Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, is a household name in the Nigerian entertainment industry; the music and movie industry to be precise.
The rapper shares the same line of profession with his father, Femi Falana, who is one of the country’s most prominent lawyers and human rights activists. Falz chose to tread another path by doing music rather than following in his father’s footsteps.
After graduating from the prestigious University of Reading in the UK, Falz returned back to Nigeria and enrolled in the Nigerian Law School, where he qualified as a Barrister.
After being called to bar, Falz realises Law may not be his forte and decided to follow his passion in music.
While family and others wished the singer would follow in his father’s footsteps after becoming a barrister, he ventured into the music industry because “Music Stole My Heart,” he said in an interview.
In an interview with Guardian NG, the Soldier crooner revealed the real reasons behind his decision to do music despite being a trained lawyer.
Given the fact that many artists do music in this present generation to gain fame and popularity, Falz stated that music is his passion, which is why he chose it.
A lot of people have asked me that, and my reply is that when you are very passionate about something, you must follow your heart. “Music is my passion. That is why I am in music.”
Speaking on why he decided to venture into the music industry given his father’s reputation, Falz said:
Initially, that was my intention. Looking at his life and how much he has achieved and the kind of name he has made for himself, I sincerely wanted to follow in his footsteps. I admired his monumental achievements and his lifestyle. In fact, I went to law school to follow in his footsteps, but along the way, I developed a love for music, and music stole my heart, so I decided to follow my heart.
Aside from doing music for a passion, Falz had earlier discovered his musical prowess in his secondary school days. He realized he could make it a profession towards the end of his higher education studies. He added
The passion for music started building when I was in secondary school. Though the passion was there, I never thought it was something I was going to give serious attention to until towards the end of my university days. By then, the music I was making appeared to be on a different level, assuming something of a professional status. Then I realised I could make it a profession.