An Interview with Afro-Fusion Artist, 23 Dojo: What inspired his latest single - “Steel and Coppa”
We sat down with South London born Nigerian made afro-pop artist 23 Dojo to dive deep into the story behind his new single ‘Steel and Coppa’, learning all about the inspiration behind the song, the name and visuals for this release.
So, talk to me about your new song Steel and Coppa!
23 Dojo: They’re two of the hardest things in the world. The world runs on steel and copper.
That's really intriguing! Could you elaborate on what inspired the song name?
23 Dojo: I wanted to make a hard track because at the time, life was real sweet living in Dubai, but I always remembered where I came from and that’s what birthed this song.
“Real and proper, tougher than steel and copper” is a quote from a Burna Boy interview (Sway’s Universe interview - 2019) which has always kinda resonated with me because of what he represents as a dynamic Nigerian artist.
We noticed that quote is used in the hook, how and why did you build the song around that?
23 Dojo: The reference to Steel and Copper being two of the most solid elements describe how important weapons are where we’re from. You need tools, you need things to work with. That’s what Steel and Coppa is about. It’s about work, it’s about drive. Whatever you can use to get it done. For someone else it could be a pretty face, it could be a beautiful creative mind, but it’s about getting what you need and getting what’s yours. Doing what you believe in.
That’s why everyone in the video is working. You’ve got skaters, bikers, painters, mechanics… everyone’s on their zoom!
So Steel and Coppa is a song for the go getters?
23 Dojo: 100%. The shift is about to start. Get that bag, get that growth.
I can see that you’re wearing blue overalls in the music video, what was the significance of that wardrobe choice? Break that down for me….
23 Dojo: I took inspiration from my real life and that was just the uniform at my local garage. I’ve always just thought it’d be sick to do a video there. The garages in the video, there’s two of them side by side on my road. One is run by like proper Yoruba uncles, and the other‘s run by yard man. As much as they clash though, there’s a lot of love and respect for one another and has been for years. That’s the kind of artist I am, I try to appeal to different cultures. When I see similar conflict arise between African and Caribbean people, I’d like my music to be a reminder of the love and respect between us.
So what’s next for 23 Dojo? What else have we got to look forward to?
Just JUNGLETOWN. That’s where we’re going.
JUNGLETOWN is the upcoming debut mixtape from 23 Dojo, set to release this summer. Be sure to follow him on socials to stay up to date @23Dojo.
