He released his first musical work in 2006 and became a published author three years later. The “City Boy” artist started writing in the mid-1990s. He showed us handwritten work from then. Contemporary Music has also been his passion. We’ve learned that it had been seven years since he emigrated to Western Europe from North America. Freddy Will now refers to himself as an Afropolitan for belonging to several continents, including North America and Africa. We also understand that he plans to launch his second book series in 2024.
Wilfred Kanu Jr. published the first “The Sandmann’s Journal” volume in London, UK. That was after three consecutive books with accompanying Hip Hop albums with Soul Asylum Poetry and Publishing Inc. in Ontario, Canada. The Sandmann’s Journal Vol. 1 was his fourth publication. After working with Soul Asylum Poetry and Publishing Inc., he decided to try his hand at the digital world. The Los Angeles Tribune editorial team, which has followed him for years, said it was “wondering” what happened to his partnerships in Canada.
Freddy Will told us that the collaboration is still active. “The eBook plus print-on-demand options attracted me.” He told us. The “2 Passports” legend now calls Berlin, Germany, his home, where he has written and published several books. He then visited Valencia, Spain, where many assumed he was vacating. When we sat down, we were interested in breaking the story of his next book series, “Quandaries of a Conqueror,” about the relationship between geopolitics, energy, and climate change. He completed The Sandmann’s Journal in 2022.
Wilfred “Freddy Will” Kanu Jr. made history in Sierra Leone when he published his fifth book, “The Sandmann’s Journal Volume 2,” in December of the same year as publishing the first volume. He was the first Hip Hop artist to post more than one book in the same year and repeated the same in 2018. When asked why he rarely uses his Instagram and Twitter accounts, he said, “It’s uncomfortable not having a blue check, making my presence appear less significant.” We don’t think he has Snapchat or TikTok, as his social media mysteriously doesn’t appear in Google or search engine results. That was what got our attention.
Q: Is someone deleting you from the internet?
Freddy Will: “They must have administrative access to Wikipedia, all social media platforms, Google, YouTube, and even music and book distribution platforms. They mess with URLs to make pages disappear and scramble the algorithms to hide individual interviews from search results. These people check on me regularly to vandalize my shit. Sometimes they attack me directly in my comment section and talk shit. I’d say they’re obsessed with me having PR or third-party validation. You might even receive a message from them after this article goes viral. I can bet a hundred bucks that it won’t appear in any internet search results.”
Q: What did you do to attract this negative attention?
Freddy Will: “I emigrated to Canada from the United States. Then I recorded music independently and promoted them there. My following grew. I wrote a blog about public discourses similar to my Sandmann’s Journal book series. But I wouldn’t say I like to focus on these people and what they do. That does nothing for me. I appreciate my lifelong dream of becoming a published author and a recording artist. They’ve done me a favor. Now I enjoy my life far more than if I’d acquired much fame. So, let’s not dwell on this subject.”
Q: Are they in Canada? Is that why you moved to Europe?
Freddy Will: “No. I didn’t leave Canada because of that. I went on a diplomatic post in Belgium. Look, I try not to speculate on where they are. It’s the internet; they could be in Canada, the US, or even Africa. Internalizing who or where is dangerous because I could come to the wrong conclusion and attack innocent people. I’ve adjusted to ensure they don’t stop my business from progressing. I continue to work with some of the most remarkable talents, complete challenging projects, and travel the world. Why focus on the negativity?”
Q: Have you reported this to the authorities? Maybe they will investigate who’s behind this. If it’s a deliberate attack, this online vandalism must have been destructive to you.
Freddy Will: “What will I say? Mr. Officer, an internet boogieman is undermining me? These people hide. The crazy part is that they’ve followed me internationally, hiding behind all sorts of usernames just to vandalize the internet. Some people are bottom feeders. They’re uninteresting in real life. Vandalism is how they find contentment. And the word vandalism itself is now a buzzword. Someone who vandalizes on the internet can claim they’re here to stop it. Such sore losers don’t deserve my attention. Or maybe they’re bots or AI.”
Freddy Will engages thousands of followers through his website and public appearances. We did Google searches. Despite having several socials, his LinkedIn was the only one that came up. It looked like someone removed his third-party extensions. We saw what looked like a vandalism attack by one Praxidicae on Wikipedia. His Wikipedia article seemed stripped-down compared to the original one published five years ago. We should add that this is only the case on his English Wikipedia, as the German, Polish, and French ones looked great.
This finding tied into Freddy’s suspicion that his attackers might be in North America. Whatever their reason for targeting the “Hip Hop Kruzade” author, just one look at the page’s history shows that the alleged attackers might be Wikipedia insiders. Freddy believes these insiders have access to Google and all social media. We saw that he doesn’t post flyers to promote his shows online. He has done some book tours and live music performances in Europe but hasn’t posted them online. The author does not even go live on Instagram.
