I’d have a chance instead of gazing at the stars go out and introduce yourself as one, so I did, but they never replied, but I never lost hope’.
'They eventually replied and contacted me through my boss Chloe Newman and the interview was done at last. At the time they were also a bigger magazine company so they gave me a two page spread and a front cover which was sent through the whole of Southwark and opened the doors to two more front cover opportunities and got me as one of the headlining acts alongside; Scorcher, Princess Nyah, Egypt, Akala, RD and many more.’
‘This all happened through persistence, it taught me something serious in music, that people only care when there is a buzz. When they where ready, they contacted me but only because I was still working hard in the background and pestering them. Then one thing or another came under their radar and they remembered me and the bookings and magazines opportunities followed. I learnt to be persistent not just on waiting for a bring in from someone else but on making the next big thing for yourself, which was kind of what I was already doing but it only came to my realization at that time’.
He would say that the current music industry ‘is very pretentious and corrupt, but music itself is evolving and growing, making new marks and breaking boundaries. He adds ’I love it, it's inspiring to see so many artist building empires with their supporters not just a fan base and seeing the way technology is adding to the evolution of music, it scares me a bit but also excites me. I have now learnt to support an artist based on the ethics, work rate and music not just music and this is due to the current climate’.
‘My future is bright, but not necessarily is it orange and that I can assure you! I do have an album called ‘The Bridge’ featuring Oronde Bennett aka The Bridge who is a producer and Singer so he produces the melodies and I lace them with words and together we grace them with wisdom mixing down then WALA, a finished product.‘
‘The first single 'Sometimes' from the album will be making it's début on television before August, also an EP with an established producer that does music for commercials by the name Yung Sir. I’m also working with one of the highest ranking female DJ - DJ Nikki From Beatnik on a project and also a whole heap of videos working with YouTube channels so you can enjoy audio visuals as I give freestyles here and there.’
‘Also the clothing will be available online soon for supporters. I wouldn't give it all away or there would be no show so follow on twitter to see what's in store, but know this when one starts it would not stop, the way I have projects lined up is to start and then keep going.’
For more of Infecta you can now checkout his Official Site as well as contact him on Facebook and Twitter.
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