Naira Marley cover of The Face Vol. 4 Issue 002

“Controversial artiste” Naira Marley, shot by another British newcomer Bolade Banjo, is the bad boy of Nigerian music – a controversial hit machine who's built an empire of loyal fans and topped the African charts. The youth love him and the press is obsessed with him. So why does the government want him behind bars? We find out in the cover profile by Music Editor Davy Reed.

Words: Davy Reed

Photography: Bolade Banjo

Styling: Marika-Ella Ames

Best quotes:

“I don’t like authority, I don’t like people controlling me. If I was meant to be controlled, I would have come with a remote.”

“I’m having fun, I’m comfortable, I want to do this, no one’s forcing me. I’m happy.”

On TG Millan and Blanco from Harlem Spartans: “I was left on my own to promote the song, going to the shows and shutting them down.”

On trap and Afrobeats: “I used to do this trap and everything, but it’s too violent, I give the kids the wrong idea and they all go to jail or whatever. So right now, Afrobeats is the new wave.”

On Nigerian police and EFCC: “there’s a constant war Nigerians are having with the police and the EFCC. They’re [seen to be] targeting young dreads – or young, not necessarily conventional-looking Nigerians – and turning them into detention without cause.”

“In Nigeria they will arrest you u first then they will try find out ur crime after”; “Our leaders don’t even live in our country.”

Read the rest of the interview in The Face Vol. 4 Issue 002 available here: https://theface.com/buy-magazine

THE FACE RETURNS (AGAIN) – AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM DECEMBER 6^TH ON THEFACE.COM

Side-stepping that difficult second album, Issue 2 of the relaunched style bible sets its sights firmly on the 2020s.

The first two covers of six feature actresses who have had the years of their lives and are heading into the next decade on the up, up, up: Hollywood royalty Lily-Rose Depp and Euphoria star Alexa Demie.

Lily-Rose Depp is shot with bunny rabbit by American photographer Tina Barney, best known for her large-scale photographs of family and friends and her seminal project The Europeans. Profiled by US Editor Trey Taylor, the high-school drop-out, bride of Chanel and incumbent queen of medieval cinema discusses her transition from model to movie star-proper, with roles in Yoga Hosers, The King and the upcoming Dreamland. And she’s in it for the long run: “You know when you just start doing something, you begin to feel like, this is where you belong? I had never truly felt like I was in the right place before, career-wise. Now I know that this is what I want to do forever.” Expect great things from the progeny of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis.

Alexa Demie, shot by British newcomer Alice Neale, captures the moment a star becomes a meteor, with a trajectory that just keeps going. Hit HBO series Euphoria is one of the most talked-about shows on television, with Demie’s character Maddy being a bewitching mix of strength and vulnerability. In the upcoming A24 movie Waves, she plays a fragile, sensual girl, sinking slowly under the weight of a life-changing decision. We hear for the first time about her life growing up between a meth lab and the Black Eyed Peas’ recording studio on the eastside of Los Angeles.

Inside the jam-packed issue, the theme is optimism. Not the shiny, happy optimism more commonly sold by glossy magazines, but a more real form of it, which recognises how much people have to strive to succeed, live the way they want, and make the wider world a better place. Here are just some of the uplifting stories from Issue 2.

-              “Controversial artiste” Naira Marley, shot by another British newcomer Bolade Banjo, is the bad boy of Nigerian music – a controversial hit machine who's built an empire of loyal fans and topped the African charts. The youth love him and the press is obsessed with him. So why does the government want him behind bars? We find out in the cover profile by Music Editor Davy Reed.

-              Javon Walton, shot by Collier Schorr, is a portrait of a prodigious multi-hyphenate who exhibits a startling sense of self-discipline and maturity. A 13-year-old for who for whom education, an entertainment career, endorsement deals, boxing training, competitive gymnastics and Olympic preparations are all in a day's work.

-              Rapper-singer Doja Cat tells of her serious self-doubt, admitting: “I thought that maybe people wouldn’t fuck with me because I wasn’t talented.” Today, her humorous hip-hop blazes across the internet.

-              D-Block Europe talk about how rap saved their life after tough childhoods and failed schooling.

-              Waves actress Taylor Russell discusses how compensation following a work injury allowed her to head to LA to pursue her dreams.

The sense of hope extends way beyond solo success stories – it’s in features too:

-              A photostory on the “peace babies” of Northern Ireland who were born after 1998’s peace process and have come of age, fighting against (and overturning) conservative laws against abortion and LGBT rights.

-              Photographer Harley Weir and Fashion Director Danny Reed’s Art Therapy fashion story is a collaboration with The Gate, a centre for people with learning disabilities in Shepherds Bush, London which lets them “be free to be themselves and express that in a creative manner”.

-              A report on how new drug PrEP is freeing gay men up from decades of fear around sex following the atrocious AIDS epidemic.

All this alongside clubbing in Lagos, hip-hop festival Rolling Loud, Fortnite champ Jaden Ashman, BBC 1Xtra’s Rap Show host Tiffany Calver, and Jojo Rabbit’s 12-year-old lead Roman Griffin Davis.

Issue 2 features The Face’s Guide to the 2020s, where evolutionary anthropologists, futurologists, bio scientists and neuroscientists tell us the weird, wired and wonderful ways our lives are going to improve across love, housing, health, holidays, sex and entertainment.

“It’s sometimes a battle to stay fully hopeful,” says Editor Stuart Brumfitt. “But after making this issue, we’re certainly awash with optimism. Thumb through and enjoy!”

About THE FACE

Delving deep into the world of music, fashion, sport, politics and the arts, The Face is reborn and reimagined as an integrated, multi-channel offering, reflecting the need of today’s ‘always on’ audience, but never losing sight of the wit and intelligence that made The Face great. It’s about discovering new talent and uncovering the fascinating stories that are found at the intersection of social and cultural boundaries – through audio, video and the written word. It’s about a global outlook; connecting the dots; always talking up to its audience – and all done with a style that no one else is doing right now.

For further information and imagery, please contact Stevie King (Stevie.King@purplepr.com ) or Roger Ramirez (Roger.Ramirez@purplepr.com )

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