Who Is Falz?
Folarin Falana, popularly known by his alter ego “Falz the Bahd Guy,” was born on the 27th of October 1990 into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Femi and Funmi Falana in Lagos State. He is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter, and actor. He began his career while in secondary school after forming a group called “the school boys” with his friends before he professionally started music in 2009. Falz became well-known after his song “Marry Me,” featuring Poe and Yemi Alade. He currently owns an independent record label called “Bahd Guys Record”. He made his music debut in 2014 after releasing his debut album “Wazup Guy”. He released his second album, “Stories That Touch the Heart,” in 2015, followed by “27” in 2017 and his fourth, “Moral Instruction,” in 2019. He drew international attention in 2018 when he released his single “This Is Nigeria”, a reworking of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” with new lyrics addressing the corruption in the country.
download free ebooks
Check out our brand new
collection of ebooks and find the right gift for anyone.
Falz’s Early Life and Education
Falz was born in the local government area of Mushin, Lagos State, to lawyers and human rights activists Funmi and Femi Falana. He started his basic and primary education at St. Leo’s Catholic Primary School, Ikeja, and later attended Olashore International School, Osun State, for his secondary education. He is an alumnus of the University of Reading, England, having graduated with an LLB honours degree in law. He was called to the bar in 2012 after graduating from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja.
Falz, in October 2020 called on Runtown and other Nigerian celebrities to join the #EndSARS protest in Lagos state calling on the government to end police brutality. The singer is vocal about issues bordering on social injustice across the country. Paying tribute to the victim of police brutality, he released a music video for “Johnny”, the first single off his album Moral Instruction”. He wrote in a post introducing the song, “We will never forget the heroes that have been unlawfully slain. This is for them. Every single Nigerian life snatched away unlawfully; we must make sure we get justice”. “It’s been almost two years since I released the audio. Even more disturbing to think that time as time passed, the message became more relevant”.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, in 2020, Falz said President Buhari’s promise to reform the Nigerian police was infuriating and frustrating, as he claimed Buhari has been making the same promise since 2017.
Falz was also a strong voice for increased participation and youth involvement in Nigerian politics, as well as other issues like voter apathy and electoral malpractice.
Falz’s Filmography
Right from his teenage days, Falz always had a passion for acting. He appeared in a BlackBerry broadcast of his comedy skit, titled “Hello Bae,” in which he was trying to chat up a lady using totally bad English. He began using bad English to grow his audience while making his music and would later use it in his acting career.
His first foray into drama and movies was in Funke Akindele’s long running comedy series Jenifa’s Diary in 2015, where he played Segun, Jenifa’s romantic interest. He then appeared in “Couple of Days” as a gateman and in the series “Tinsel” as Kayode Beko-Williams in 2016. In 2017, he acted in “10 Days in Sun City” as Seyi.
On September 1st, 2018, Falz won “Best Supporting Actor at the 2018 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA) for his Role as Quam (his first major role) in Tope Oshin Ogun’s movie “New Money. Becoming the first Nigerian Actor to have won the AMVCA twice.
In August 2020, Falz unveiled his film production company, House21TV. During this time, he also unveiled an all-new comedy series, Therapy, to air exclusively on YouTube
The route to success is not an easy one. Both with influence from external forces or having an influential background, we are left to make our journey, and every decision we make is ours to follow.
Falz
Falz had also acted in
- Merry Men (2018) as Remi Martin, a crime action comedy movie that stormed the net,
2. Chief Daddy (2018) as Femi Famzy Beecroft, a comedy movie,
3. Merry Men 2 (2019),
4. Muna (2019), as himself,
5. Your Excellency (2019) as AK Famzy, and
6. Quam’s Money as Quam
Three things you don’t know about Falz
- The name “Falz the Bahd Guy” is a combination of a name and an acronym. “Falz” is short for Falana,” and “BAHD” means Brilliant and Highly Distinct.
- Falz has a clothing line under the name “Ello Bae”. After his hit single “Ello Bae” in 2014, Falz started the “Ello Bae” clothing line.
- Unlike some other Father-son influences, Falz’s decision to study law was solely his own and not because his father was a lawyer or was popular.
- Right from his teenage days, he had a passion for acting.
- Falz has a shy personality in reality. According to Falz, he’s not very comfortable in the spotlight under the prying eyes of the press. Instead, he uses an alter ego, “Uncle Taju,” who is bolder and more crazy on stage.
