With a stunning reel of videography featuring heart-pounding moments captured from concerts by the likes of Wizkid, Rema and Davido, to name a few, US-based Nigerian cinematographer Aaron Lawson has just begun his mission to document the Afrobeats concerts in the diaspora…
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“I just never liked the school system” Lawson, 20, stressed as we began our conversation on a Monday afternoon in October.
The young creative was born in Lagos, Nigeria and spent part of his childhood in the country before moving to the United States of America (USA) when he was eleven years old.
Source: UGC
Lawson remembers attending boarding school and basically enjoying a normal childhood.
“I will say that my childhood was great, you know? He played soccer outside every day in the backyard. School was fun even though I wasn’t really a school person. I went to a boarding school. I did that for JSS1 and 2, but yeah, I never really liked the school system…”
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How it all started
Although it’s a little hard to believe his love for the camera wasn’t self-motivated, Lawson admitted that his older brother had a part to play in fanning the flames of his interest.
“My brother is a full-time cinematographer. He was focusing on weddings at the time and one day he asked me if he wanted to learn how to edit and I said ‘no problem bro’. So I started learning how to edit and I started editing for him. Since editing, I wanted to learn to shoot like him.”
At that time, he would join his brother to attend wedding ceremonies and film precious moments of those exchanging vows and family members who had come to celebrate with them.
“I wanted to be on set, I wanted to go to weddings with him. I did a couple of weddings with him and I was really into weddings at the time. That was my first year doing this. We did a lot of weddings in Nigeria in those days, so I will say that we pretty much grew the business together,” he recalls.
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However, she would eventually realize that filming weddings was not really her area of interest. This realization led Lawson to pitch his tent in the confines of the concert scenes. Call it luck or chance, but Lawson’s first gig was with acclaimed Afrobeats singer Davido.
“Later I realized that weddings were not my thing because I really did not even like that space. The more I started photographing more things, the more I began to find my space and what I like to photograph. That’s when I discovered that I enjoy photographing concerts and have really been in a hurry ever since. The first one was Davido’s concert but my first paid concert was Rema’s. That’s when I said, yes, quietly, I can do this and make money from it.”
A visit to the Dallas-based cinematographer’s Instagram page greets visitors with a plethora of engaging and well-recorded concert videos from Nigerian artists in the diaspora.
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For Lawson, in addition to pulling out his camera and filming concerts, the experience of his viewers and how they interact with his videos drives an important part of his editing process.
“I want it to be at a point where there are a lot of emotions and then it goes down, then it goes down slowly, and then it comes back up again. I see all my edits as a roller coaster in the sense that it takes the viewer through a journey of what happened at the event or concert.”
Lawson continues:
“Another thing I really like is my music. The reason these artists can fill venues in cities and states they’re not from is because they create a good sound. So how I’m using good sound to create a good edit is what I really focus on. I also work on my pre-production. Listening deeply to the music of the artists and finding songs that no one knows or beats that the musician has made, and just working with those sound effects.”
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In the midst of it all, the cinematographer does not deny God’s hands to direct his decisions every time he takes a camera to film.
“I always feel God’s blessing on me because I’m really just a full-time cinematographer. It’s crazy to see all the hard work I’ve put into this. This is all I do and it’s been just God. Whenever I’m about to go into mode, I’m always very focused. Everyone around me mentions how they see me smile without a camera, but they have no idea what’s going on in my head when I’m with one.
“Whenever I’m in the zone, I’m just thinking of ideas and shots. ‘If I shoot something this way, how do I transition into another way?’ How can we make a shot that makes editing easier?’ Those are really the thoughts going through my head, like, how can I use the song that this artist sang at this moment that was very emotional to tell the story of the concert?
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Positive result for afrobeats
Taking a trip down memory lane and reminiscing about his arrival in America, Lawson recounts how Africans were viewed as second-class citizens and called “African booty scratchers.”
However, he agrees that the growing impact of Afrobeats has changed the narrative about how people on the African continent are perceived.
