What's good Flexist family? 

I hope y'all have been well since the last time I curated. For those of y'all that listen from Texas, U.S.A & Ghana, y'all have been in my thoughts as of recent, and I'm praying for healing, protection, provision for you and your families. This world has been in consistent mud and it's tiring having to navigate it every day. Hopefully this week's Flexlist curation will help listeners take their minds off things, even if it's for 1 hour and 57 min.

This newest Flexlist comes with a new set of Flexlist Fotos to highlight an artiste on an abrupt rise. You're looking at the vibrant young man who's behind the viral song "I seeeeeeee, I saw!"

Family, I present to you Legendary Styles.

As someone who loves drill music and is waiting for Nigeria to catch up on the African drill scene, I was STOKEDDDDDD when Style's manager obliged my very last-minute request to shoot Styles. This would be the first time I've reached out to an artiste without forming some type of surface-level bond online or referral. It was full-blooded, cold-emailing hoping his management would respond. And as God and the universe would allow it, they responded. I was pretty nervous reaching out because this guy had already gone viral...but here we are family. :)

I started Flexlist Fotos to connect with certain artistes. I love learning interesting facts about them that provide me a basis to humanize and relate with each of them. If it's one thing I'ma always do, it's form human connections with the people I decide to support in this industry. My energy cannot be expended in vain.

Styles was such a vibe to shoot. When I learned we were both from Imo State, my heart lit up. This shouldn't be interpreted as tribalism, but I feel really full knowing more Igbo artistes who are proudly Igbo are getting national recognition right now. From the Cavemen (who are also from Imo State) to Styles, my people are cutting across genres while singing and performing in our language. *tear drop*

Despite his calm and quiet demeanor, Styles has energy. One thing I can confirm is that if you book this guy for a show, you're going to get your money's worth. Babyyyy, I was snapping away with my phone and asked Styles what music he wanted to hear and my G simply asked me to play his song. As soon as the song started, he was on go. And that my friends, deserves a big ol' E for ENERGY!

I'm really happy with our meeting turned out. Using this opportunity to thank @severenature_ng for letting me shoot yet another artiste at their flagship store in Ikoyi. Thank y'all for also letting Styles 'style' himself in y'all 'Monsters' flannel top' and Severe Nature x Pieces harnessed denim. <3

Thank you to Style's manager for not airing my DM. Blessings on the journey Style's career is about to you on.

Feel free to view more photos of Styles's Flexlist Foto session here.

Till next time family.

Best, 
Jess

Okay...not quite. But I am pretty proud of myself. I recently participated in a collaboration with a Toronto-based (Canada's PR is *chef's kiss*) creative, production, and strategy company called @somewherelse. Somewherelse started a new content-focused platform called @planet.huh. Planet HUH's objective is to digitally explore popular cities around the world using the five senses and moods. They team up with creatives in those cities to highlight the places, brands, food, music, etc. that are special to them and are deserving of spotlight. Shoutout to @lovelikelika putting my name up as a cool enough creative for a gig like this. As a micro-influencer and content creator, I be getting overlookedddddddddddd. Let nobody lie to you: unless you are undoubtably popular or a celebrity, you aren't getting jobs based on merit out here. It's by network/connection or that ONE PERSON who is impacted by your content enough to refer you to the brands and companies looking for creatives for projects. 

So, thank you Anwulika. =) 
You rock.

With that being said, you babe was chosen for the collaboration. I had the opportunity to shed light on the people, places, music, things, that make up MY LAGOS. I place emphasis on MY LAGOS because the things I do, eat, listen to, wear, etc. can be very different from another Lagosian who may not possess the same privileges as I do. If it's one I'ma do, it's to make sure my privilege doesn't erase the experiences of my neighbor. 

Because I'm a babe who lovessss to overdo, I submitted more deliverables than asked to. All I had to do was provide the social media pages and websites of the places I wanted to highlight. TRUSTTTTTTT ME to visit these spots, take pictures, make videos, speak to people, and all that jazz in the middle of a panini fam. 

One deliverable I created was a playlist in collaboration with HUH. I mean, as a music curator, why won't I sell my own market? I curated 31 songs that embody my version of Lagos. You can listen to it on Apple Music and Spotify below. 

You can view my curations and why I chose them on Planet HUH's website HERE. 

In 2019, my first themed curation of the Flexlist paid homage to UK Grime/Drill/Afroswing music. Almost 2 years later, I'm creating this playlist to highlight drill music from different scenes around the world, especially in Africa. This playlist is going to be long as heck. Unlike how I curate the Flexlist, I'm just going to keep adding and tweaking and letting it grow. If you know you're not a fan of explicit rap music, this playlist is not for you. Enjoy "Crude Oil: Drill World" on Apple Music, Spotify, Audiomack. 

AFRICAN DRILLER DATABASE
Are you an artiste of African descent who makes drill music? I'm gathering a database of y'all so when drill finally decides to pop on the continent, I'll have y'all information readily available to pitch for various opportunities. Consider filling out this short form here.

Think your song is Flexlist worthy? Submit your song for Flexlist consideration using my SubmitHub profile here.