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Meet Sly Megida, the Lagos-born artist who's redefining how African stories get told. From his early days sketching in Ojo to founding the Afropop art movement, Megida has made it his mission to ensure that authentic African narratives reach global audiences, told by Africans, for everyone. Through his company Coke Spice Art Ltd and the Orange initiative, he's not just creating powerful works like "Abena" and "The Price for Freedom," but also building platforms for the next generation of African creatives. We sat down with this cultural innovator to talk about art, activism, and what it really means to tell your own story.
Deeds Magazine: You grew up in Ojo, Lagos, and rediscovered art during university in Ghana. Can you walk us through your journey from those early sketches to staging your first exhibition, Never Mind, in 2017? What hurdles did you jump to go pro in a place where art isn’t always valued?
Sly Megida: I grew up in Ojo, Lagos, but I schooled in Ghana at Wisconsin International University. It was in my final days in Ghana, when I was rounding up, that I discovered my arts talent. I was doing portraits back then, pencil sketches for people in school. Then I moved on to trying to tell a story. I had to lock in, develop my talent, watch YouTube videos, spend months working to see how best I could express myself. I knew I had to come out excellent, premium, so I put in the work and acquired more knowledge.
At some point, I had a few works under the series name “One Minute Wonder.” I prepared for an exhibition in Abuja in 2017. That first exhibition in Abuja was a banger, it exposed us and opened doors to more gigs and exhibitions. We had the MTN Walk for Peace at Maitama, the South Korea Embassy, and a series of exhibitions and appearances after that. With that first project, I moved on to Abena and other works.
Deeds Magazine: You’re credited with birthing the Afropop art movement. How did the idea spark, and what does “Afropop art” mean to you personally?
Sly Megida: I felt like our stories were not being told properly, because they weren’t being told by Africans. My duty as an African man is to tell my story and the stories of my environment. Afropop art is like Africa, I’m a pop artist, meaning whatever pops up in my environment, I talk about it. I want to be involved.
Afropop started as a form for me to tell African and authentic stories. I felt like things were not adding up. And I thought, if I have a voice in society, then I definitely want to use it. That’s where the African Pop movement started for me—as an African artist.
Deeds Magazine: How do works like Abena or Zulu Woman push back against the usual Western narratives about Africa?
Sly Megida: With Abena, I was telling the story that as long as there’s sunshine, there’s hope for Africa. It’s a very cultural piece—about hope and resilience in the African space, where people struggle. I wanted people to know it’s going to come, it’s going to get better. We just have to hold up today and start doing better as a people. I had to create that awareness, and that’s what Abena was talking about.
Zulu was also speaking about the essence of women and African beauty and order.
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Deeds Magazine: Many of your pieces carry a social punch—from The Drug of Art series on youth and vices to election-inspired works like The Price for Freedom. How do you pick the issues you tackle?
Sly Megida: As an African man, I speak for the ordinary man. I look at what they’re going through, their struggles. The Price for Freedom was about creating awareness around what African people face in their day-to-day lives. Poverty is a big challenge in this part of the world.
That piece was about how we can elevate ourselves. The struggles we face inspire me. I look at what's going on in my society, my environment, what people are experiencing, not just me personally. That inspires me to speak to the world at large. I feel it’s more relatable. If one, two, three people are going through the same thing, then it’s a story worth telling.
Deeds Magazine: Your style mixes hyperrealism with abstract vibes, and you dabble in painting, film, digital art, and fashion. What’s your creative process when starting something new?
Sly Megida: My creative process starts with gaining more information, getting knowledge about the topic or subject I want to work on. Once I’ve done that, I decide on the best medium to express myself.
From that medium, I identify what I need to learn or gather to talk about the topic effectively. That’s my process, before I even touch the brush or start sketching. I gather references that are relatable and simple, not something people will take too long to understand. In this part of the world, we need more awareness, more intelligence, more knowledge. So I try to break things down to their simplest form, so anyone can relate.
Deeds Magazine: You’ve teamed up with musicians like King Perryy, designed fashion for pop stars, and painted corporate murals. Tell us about a favorite partnership that surprised you or taught you something fresh.
Sly Megida: I’ve had different collaborations, and they’ve all been interesting. But one with King Perryy stood out, we were very intentional about music and art coming together. That’s always been at the forefront of music, every song has an art cover. But here, we transformed every song on the project into a painting. We made about six paintings. That was very interesting, bringing music and art together. Where there’s music, there’s sound, and there’s also visuals.
