The Nigerian art industry has seen a recent rise in talented artists, producers, photographers as well as art directors burst into the limelight. Fall of Michael who is currently an Art director with Abuja’s illustrious Apex Village has slowly risen to become a name associated with this overwhelming wave of new creatives. Michael, Michael as he is infamously known on twitter wasn’t always the illustrious art director churning stupendous designs, it is a craft he worked on tediously and studiously to reach the lofty heights he has deservedly attained. As with every great story with humble beginnings, Michael worked dutifully on his craft for many years before achieving his current status.
Growing up in the northern region of Nigeria, Michael always honed an innate passion for music and its elements. Unsurprisingly, people who know Michael personally saw him delve into the world of photography initially, then music production in his earlier days before the eventual cross over to his current field. A seismic transition from photographer-to-music producer-to-graphic designer to the being in the fray of forefront art directors in the music industry is truly a remarkable story.
49th street: Hey Michael how are you doing?
Michael x2: I’m doing great. I’m in a better headspace than I was a couple weeks ago at the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests. That constant influx of videos of police brutality and racism on social media took a toll on me. But seeing black people demand and in some rare instances get justice helped, it was quite liberating.
49th street: Tell us a bit about yourself. Who is Fall of Michael?
Michael x2: Fall of Michael is a 23-year-old, Art Director. Real name Michael Nelson Umoru, from Edo State. I started with Photography then transitioned into Music Production and now Art Direction. It took a little while, but I think I was always going to end up a creative. My brothers put me onto music at a very young age and I was in all the art clubs. However, high school and the early years of university threw me off that path. Even through those years though, I always felt that creative itch. But as usual the fear of failure always held me back. After a while, the itch overcame my fears, which ultimately brought me right back to this path. Now I’m actually planning on going back to university to perfect my skills.
49th street: Growing up did your childhood environment have any impact on you as an artist?
Michael x2: To be honest with you, not as much as it should. This is because growing up I didn’t appreciate my environment as much as I do now.
I was born and raised in the northern part of Nigeria, Maiduguri, Borno state to be precise. It wasn’t the fanciest place to grow up in comparison to cities like Abuja or Lagos. It still isn’t, because of the developmental stagnation it has faced over the years due to the Boko Haram menace, which was actually why my family moved to Abuja. So basically, as a kid I was always dreaming about life in the cities I saw in movies or on the internet.
I think this made it hard for me to let my environment impact or influence my work as an artist. I didn’t give it a chance to.
Regardless of all that though, I love that city to death, wouldn’t haven’t picked anywhere else to grow up. I learnt a lot about living in a community and interacting with people from different social classes.
49th street: If you could describe your art with only two words, how would you describe it?
Michael x2: Organized Chaos, lol.
49th street: Becoming an art director, was that ever in your plans as an individual or it is a passion you stumbled upon?
Michael x2: Just like my other passions, I stumbled upon it. Around my third year in university, I decided to explore my creative side. This took me on a creative journey. It started with photography, then music production, and finally art direction as I earlier stated. Basically, over one of the summer breaks, I downloaded a whole bunch of design apps on my iPhone and started playing around with them. Next thing you know I’m designing cover arts for my friends. And just like Thanos I added another stone to my gauntlet haha…
49th street: When did you realize that you needed to take your art creation more seriously?
Michael x2: When I bagged my first major commission. It finally dawned on me that I could really be making serious money doing what I loved. This is a very rare gift. Especially in a world where people are constantly searching for their purpose in life or are stuck at jobs they hate. The latter was a real fear for me and I guess would the answer to why I took it more seriously.
49th street: The job of bringing an artiste’s work to life can be quite tedious, is it something you personally relish?
Michael x2: Only time it feels tedious is when I am working with a difficult client. Other than that, it’s quite amazing to see it all come to life. It almost doesn’t feel like work. Its funny I say that, considering the amount of research and time that goes into almost every art I design.
49th street: How has COVID-19 affected you as an art director? On the business end and the creative end?
Michael x2: When it first hit, business spiked and so did my creativity. Most of my clients wanted to capitalize on the fact that everyone was indoors on their devices, which meant higher interactions on whatever content they put up on social media. The rest wanted us to use the period to strategize and plan their next releases once the pandemic was over.
But when the Black Lives Matter protests started everything went out the window, as those plans seemed trivial compared to what was going on in the world. This was also when I started having issues on the creative side. Its impossible to shut all of that out and be creative. It took weeks before I was inspired and was able to design a piece to support the cause.
49th street: Thank you for taking some time out to talk to us. We appreciate it.
Michael x2: It’s my pleasure, thank you for having me.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS –
CREATIVE DIRECTION: FALLOFMICHAEL, PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAMIN ALA
