12th August, 2015
Barrister turned rapper, TRAIN has dropped a smashing hot single, titled Rumba. It is his fifth single this year, with a view to releasing his album at the end of the year.
TRAIN whose other singles are, Unstoppable, Spendin’ dt Paper, Wot Dyu Want and The Reason enjoyed rave review especially on music download websites and social media platforms. “I’m still a lawyer and I have to combine my legal career with my passion for rap and dancehall music,” he said.
Having to contend with managing both careers can be a handful but TRAIN’s passion has driven him to push himself beyond his own expectations.
His formative years in rap dates back to the 90s, when rap music was the biggest thing across the globe. TRAIN penned his first lines in Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Ogun state.
“I wrote poetry for the first time in SS 1, as pre-condition to making the Literary and Debating Society, and since then my passion for rhythm, rhyme and lyrics was unleashed.
“I transitioned from poetry to rap. Rap was poetry and that made it easy for me to embrace hard core rap,” he said.
He said late American rapper, Tupac was one of his biggest influences. “Tupac’s ‘Changes’, ‘Letter to my unborn child’ and ‘All eyez on me’ had a big impact on me. Back then, rap defined who you were and the struggles you came up against to be a better person. It was real and although we had no gangsters in my neighbourhood, I related to this raps.
“I was caught in between oratory and poetry. At that time it seemed it was the best I could do and 11 years down the line, my gusto for music and soul caught me in the gut.”
Driven by passion, TRAIN decided to pursue his love for rap in 2014. “If you have got something on the inside of you, you have to serve it up or it will end up eating you up,” he said.
“I figured norms, convention and perception won’t stop me from achieving all I can in my lifetime…and so ‘Unstoppable’ happened – my debut rap featuring P.K,” said TRAIN who is also a writer and co-producer.
“Rap caresses your inner ear while songs move your body and soul, so I dip my rap in the juice of sweet music.”