“I went to school in Nigeria and I did a little bit of school in America as well, from grade 8 to grade 12. When I went to school in America, Africans were seen as…literally, they used to call us the ” African butt scratcher”. It was bad. If you are from Africa and you just arrived, they asked more. outrageous questions like ‘do you have cheetahs in your house?’ These were real questions that Americans asked. So now, seeing how things are… For example, we have Burna boy, whose Last Last is doing very well. We have Peru by Fireboy just as well… all of this is making Americans see Africans as normal people.”
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With the perception of Africans positively altered, the 20-year-old creative maintains that he has a duty to properly document and tell the stories of Afrobeats singers who are similarly on the path to global domination.
“My job with the camera is to make sure that we also have an amazing time with the concerts. We go crazy. When Rema is performing on stage, she lowers her energy. When Flavor takes the stage moaning her waist…that’s the energy you know. I will say that Afrobeat is growing at a rapid pace. She was driving in Houston a few weeks ago and was listening to Rema’s song… that’s so crazy.
“Now we also have Wizkid’s music on the radio. So with the way Afrobeat is growing, concerts are getting more and more. So it’s very important to me to tell the stories of these artists who just come here for the first time. Like Bella Shmurda, their first show in Dallas, those are monumental moments in the lives of these artists. There’s a Kanye documentary on Netflix and it basically follows his life’s journey to where he is now.
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“I think every Afrobeats artist who is doing really well deserves something similar. Just having a memory of that is very important. So I always make sure I do my best to tell the story of what happened that day. Afrobeats is here, and it’s here to stay.”
Staying in touch with the roots
Although living in the diaspora, Lawson keeps up with the creative scene in Nigeria and particularly enjoys the work of cutting-edge cinematographer TG Omori, among others.
“I am a big fan of TG Omori. Thanks to Poco Lee we had the opportunity to talk and work. Every time he was in Atlanta, we would get together and talk. Mehn, that man’s brain is something else. It’s like his ideas are too crazy. Personally, I don’t see myself making music videos because that’s not how I like to tell a story. I have made a couple in my life, but they are not my forte.
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“I like the concert scene. But I will say that I am very inspired by TG. His transitional styles and all that. There is another guy who lives in Atlanta but travels a lot. This is like my personal guy, his name is Nelson. This guy is just too cold and he’s one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to concerts and things like that.”
Aaron Lawson’s impressive portfolio
With just six years of experience, Lawson already has an impressive portfolio that includes work with the likes of Davido, Wizkid, Rema, Bella Shmurda and Fireboy DML, among other Afrobeat stars.
He, however, admits that it was no easy feat, especially since these artists only seek to attract the best of the best when they are in the diaspora.
“The most challenging part for me was at the beginning. When you start out, you don’t have a portfolio and even if you do, you don’t have a really good portfolio that speaks to these artists. They come from people like TG Omori, they’ve seen his videos, they’ve seen great content, and they want to uphold that standard whether they’re in Nigeria or outside of the country. Even when they come here, they expect better content.
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“So in the early stages, when you don’t have that better content yet, it’s very hard to find connections and find people to take you to rooms or just get someone to believe in your ability. Fortunately for me, a lot of people believed, I saw what that I can do and it gave me a chance. For that, I’ll be forever grateful and it really helped me move on because two years ago, I was like ‘what if I was just filming concerts?’, and two years ago I would be so proud of myself now myself and all that I have achieved.
The cinematographer, who has a close relationship with indigenous musician Flavour, singles out touring with him as one of his favorite experiences on the job thus far.
“Mehn, that guy is super talented and makes my job so easy. His performance skills are insane. We had a chance to really grow a relationship and I got a lot of advice from him on how to move forward. There were times when he he would invite me over to his house and we would just be arguing. I learn a lot and I love learning from people who have experienced things. So I will say that Flavor was really great at replying to me, texting and checking in on me. That has been a great experience.” .
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Burna Boy’s mom steals the show at his concert in SA
In the meantime, legit.ng reported that it was a pleasure to see singer Burna Boy’s mother, Bose Ogulu, at his concert in South Africa.
The mom seemed to be having the time of her life as she showed off some energetic moves during her son’s performance.
Netizens couldn’t help but rave about Burna’s mother.
Source: Legit.ng
