There’s a quote by Federico Fellini— “There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.” —that best describes Lussh’s creative journey. The Lagos-born artist was birthed with a spurring passion in music that sprung up as early as age 10 which is less of a beginning and more of an earmark of what has become a long, eventful and rewarding career. That is also to say the end is not in sight either, but his journey is rather ongoing with an impetus zeal to be one of the greatest.
In Surulere, growing up with still this fierce passion and love for music, Lussh began playing conga and percussion drums in his church choir, before proceeding to learn music professionally from his uncle, a jazz artist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Lussh’s career picked a gearing turn in 2016 when he worked solely as a music producer up until 2022 when he made a surprise transition into music recording and performing, fueling further his burning desire to create music.
Lussh is the producer of various hits including, Dj Spinall’s Ohema featuring Mr Eazi, Kizz Daniel’s Madu and Ayee, Mayorkun’s True and Bobo featuring Davido, and Peruzzi’s Nana amongst others. Under Lussh the artist, he released his first single Hello in 2022 signalling the start of his transition. He has released several songs ever since including his debut EP, 6foot Lover Boy and his most recent song, Let Me Know was released in January 2024.
As time progresses alongside Lussh’s passion for music and his undeniable skills, he is on a relentless mission to expand his creative horizon across borders, simultaneously, equally, and purposefully as Lussh the producer and Lussh the artist.
You transitioned from music production to being an artist, how has that influenced the kind of music you make?
The transition had been properly planned mentally, so making music as an artist now, I know the kind of sound I want to make. I know what I should be doing. To be honest, I’ll give kudos to the artists that I’d worked with as a producer, the likes of Peruzzi, Kizz Daniel, Sean Tizzle, Davido, Mayorkun, Seyi Shay, and Tiwa Savage. They helped influence my sound and the person I am as an artist today.
Interesting. Let me know is your first track of the year. What inspired you?
I recorded it when I was in Tanzania and going for African tour media rounds. While I was there, I was very busy checking into apartments and going for the media rounds for about two days. I decided it was time to create when I was free and had inhaled a lot of new air from my vicinity. I always travel with my mobile studio, so I just started producing. I wanted to do something up-tempo that would appeal to people.
Before I went to Tanzania, I was also in Ghana and Nairobi, and I kind of noticed the sound people wanted. I just got on my computer and started producing. I wanted something danceable, but at the same time, I wanted to tell a story with it. The title of the song, Let Me Know, really has nothing to do with me, aside from the second verse. It’s not like somebody was trying to play with my heart or something, it was just me telling a story. After I released the song, I could tell many people felt the same way because of the story. Either they’d experienced rejection or they’d experienced uncertainty, not knowing what they are or what they were in a relationship.
What exactly makes the second verse so personal?
The second verse is personal because it’s basically me prophesying what I want for myself. I said “Jaiye ni Miami, holiday for Masaki”, I want to live that life, I want to have holidays around the world and not think of the cost. I was actually in Masaki at the time, in Tanzania. At the end of the verse, I said “Every day na jolly for the back of our Mercedes”, I don’t have a Mercedes yet, so I’m prophesying it.
What would you say makes Let Me Know stand out from your other tracks?
The story. The story in the song, and the story that made the song happen. What led to the song is the experience of having to travel through three African countries before recording. Also, it’s an up-tempo song. I have other up-tempo songs, but this one is different because it has a story.
You said when you were creating Let Me Know, you wanted people to vibe to a relatable up-tempo song. Considering the mental space you were in when writing it in Tanzania, do you think that Let Me Know is currently serving the purpose you wanted it to serve?
Yes, it is. I’ve seen creatives make videos to it, and the purpose I had in mind while recording, which was to make a feel-good tune that tells a story and connects with people who can relate to it, has been served.
Now that you’ve put out Let Me Know, which is quite different from what you used to make, what can we expect from Lussh going forward?
Expect a lot of significant features from Lussh in the new year. I don’t want to spill, but there’ll be a lot of features that are worth it with a lot of surprises. I like to get things ready before I start to spill, but currently, we have a lot of reasonable, sweet features in the works. Also, this year, as much as there’s Lussh the artist, you should also expect Lussh the producer. Last year, I focused more on the artist. This year, while I’m focusing on the artist, I’ll also focus on my first love, production.
It’s amazing to know you have all of that going on, we’ll be on the lookout for whatever Lussh has for us.
