LAGOS, GOD & FRIENDSHIP: AN INTERVIEW W/ MARYYx2
Maryyx2 and I sit down on a Thursday afternoon in front of our laptops, connecting us across two continents and nearly 5000 miles. Alter ego Maryyx2 is homed within Chukwuka Nwobi who is a warm and chatty person so it doesn’t take long before we develop the conversation from how’s-the-weather’s to heartfelt laughter. We’re here to talk about their track (which I haven’t gone a whole week without listening to) I DON’T KNOW!! released this summer. However about five minutes into our chat, we get interrupted by one of their colleagues. Chukwuka quickly apologises and explains that they are currently at work and that they have a class in an hour. It is clear to me that Chukwuka is an ambitious person. I knew it when I listened through their discography which is characterised by poppy synths, high pitched vocals, Jersey Club inspired kicks and a feast of feelings. But it wasn’t until we sat down for the interview that they explained that along with music and work, they are also studying a Master’s degree in game design in Orlando, Florida. Chukwuka moved to the US from Lagos, Nigeria just four months ago. We instantly fall into the conversation of African parents and religious household tendencies to worship, guidance and morality.
Chukwuka didn’t grow up in a particularly musical home; they didn’t have parents who made music or listened to it for enjoyment. “Till today my parents don’t know that I do music. It’s unfortunate but I kind of like it because it saves me from their judgment of ‘oh this is not what you should be doing’”. They go on to explain that music can have a bad connotation when it comes to a Christian home. “It’s like, if you’re making music that’s not gospel then you’re making music for the devil and that’s the way that my parents see the music today.”
Growing up, Chukwuka’s neighbours used to run a jazz club down the road. “Every Friday night they would come together and have jam sessions, they had a live band and they would play crazy rhythms. I remember my neighbour, who was the owner of the club, he could play the saxophone really well and he would rip the saxophone and I would be over at my spot in my house and I’d be hearing it wondering like what is that?! That is crazy!” Chukwuka was constantly reminded by their parents that they shouldn’t be listening to music but rather focus on their schoolwork. “I don’t want to say they were stiff but they were like: go to work, come back, you know ‘have you done your assignments? Have you done your homework?’” However it had the opposite effect on the young musician — “that forbidden music appreciation kind of formed me into diving into even more music. […] I always felt like a really reclusive child so I always dived into things that interested me. When I was growing up it was more or less music that had a cinematic story reference to it.” Chukwuka references several musicians as their inspiration; Blood Orange, Aphex Twin and Kendrick Lamar to name a few but reiterates that it is the story which captures them. “There is the power of narrative which is very powerful when it is merged into sound.”
The importance of story isn’t something that goes unnoticed when we discuss the inspiration for making music as alter ego Maryyx2. Somewhere after singing in a choir and rapping with friends as a teenager under the name “Young Prince” and before releasing the track I DON’T KNOW!!, Maryyx2 was born. In 2022 while releasing their debut album “Silent Noise” Chukwuka started thinking about creating an alter ego for their music. “I decided to turn myself into a girl because the music doesn’t make sense so the embodiment of the music shouldn’t make any sense either.”
The inspiration for the name of alter ego Maryyx2 however had my jaw on the floor. “I have a crazy story about the symbolism of Mary because I am Catholic.” Chukwuka goes onto explain that as a freshman in college, they got caught on school property smoking a joint. Not just that, they actually get arrested and subsequently thrown into prison for two months. The non-discriminatory fashion of the prison had the young musician locked in with serious violent offenders like kidnappers and murderers.
“During that process when I was in prison I got into a spiritual and reflective phase. So when I got out of prison I went to church and prayed to the statute of Mary and I told her ‘if you help me out and show me direction in life I would be grateful to you’. And so I saw that (making the album) like a manifestation of direction from God and that’s when I kind of leaned into that name, Mary; sort of like an appreciation.”
The inspiration for the track I DON’T KNOW!! came about one day in Lagos Island Market when Chukwuka goes up to a man to ask for directions. “He was deaf but I didn’t know he was deaf so he just kept on responding ‘I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know’.” Chukwuka explains when they realised that the encounter between two equally confused people reflected their own life at the time. “There were a lot of things that were going on that I just didn’t know how to handle. I was going through relationship problems, financial problems, emotional issues and I didn’t know how to resolve all of that, how to compartmentalise all of that, so I was just like ‘I’m just going to record music.’” When Chukwuka’s friend then presents a beat, it is clear what the result should sound like. “I just sort of mixed the beat with, like, some indie guitar riffs and some crazy ass drums and I just let my heart out on the mic.” They continue “The song’s just literally me telling life that I don’t know how to fucking do this shit, you know what I mean?” Essentially, the lyrics of the track act as a magnifying glass which shows the life of a completely normal but lost, chaotic and ambitious 20-something year old.
The music video for I DON’T KNOW!! features two of Chukwuka’s best friends and was partially filmed in the same Lagos market from where the inspiration of the track came from. Chukwuka explains that the track’s backbone is friendship, which is why the music video depicts two young people who are likely as lost as the lyrics suggest, doing nothing but being with each other. Friendship is at the very core of I DON’T KNOW!! which attempts to highlight the normalcy of inner chaos and the importance of a support system. And, if you haven’t already guessed it, Chukwuka also directed the music video.
When I found Maryyx2’s music, I instantly felt invested in whatever was coming next. The first few seconds after the beat kicks in in I DON’T KNOW!! feels like getting invited to a good friend’s dinner party — you already know that you’re going to have a good time. Being able to estimate what the next minute and a half will bring feels like an impossible task, but you’re honestly fine with not knowing because for every second that passes you find yourself deeper into a journey to somewhere special.
Listen to Maryyx2 and I DON’T KNOW here and watch the music video below.
