On Our personality of the week segment we have in the studio a Nigerian born Canada based artist Jae Baz.
Interviewer – Introduction…Your real names and stage name??
Jae Baz – What’s good y’all my real names are Osayomore Ehigie and my music name is Jae Baz.
Interviewer – How did you come into music??
Jae Baz – I got into music unexpectedly just minding my own trying to focus on sports at the time…
Which was 2001 to 2002 in Boston, Massachusetts. in the United States of America.
I was going to South Boston High School then when my music teacher gave us an assignment which had to do with a radio presentation.
And i chose to go with music as a challenge on myself because then,
I was already good with words and how to play around wit them cuz I had loved debating and had passion poetry.
I remembered the beat I used was by: Mobb Deep, titled: Get Away and i talked about situation then on Africans abroad.
and how we needed to be more brave and embrace the world’s culture and stop been scared of so-called akata boys that year.
That’s another politics we no go get into this time. But yup! How I got into music was just a passion i discovered while trying to send a message.
Which I later realised it was in my blood already as I come dey discover people wey be artists and musicians wey full my family.
Interviewer – What genres of music do you do?
Jae Baz – Well i started with Reggae Music back then when i first started,
though i was more into rap music and loved freestyling but rap battling on some street flex then as it was a thing to do was more of my flex.
But today with all the experiences I’ve had i can say I’m a Rapper and a Singer who does Rap.
Dancehall. Reggae. World Music. Would claim the Pioneer of Afro Fusion Music today.
Interviewer – What inspired you to do your promo song Juggernaut?
Jae Baz – I have been going through alot within my career and it’s journey.
For example loosing my close friend and music colleague to Drug Overdose and with the pressure of record labels
and a whole lotta he say she say politics i decided i couldn’t keep the weight on my shoulder anymore and let out my grief.
Cuz frankly if you don’t tell your story…somebody else is gonna do it for ya. And my story isnt no exemption, I mean i had people who betrayed,
lied, decieved and even went as far as family who would bed the woman in my life at the time,
to labels who almost had me dead in Nigeria back in 2010.
so many heart breaks and all these I had to keep on the inside because i was a so-called public figure.
In other words I had to take my time to stay off the music scene for some years and truly find myself again, and whaat other way is best to
make a come back but to ask the ultimate question to all the people who wanted your career dead? #Juggernaut aka Why You Want Me Dead For??
……break…
– As an international Artist what are your challenges???
On this i can say it’s more than been an Intl. Artist to me. I am also an Intl. Person who was born in Nigeria but didn’t grow up in Nigeria.
Heck’ I didn’t really grow up anywhere.
I was more like a nomad moving from place to place outside the country.
Mom was a business woman at the time so she traveled alot which made us travel a lot.
I’ve lived in Italy. Collegno which is like outside Torino.
I Been to Rome. Milano. I mean places there i don’t even recall their names.
I grew up pretty fast for my age cuz traveling can teach any individual more than any class room could.
Anyways this has played a huge impact in my current lifestyle today on how i maneuver with people and businesses.
So my challenge is that i don’t really fit in amywhere.
I didn’t fit in in Italy cuz by the time it was time to warm up to your peers it was off again to another location or trip or vacation.
It never last.
It wasn’t really much a big deal for me at the time,
cuz I thought it was just a thing I had to go through to get to.
And hoped that one day we won’t have to move and travel so much and finally have a happy home.
Every little boy’s dream. But now my challenges I face are more about the sound and types of music i make.
which is a reflection of my life and where I have been and what I have been through. The English – The French – The Broken – The Benin,
and the good the bad and the ugly. so for example in simple term i dont make music for Canadians nor Americans or Nigerians or even Italians –
I just make the best of sounds that I know is listening the dance appealing to the whole world. young and old – wise and strong.
– Are you signed to a record label?
Nope – and I pray my grind shines so I dont and would never have to.
but I also hope and wish for the kind of label that would first of all understand me as a person of versitle,
and know that my musc is soul and deserve to be heard globally.
– Is the video out?
The Juggernaut music video is under construction and that is all I can say on that for now.
But expect it to be on that same level as the song itself.
– who are your role model??
Now this one is a bit tricky cuz you might expect to hear some names you would be farmilliar with, but then again due to the way i was raised,
and where i grew up all over – i was exposed to so many kinds of music – im talking Rock n Roll – Country – Italian Lambada and Traditional Music,
Scotish Music – Somalain i mean even Morroccan Music, but if I was to narrow it down and name names – I’d say Light House, UB40, Lucky Dude,
Bob Marley for sure and D Block aka The LOX – 2Pac – Bone Thugs and Harmony – Snoop and Magic System – menh i used play Magic System alot –
funny enough it reminded me of some slangs in Benin language and i used to play around with it and switch the words and stuff – making that,
another trick to my music composing ability.
– what is your opinion concerning the music industry..
Both local and international…
my Opinion honestly i have none – cuz when it comes down to Local – the word Local to me would mean Nigeria as a whole – which now,
you can hardly say that is something local lol – every body nowadays wanna make music with a Nigerian. so now it is kinda like a reversed thing,
where by Africa is the new Intl. and us abroad based artists are the Locals lol –
you can vividly peep that facts when Nigerian artists come here to perform they get paid Intl. Money – where as we are begged to support,
cuz we are the so – called local acts. But dont forget, to blow in Nigeria means you don blow world wide cuz the 9ja people there would make sure of that.
so my Opinion – if anyone would care to take heed would be let there be more collaborations – more interactions – im not jus saying to all,
but with the right artists – cuz no matter how much you blow for 9ja you go still wan jand, and that is where we come in.
– In the next 4/5 years where will we see JAEBAZ??
This is facts – I’m gonna be playing a major part in the Nigerian Music Industry like same way Jay Z changed the game in American Hip Hop.
and to most it sounds impossible but dont forget jus years back the only rapper who was really doing the afro beat style people knew about,
was Naeto C – He had people really goin in for rap but he didnt use one thing – Nigerian Broken – Jamacians made all of us start talking like
them and make us seem cool – same thing i wanna inflict in the music industry – is to make our music normalized globally to all –
even those who aint Africans – no forget o – we don get Ghana – even some parts of East African music use Broken now, na small small.
But no one has actually gave Africans Raps that you would play on the stage you would play a Jay Z concert. na the mission be that,
na the drive be that.
– words of encouragement for upcoming artist out there?
be broad amnd brave but mostly – believe in yourself.
quitting is not an option – so dont start if you cant finish.
music life na mafia life – everything you do get start and if you no careful someone will finish it or you.
– shout out to your fans and well wishers.
special shouts to all my fans world wide – all my well wishers and supporters –
we been coming along time and I know most of yall been feeling like switching sides – I cant blame y’all.
but I’m here now and I’m back – now lets get it and make Mama Africa Loud and Proud.
Give out your social media handles..
– Twitter: @jae7baz – Instagram: @jaebaz & @linxmenempire – SoundCloud – RiverbNation – iTunes and all Other platforms: Jae Baz