It Would Have Been Chaos – Falz Reveals Why He Stopped Practising Law

Nigerian rapper, actor and trained lawyer Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has explained why he stopped working as a lawyer, saying the demands of his music career made it difficult to continue appearing in court and representing clients.

Naija News reports that Falz shared the reason during a recent episode of the Behind The Story podcast, where he spoke about the challenge of combining legal work with his growing success in the entertainment industry.

The 35-year-old studied law at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom before attending the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, where he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2012.

Around the same period, his music career began to gain attention after the release of his debut single, Wahz Up Guy, in 2011.

According to him, he was actively practising law at the time, handling litigation and appearing in court while also working with his father, renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana.

However, as his music career expanded, it became harder to keep up with both professions.

Falz said one experience in court made him realise that his growing fame could affect his work as a lawyer.

During one of his court appearances, the judge recognised him because of his growing popularity in the entertainment industry.

Although the judge allowed the case to continue without any issue, the incident made him think about the future.

He said he later concluded that remaining in active legal practice could become difficult as more people recognised him as a musician.

He believed his presence in court could easily draw attention away from legal proceedings and create unnecessary distractions.

Falz also said some clients might question whether he would have enough time to focus on their cases because of his busy schedule in the entertainment industry.

With his face becoming widely known across the country, he felt balancing both careers would become even more challenging.

He said: “It is balanceable. But for me, I was an active performer and the music was taking up so much. I thought it would be incredibly difficult. I was doing litigation. I was going to court. I was working with my dad at the time. I would represent clients.

“Imagine I am now starting to get more acclaim and I pull up in court, it would be chaos. It would distract everything. A client could say they do not want me, thinking I would be busy with other things. It would have been tough for me. My face is very much out there.”