Born Bennett Obeya, PDSTRN’s upbringing was not the usual. He was raised between Toronto and Lagos and grew up under the influence of multiple cultures. The foreign rap influence exceeded the local, as he often cites the likes of Drake, Kid Cudi, and J. Cole as his biggest influences. His first foray into writing raps dates back to his high school days when he was part of a group called Higley Town Heroes. But it took many years after that for him to develop his craft into the more refined form you can bear today.
The first evidence of that was on WeTalkSound’s “LOFN 4” mixtape, where he contributed the song “Toxic” to critical acclaim. For his first release since triumph, he put out a two-pack single titled “The Prologue” on the 26th of August. It includes “Prelude” and “No Home Training.”
Tonight, PDSTRN will be speaking to us on his background, artistry and his two-pack single “The Prologue”.
Welcome to #MaxChat!
Q: Welcome to MaxChat, PDSTRN. How are you feeling tonight?
PDSTRN: I’m alright, I’m blessed.
Q: We’re excited to have you join us! First off, since you won the 8th Hennessy Artistry VS Class Competition you’ve been creating a lot of buzz on the Nigerian Hip Hop scene. How has the experience been for you this far? Also, what has changed for you?
PDSTRN: It’s been great, it’s been amazing, and it’s a blessing. Nothing’s really changed for me, maybe just that I’ve been going out more hehe.
Q: Haha. We love to see you outside! Now a lot of people believe you’re the voice of the future of Rap music in Nigeria since you won the VS Class, & also with the quality of content you’ve been delivering. What do you have to say about this? Do you feel pressured by this responsibility?
PDSTRN: voice? I don’t know about that haha. I’m just doing me at the end of the day and using rap as the tool for that self expression. I don’t see myself as “the voice” so there’s no pressure to carry that “responsibility”.
Q: Definitely no pressure at all! Let’s talk a bit about your background. You were raised between Toronto & Lagos, growing up under the influence of multiple cultures. Now where was the first place you really connected with rap music, and what inspired you to start writing your own?
PDSTRN: 8th Grade, High School. I found Kid Cudi, it was new to me and strange but I wanted to listen to more and that opened the gates into what would become my journey down Hip Hop/Rap. I listened to everything from Nas to Goldlink, Tyler The Creator, Drake and the likes. Then the time I realized I wanted to do this was in 2016 when I stumbled on Jay Z X Eminem’s Renegade, something in the back of my mind just said “Yo, you can do this” and 10 minutes later I wrote my first 16.
Q: Interesting. Now you’re a part of the rap music scene and you recently released a two-pack single titled “The Prologue” consisting of “Prelude” and “No Home Training”. What was the creative idea behind piecing those two songs together?
PDSTRN: I like to see my life as a book and my experiences through it as the stories I tell. With whatever creative outlet I choose (whether music, visuals or fashion), I’m fundamentally a story teller. So with THE PROLOGUE its self explanatory, in the sense that when you open a book, the first page is “the prologue” so in relation to my project it’s the introduction into the stories of my life; with this story being my interaction(s) with women.
Q: The Prologue has also shown us your versatility as an artiste, your ability to flow perfectly in diverse sounds. Do you have a particular process for writing music or do you write when inspiration strikes?
PDSTRN: No, I don’t have a particular process. Most times when I’m creating, the ideas are fresh from the beginning of that session.
Q: That’s interesting. So what do you think of the Nigerian rap landscape. How do you view the current climate of Nigerian Hip-Hop today, are you content with it?
PDSTRN: The landscape is so fire right now! Like you got everyone doing their thing you know, us the new guys are killing it in our own ways and areas plus the OGs are back now dropping music so there’s no better time than right now to be a Nigerian rapper.
Q: Tell us three things a lot of people don’t know about you?
PDSTRN: I love Fuji Music, I love Ofada rice and I love strippers.
Q: What top 5 tracks have been on your playlist so far this year?
PDSTRN: Realize – Balloranking ft Seyi Vibez, Cloak & Dagger – Burna Boy, MAFIA – Travis Scott, Soso – Omah Lay and No Home Training – PDSTRN.
Q: Moving forward. With the release of “The Prologue”, what plans do you have in store for your fans? A project? video? Hidden collaboration? What are you working on?
PDSTRN: Follow the journey and pay attention to every detail from THE PROLOGUE. You might get a clue of what’s coming next.
Q: Thank you so much for joining us tonight on #MaxChat, PDSTRN. We appreciate you for finding time to connect with us. We wish you the best in your future musical endeavors as we keep streaming “The Prologue” on all DSPs. Have a lovely night…
PDSTRN: Thank you so much for having me.