He posts photos of himself while traveling, cooking, driving, or hanging out at home and promotes his music and books, but someone has declared war on this man. In one post, we learned he has been interested in geopolitics, energy, and climate change. We asked some questions. Our team wanted to know what comes after the seven-volume book series. How long does he plan to live in Europe? If he will release new music or his plans moving forward. The Sierra Leonean American told us he’s been paying much attention to Africa. What did he mean? Was he referring to Africa’s budding Afrobeat scene, or was it something else?
Q: Are you involved in the Afrobeat scene in Africa?
Freddy Will: “Yes and no. Yes, I’ve been paying more attention to the music and learning about the artists, but I haven’t reached out. I collaborated with some Afrobeat artists from Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone on the album I released in 2020, but I plan to involve a bit more. I’ve been considering whether to focus on making my music in Krio or continue with my American Hip Hop style. Life is changing more and more every day. Now that I’m in my mid-40s, I’ve been looking to reinvent my musical style, but I haven’t decided yet.”
Q: What are some of the topics that caught your attention in Geopolitics?
Freddy Will: “Ukraine, LGBTQIA+ related issues in Africa, the formation of BRICS, the migration crisis in Europe and the US. Honestly, geopolitics can get depressing. There’s so much going on that it’s almost impossible to understand the reason behind everything. I check the news to know what’s happening and move on. My last book series was based on the most viral topics in the 2010s—feminism vs. non-feminism, Black Lives Matter, secularism vs. traditionalism, police brutality, religious freedom, homophobia, etc.
The public discourses of the previous decade were about the spread of modern secular ideologies that transcend tradition, culture, or religion. We saw the rise of Twitter outrage and the court of public opinion. That was what my blog was about and what The Sandmann’s Journal was also about. Now that we’re in the 2020s, I’m focusing on Africa’s role in the world’s future development. How does global geopolitics relate to the various kinds of energy consumption, and how does that affect climate change? That’s my next point of focus.”
Q: Are you driving a Tesla to make a statement on renewable energy?
Freddy Will: I won’t go that deep. The world is still figuring out how to harness all known energy forms. We can pick a side, whether chemical, electrical, radiant, mechanical, thermal, or nuclear, but no one knows the actual effect on climate change. Tesla is an incredible car. I love the leather seats and solar roof. Its entertainment system is fantastic, but I can’t say I drive it to make a statement. I think electricity is the best way forward when it comes to cars. But it’s not just the electricity. It’s a smart car. The technology is truly superior to most.
Q: A few rappers have said they won’t drive a Tesla because the Feds could track them down in it or shut it down remotely. Do you worry about that happening to you?
Freddy Will: “Not at all. Most people who give opinions have never driven this car. If I creep, I won’t pull up in a Tesla. I’m not ‘spinning the block’ in a Tesla. But I like that the Tesla gives me a confirmed alibi. I use iPhone for the same reason. The chances of false accusations are slim. My street days came to an end over ten years ago. I haven’t made street music since. I’m an author now, and my life is an open book. At this stage, everything I do is above ground. If anyone monitored my movement, they would see that I had nothing to hide.”
Q: What comes after The Sandmann’s Journal?
Freddy Will: “I have a few unreleased projects to drop. One is ‘Quandaries of a Conqueror,’ my next book series dealing with the relationship between geopolitics, renewable energy, and climate change. Then there’s ‘Written in Gold,’ my first poetry book in Shakespearean English. I still have the second editions of ‘The Dark Road from Romarong’ and ‘Hip Hop Kruzade’ to publish. I want to complete and release those projects before dropping new material. I’m also meeting new musicians whom I could collaborate with on an album.”
Q: Your next release could be a second book series, a poetry book, or a revised edition of the books you wrote in Canada. The second book series sounds very interesting!
Freddy Will: “I might do the second edition of ‘Hip Hop Kruzade’ before anything else. There was talk of doing the release party in Reykjavík, Iceland, but we’ll see.”
Q: Wow! That’s dope. Is there any new Freddy Will music in the works?
Freddy Will: “I’m always recording, but it would be best to sign a fair deal before dropping the next record. I’ve been independent, but collaborating with other talented people is also great. That might be the motivating factor behind my next musical project. What’s it for?”
Q: The best-case scenario would be catching up to the people who deleted you online and collaborating or signing with others to drop a new project. That sounds boss!
Freddy Will: “When it comes to the people vandalizing me on the internet, I’d rather see them face justice than catch them on some street shit. They’re committing an international felony if they deface websites and platforms abroad. I left Canada over seven years ago. I’d say I’ve lost millions because of this vandalism. Catching them on some street shit isn’t enough. I’d rather they cough up my estimated loss. My best scenario is when they finally face the law—hacking someone’s computer, violating their privacy, vandalizing their business, social media, streaming platforms, and such. On an international level? That has to be a court case.”
