Nigerian rapper and singer Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has explained his decision to stop actively handling court cases, saying the demands of his music career made it challenging to continue balancing both professions.
The 35-year-old entertainer studied law at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom before completing his legal training at the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, where he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2012.
Falz began making waves in the Nigerian music industry in 2011 after releasing his debut single, ‘Wahz Up Guy’, and later built a career as a rapper, actor and entertainer.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Behind The Story podcast, Falz said although combining law and music was possible, maintaining an active legal career became increasingly difficult as his music profile grew.
The rapper also shared how an encounter with a judge helped him realise that his rising fame could affect his ability to practise law effectively.
Falz recalled that during a court appearance, a judge appeared to recognise him because of his activities outside the legal profession.
“There was a day in court, I announced my appearance. And the judge said: ‘Are you not the one doing something on the side?’” Falz quoted the judge as saying.
He explained that while some lawyers already knew him as the son of renowned lawyer Femi Falana, others were unaware of his identity at the time.
“He said it codedly. At this time, people had started to know me as Femi Falana’s son. Some lawyers in court knew who I was, but others did not.”
Falz said he acknowledged the judge’s remark before proceeding with the court matter.
“Imagine I am now starting to get more acclaim and I pull up in court, it would be chaos. It would distract everything. A client could say they do not want me, thinking I would be busy with other things. It would have been tough for me. My face is very much out there,” he added.