"We Were Rejected A Lot When Seeking A Record Deal So We Decided To Start Our Own" - Lynxxx

Syndik8 Records boss Lynxxx, has revealed in a new interview with ThisDay Style that being rejected as an artiste was just an excuse for him to get back up and start his own empire. Now the singer/rapper has his very own record label, a clothing line, a media branding company, a mobile solutions company and much more. Lynxxx reveals in this chat that he had a lot of growing up to do very early in life. Read excerpts from his interview below.

On growing up: 
My real name is Chuka Edozien, born and raised in Lagos, but from Delta State. My dad is from Asaba and my mum is Ghanaian-Nigerian but with some Brazilian heritage in her roots. I come from a family of six kids, five girls and I’m the only son. This has taught me to shoulder responsibility from a young age. I have a family-oriented responsibility attached to me and that’s the reason why being focused is very important to me in terms of my career goals and decision I choose to make because there’s a lot of responsibility that lies behind that.

On going into music:
First of all, I didn’t know all this was going to happen: being an artist. I owned a studio where different artists used to come record and then one day I decided to make a song of my own which brought me into the limelight.

On if he is going into the family business: 
No, my dad runs his businesses and I run mine. My dad is a renowned economist; retired bank Managing Director and former Deputy Governor of Bendel State. Obviously, I seek his advice and counsel from time to time but I’ve been running my own businesses since my early 20’s. In 2004, I started a company, Syndik8 Records with my partner, Ikon with a couple of artists. We had formed that record label because everybody we went to, seeking a record deal rejected us and then we decided to start out own. We also started a media company that branded corporate bodies. Alongside these, we started a clothing line and have sold thousands of shirts over the years and are in the process of opening our flagship store here in Lagos. I also have a company called The Arena that provides mobile solutions, builds applications and so on, and another that handles corporate branding and advertising. I’m also a self-trained graphic artist, web designer and mobile coder. So, I’m into a lot…

On how the music industry can be improved: 
First of all, structure. There is so much potential in creating a structure that would work for our industry. A lot of people say piracy is our biggest problem but it is not. For instance, an artist may drop an album today and it won’t be on iTunes for the next three months. He’s not focusing on the other possibilities of getting his music out there and making a profit. The artist is focusing on what he complains about and that’s piracy and his paying distributors in Alaba to get the album on the streets. He’s not bothered about the consumer who can download his songs in bed, without moving an inch and the direct profits he can make from these sales. He should be! My first album that came out in 2010 is online and I get a cheque at every end of the month for downloads. Also, every time my song is streamed on Spotify as well, I get paid for it. So these are the avenues that artists either don’t understand or are not exploring deeply yet. I spend a lot of time studying on how we can get better value for our talents in this country and there are so many ways out there and people just don’t know about it yet unfortunately.

For more from Lynxxx check out ThisDay Style.