Eriq is Nigeria’s next trap phenom
With the year ending soon, a lot of promising artists have graced our ears and playlists with praiseworthy gems. Musicians like Tems and Ayra Starr have shaken up their genre with projects that transport listeners into various new places, while artists like Asake and BNXN have taken the route of revamping afrobeat into something increasingly attention-grabbing, creative, and above all, avant-garde. But even though 2022 posed itself as a treasure trove of ground-breaking talent, there’s still more space to be filled, and artists like Eriq are filling the gap.
Since the release of his official debut single ‘Bad Man’, in 2019, Eriq has been a name bubbling behind the scenes, and today, he stands as one of Nigeria’s trap scene’ brightest prospects. Through his collaborative 14-track album Stars to his new single ‘Raw’, Eriq builds musical prisms weighted between duality; somewhere between his energetic productions and genre-bending sounds.
With growth coursing through his veins, Eriq was able to channel his emotions into his latest EP, Coldest. HUNGER caught up with the rising star to discuss his latest project, his vast array of musical influences, the state of the Nigerian trap scene, and what his main focus is moving forward.
Who is Eriq?
Eriq is just a young boy from the south-south part of Nigeria who is into a lot of things. (chuckles). But I’m majorly an artist.
What was growing up like for you?
I won’t lie, I didn’t have it well growing up. I come from a family of four because my Dad left us when I was really young, like when I was seven years old. So, it was just me, my mom and my two siblings – an elder brother and a younger sister. I lived with my mom in Benin because I grew up there. I can say that I have lived all my life in Benin and it’s been crazy. I remember we used to move from house to house because we were having accommodation issues. It was just my mom taking care of us and that was really hard. I even had to opt out of school when I was 14 years old because I had to work to take care of myself. Everything was just so much for my mom, and I think that was the time I started recording music.
How did you start making music?
I mixed up with a lot of people in Benin. First, I didn’t even start in music, I started dancing with my friend. So I did that for a while before I started making music. I attended this music competition in Benin and it was called ‘Dream Alive with Pikolo’. At the time, I was staying with one of the organizers of the competition so I was always in the studio he had in his house. Most of the time, Rema and Alpha P would come there to record and do songs together. And sometimes, I just have the studio to myself and I get to record my own thing. But before then, I had a friend called Yemi. He was the one that actually started music first and I remember I used to go with him to the studio to record his songs. From there, I just started trying and I discovered that I actually like doing music. I also figured that I was good at it and that’s how it started.
How would you define your sound?
The feedback I get from a lot of people is that my music makes them feel emotional sometimes. So I would say I mostly do sad songs and trap songs. Honestly, I don’t really know the genre I’m going to put my music in.
What inspired the creation of your latest project ‘Coldest’
Recently, me and my long-term girlfriend broke up. We’ve been together for almost five years and a lot of things happened and we decided to just call it quits. I think we broke up in December 2021 and it was really terrible for me. It was during that time that I recorded most of the songs on the project.
When making the 7-track project, were there any challenges or creative blocks you faced along the way?
I don’t really get creative blocks when making music. Quite frankly, when I was making the project, I didn’t have it in mind that I was making the Coldest project, so I was just recording a bunch of songs. Then when I wanted to drop the project, I had to go back and listen to all the songs I made at that time and I just picked out some songs that fit the theme of the project.
What does this project signify about where you are mentally, in life, and your career right now?
Right now, I feel like I’m in a place where I just want to keep expressing myself with my music. This project was about everything that has happened to me, and that was the idea I had since the day I started making the songs on it.
Do you think the Nigerian trap scene is evolving?
I can’t say it’s evolving because there are not so many people doing trap music in Nigeria. I can’t even count because most Nigerian rappers do drill and they do not even make attempts to do trap. I think we are just a few underground artists who really do trap music. But then, I think it’s going to evolve with time. Maybe we’re just the set of people that are going to push it to that height.
Speaking of evolution, how do you think it is applied to you and your career?
I see myself going beyond the Nigerian hip-hop scene. I know this is just the route and I’m just trying to do this with a couple of my friends that also make trap music. We are trying to push it and see what’s going to happen. But I believe strongly that we can do it with the number of songs we have and what we are still recording every day.
Moving forward, what is your main focus?
My main focus right now is to bring out more songs and shoot more videos. I really want to push my music hard and to make it go out there. I feel like I haven’t really promoted my music and that’s why it kind of feels like I have been stagnant. Right now, I know I have the energy to push this music and make it work.
Coldest is out now
