Meet Lyrontray.

Lyrontray

Tell us a little about yourself.
My real name is Akinbiyi Fafunwa. I am a graduate of Business Management. I love to work, play, tease, relax and boy, I love to sing! For my musical craft, I go by the name Lyrontray and it is an original creation of mine. It is a hybrid of two words; lyrical and entrée (pronounced ontray) which means a main dish. I chose the name because I love complete music. When a melodious voice and beautiful beats merge with meaningful lyrics, you touch people’s hearts and create the kind of music which ultimately makes you and your brand unforgettable. So yeah, Lyrontray is that lyrical dish everyone has been waiting for (smiles).

How did music all start for you?
My love for music started from my childhood days. I listened to a lot of great singers like Onyeka Onwenu, Sir Shina Peters, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton and many other contemporary singers. The love grew in me, while I continued to pretend that I only enjoyed being a listener and not a maker of music. When I enrolled in college, I met a lot of entertainers and realized that every opportunity I had to be in their midst brought me immeasurable joy. Long story short, I started writing songs, performing at small venues and most importantly regardless of other activities I involved in, I made up my mind to do what I knew I always wanted to do.

What's your style of music?
I call my style of music RnBeyond. Versatility is champion and my love for music cuts across many genres. I am rooted in RnB music though, so as the pioneer of the RnBeyond genre, it is my dream to seamlessly merge RnB with other genres and make delightful music for all true music fans out there.

What inspires your kind of music?
Everything! Someone once said and I agree that music is life and that’s why our hearts have beats. Chatting with you can inspire me to write a song, gratitude for waking up to see another day can cause such inspiration too. So can pain, money, women, politics, sex, love and everything else that has a name. If it exists, I can write a song about it!

How many singles have you so far?
Officially, I have released 3 singles titled Fine Girl, Love Express and recently No Love ft. a great friend of mine, Da Emperor. All these singles were released in 2014 and the love is more real than ever. I highly appreciate everyone who is supporting this dream. The only way to go is up so we pushing.

Any albums?
Plans are underway to release my first studio album. If all goes as planned, it should be ready before the end of this year, 2015 and it will be massive, it will be tasty and will have a lot of diversity. There are many people who can’t even wait for it.

What are the challenges you have been facing in the industry so far?
Well, I don’t think I need to spell out the fact that distribution and promotion of one’s songs can be quite a challenge in the music industry. I am grateful for that though, because it stimulates you to learn and be creative not only in the making of your music, but in creating awareness for it too. Limitations can be financial or simply getting across to the movers and shakers of the industry. For me, I have mapped out a strategy on how to propagate brand Lyrontray and I hope it all works out. Just keep me in your prayers. And no, I won’t reveal my strategy (laughs out loud).

What are you presently working on?
I am currently still promoting my latest single ft. Da Emperor, No Love. We received a lot of support and hype, locally and internationally and people are still talking and tweeting about it. All the evidence is on my Facebook page. Bloggers also showed up massively for the song. If you haven’t heard it, you can google and download it. It’s a must listen. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the handle- @lyrontray, to know more about my plans for the year.

What Nigerian A list musician, do you look forward to working with?
There are a lot of talented singers in our industry and I know that I will work with a number of them through the lifespan of my career. I think Asa, Tubaba, Omawumi and a few others are on top of their game when it comes to creating meaningful and entertaining content. I doff my hat to them.

What are your personal expectations from doing music?
Music is a means of expression and that’s all I ask it to do for me. I would like to use it as a medium to reach out to many people, share my stories and life experiences and hopefully make someone’s day whenever they scroll through their playlist and play any of my songs. We need to keep it real for ourselves. It’s funny how some people think that everyone just wants to dance, scream and party when in the real world, there is also love, hate, pain, joy, break-ups, make-ups, life, death and the like. Someone has gotta sing about the things that go on in the real world. So yes, I just wanna express myself, be real and touch people; make good music and if some change comes from it, well, that too won’t be a bad idea (winks).

Are you signed under any record label?
At the moment, I am an independent artiste working hard towards the release of my first studio album. I tell you, you ain’t ready for it. And yeah, let’s see what the future holds with regards signing a favourable recording contract.

What are your aspirations in life?
Arrrgggghhhh, this is where I don’t like to be politically correct. My aspiration in life is to live my own life and to deal seriously with anyone who is determined to stop that from happening. On a serious note, we all have a calling and purpose here on earth. I know I have found mine. I just want to do the things I should be doing, be grateful every day for the gift of life and script a story that inspires many generations. So help me God!

Posted via Blogaway