Did you know that there are approximately 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide? Can you imagine all the different ways in which we all use the internet? Obasanjo’s Internet is our interview series where we speak to some of our internet favorites on how they relate to the internet and what it means to them and their work. This week, we are joined by Fresh L, artist and Co Founder of the Group DRB as he talks to use about how he uses Obasanjo’s internet.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
The first thing I do when I wake up is check my WhatsApp.
How do you use the internet for work or pleasure?
Both actually, I would say work 70%, pleasure 30%. But then my work is pleasing so there’s that.
What moment or episode in your life would you say captured the essence of the internet?
Connecting with fans and listeners through Tumblr and Facebook. I would say those are like the early memories of me actually realizing the power of the internet. Even emailing, I used to email like 100 people all our songs weekly, so going from using Tumblr, Facebook, and emails to reach out to people, to understanding how Twitter works. Basically, promotion and marketing made me realize how important the internet is.
Your favourite social media platform and why?
It’s definitely Instagram because the videos, reels, and pictures and the fact that you can just go live are really dope. I love the fact that you can also add music and save music via stories, it’s a lot for sure. You can even go on someone’s profile and see the photos they are tagged in. I love Instagram, it’s easy to have links there as you can just attach them to your stories.
What was the last meme you saved?
I don’t really be saving memes, I’m not like a meme guy to be honest.
Do you remember the first time something you posted went viral? What was it? How did it make you feel?
The first thing that went viral that I posted, that’s a hard question because I had tweets from back then that just went viral randomly, stuff I didn’t even mean to go viral. There’s stuff I said that someone just found funny and then it shot like 2000 rts and people start putting tears everywhere. I remember just being very confused about getting that much interaction over something I generally didn’t think was that funny. I think the earliest was when I said that thing about Boj and Wizkid that obviously went viral in like 2013. I said Boj was my favorite artist and he had the most potential and that Wiz is number 2. I can’t remember the exact tweet now, but that obviously went super viral because Wiz responded to it and I was just really confused because I didn’t expect that to happen.
What’s the most outrage you have ever generated over something you posted? How did you react to it?
Ah, that’s a good question. Hmm, I’ve had a lot of moments, I just can’t remember all of them right now. I’ve said a lot of crazy things. I can’t even lie, I don’t even want to speak on some. I’ve said a lot of crazy things mostly stemming from my ignorance and just being wild and young and tweeting every single thing that came to my mind. Back then a lot of words that are quite offensive now weren’t like 12 – 13 years ago. I feel bad about most of them because sometimes it was disrespectful to certain people that fell under that category.
What rules do you live by on the internet?
Don’t diss anyone’s parents or child, and don’t post personal conversations with people. A lot of people upload screenshots or personal photos or videos with people on the internet. That type of shit is weird to me, I would never do that. I post in real-time when I go out, but I don’t put my location on. Also, anyone can get blocked.
What is your guiltiest online pleasure?
Ooh, I think searching topics about certain people, including myself. I just search for people’s names, or a song and read what people have to say about them. I actually quite enjoy it.
Would you say you have an online persona?
People would say so. I mean, am I the same online and in person? I think that’s definitely a no cause obviously when you type it’s different from in person where you can gauge tone, body language, and all that. I could be typing something online and smiling in person but people think that I’m angry as I’m typing online, then they’ll say that I’m mean when I’m just trying to catch cruise online. Definitely different personalities I would say, but I feel like people say I’m really funny online which is so unintentional but I get that a lot. In general, I’m pretty calm and my thoughts are not as scattered as people think because I tweet a lot or post a lot.
Are you particular about your feed?
Absolutely, that’s why I don’t follow everybody. There are some people I chat with from time to time but I don’t follow their pages because they post a lot of random things that I just don’t want to see. I’m very particular about my feed. I like looking at fresh things, things that I can learn from, and good content in general. I like my feed being super clean. I tend to unfollow people from time to time because I really want to consume content from a lot of the people I’ve decided to follow, on Instagram especially. On Twitter, I don’t really care about my feed because it’s easy to see random tweets pop up every time, and people retweet all sorts of shit. I can’t control that.
YouTube or TikTok? Which do you prefer and why?
Please YouTube o. I was late to TikTok. I’m on TikTok and I have a few videos, but they are just reels from Instagram. I haven’t created an original TikTok video before. I opened a TikTok account because people always send me a lot of TikTok videos and I thought I might as well get this app, so now people just dm me on TikTok and I just watch stuff and laugh, but I’m not really on there like that. I also feel like I don’t feed into the whole TikTok thing with music because I don’t really make music that requires a dance step or a challenge or something random but I like seeing the growth, I like seeing what it’s doing to the industry and how people are using it to promote their growth. One of my best friends, she’s not even a social media person but she loves TikTok so much and the first TikTok content that I was featured in actually, I did it with her. You know the one where you are just staring at each other to that Snoop Dogg instrumental, so we did that when we were at SLOW the other day, so it’s cool. But I’m a YouTube-head man, I love watching interviews, podcasts, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes stuff. I’m always on YouTube. I feel like I use YouTube more than Instagram, it’s my most used platform, I even have the app and everything on my phone for when I’m not on my laptop. I love YouTube so much, like yeah, YouTube. In another life, I would have been a YouTuber. I’d have a YouTube channel where I put everything on it, but then I just can’t be bothered with uploading, even with my music. I hate the idea of promoting videos and stuff, it’s really long.
Which Nigerian creator do you think the world needs to see and hear more of?
I think Tay Iwar. Also, a guy called Tobenna, he’s in London right now and he’s really dope. UAX, he’s a director and an artist, I’ve done two songs with him, he’s really dope and his videos are fire.
Who is the coolest person you follow and the coolest person who follows you?
The coolest person I follow might be Deto Black. She’s really cool, I’ve known her since I was like 12, and she’s been cool the whole time. The coolest person who follows me would be, hmmm that’s a fucking good question. I don’t know, I’d say Tems cause I think she’s cool.
What is your favorite Nigerian podcast?
My favorite Nigerian podcast is I Said What I Said, absolutely. I want to be on that podcast really soon.
Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online?
Absolutely. A very big RnB star in America, I can’t tell you her name obviously but she’s super big and she’s signed to one of the biggest people alive. Shit, is that kissing and telling?
5 people you’d love to see answer these questions
Boj, Tolani Baj, Taymesan, Tayo and Asa Asika.