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Deeds Magazine: As founder of Coke Spice Art Ltd and the Orange series, you juggle entrepreneurship and mentorship alongside art-making. How do you keep the business and creative sides balanced?
Sly Megida: Every challenge is a business. Without business, talent wouldn’t flourish. As a talent, you have to expand, do more—evolve. Business helps you evolve because you have to be intentional. It hasn’t been easy, it’s a learning process for me. As founder of Coke Spice and the Orange initiative, these are platforms to help society and support other creatives. The essence of Orange is to give underdog artists a platform to exhibit and showcase their talents, not just in art, but music, fashion, tech. I believe science and arts develop society. Technology and art are always needed.
The ideas and how to implement them, that's crucial. That’s the essence of Orange, and also of Coke Spice. We want to nurture other talents, teach them the business side, and help them understand that passion is not enough. We’re adding to the ecosystem—the Pan-African movement. We’re contributing to the creative industry and to the African financial system. It’s about building more creative production, not just consumption.
Deeds Magazine: What challenges have come with building an art brand in Nigeria, and how have you navigated them?
Sly Megida: One of the main challenges is always finance. Artists in Nigeria don’t often have the money to execute their dreams and ideas. But we have to push through. We have to be extraordinary. We have to go ten times harder than what people globally are doing, just to tell African stories properly. People need to see that this work is creating impact, for them to buy into your story and finance your ideas. These are innovative concepts that can build society. Artists need to be exposed and also understand the business side, so we can build a better future.
Deeds Magazine: Your work’s been hyped by the press, and heavyweights like Don Jazzy and Obi Cubana have sung your praises. How do public and critical reactions affect you, pressure or fuel?
Sly Megida: Life gives you pressure. Society gives you pressure. But to do art, you have to stay on course and create value for your society. Yes, there’s pressure to do more, but I get inspired instead. Every stage unlocks a new door. There’s always a new project, and it has to be finished. So I stay focused on the story I want to tell in that moment.
I don’t feel pressure from the fact that I’m associated with big brands. I see other brands wanting to collaborate with me too. I want to stay in a safe headspace with my craft—where my mind isn’t busy with people’s opinions but is busy creating the next story.
Deeds Magazine: Which artists or mentors have most shaped your voice today?
Sly Megida: I had a one-on-one with one of our oldest living legends, Bruce Onobrakpeya. He scrutinized my work and gave me advice. His experience at different stages of art, his words, let me know I’m on the right track. That inspired me even more. He spoke to me artist to artist, an artist in his eighties speaking to a young one. That shaped my craft.
Deeds Magazine: Looking ahead, what’s your vision for African art over the next decade? And where do you see the Afropop movement globally?
Sly Megida: It’s about expansion, doing more, doing better. African stories are finding global space. For too long, they weren’t being told by Africans. But now, Africans are telling their own stories. I think the global market is focusing more on African music and stories. So I see us doing more, growing the platforms, expanding the space. The ecosystem is moving from Africa into the global scene.
Deeds Magazine: Give us a sneak peek of upcoming projects on the way.
Sly Megida: I’ve been working on a body of work for over three years—a collection titled Black Magic. I’ll be exhibiting it very soon, in two or three months.
We also have an Orange series coming up, where we bring together other creatives to showcase their talents. We’ve done it in 2022 in Lagos and Abuja. Now, we’re doing it again in Lagos and Abuja, and even internationally. This new collection is about Black identity, Black power, Black excellence.
Deeds Magazine: Ultimately, what legacy do you hope to leave for the next generation through your work and the Orange initiative?
Sly Megida: A legacy of hope. That we, as African people, can do more and do better. There’s no limit to our power, creativity, and the impact we can have, on our people, and the world at large. Our stories are valid. Our stories are important. We are important. We are needed.
Right now, people are hopeless, no hope in the government, in society, in their dreams or talents. Even their education. They don’t have money. So what do they do? My imprint is to restore that hope. My story is for someone else to say, If he can do it, I can do better.
Deeds Magazine: Thank you very much. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.
Sly Megida: You're welcome. It’s my pleasure. I appreciate you so much. Thanks.
Talking with Sly Megida, you quickly realize this isn't just an artist, he's a storyteller on a mission. With his "Black Magic" collection dropping soon and the Orange series expanding internationally, Megida continues pushing boundaries while lifting others up. His message is clear: African stories matter, African voices deserve to be heard, and there's no limit to what we can achieve when we control our own narratives. In a world hungry for authentic perspectives, Megida isn't just creating art, he's restoring hope, one powerful piece at a time
