An afro pop, R&B, dance hall cum high life singer, Jonathan Chukwudebe known as Brianjo, formerly known as Black Jay who has been into the Music Industry for the past fifteen has, in an interview with Vanguard, said the industry requires more money than talent.

He said, “not only in the Nigeria industry, presently, talent is indeed good; it’s good to be talented but money is another thing, because, for you to record the song, to print the promo copies, to promote on blogs, on the internet, radio, television, it’s all about money, so money is equally very important. Some people actually have a financial backup; and with a strong financial backup, you’ll scale through the hurdles in the industry quite easily.”

On if he has been doing the same kind of music since 2003 when he started, he said, “not really. You know entertainment is all about talent; sometimes you have the talent but there won’t be finance to make your project come through. But as a matter of fact, I have the zeal to move forward as an ambitious lad, I’ve refused to give up; I keep on striving to make sure my dreams come true. so I started back then  in 2003.”

On quality music, Brianjo said, “to me it’s all about choice, that’s why we have different genres of music; sometimes we have clap songs, controversial songs, there are songs that are inspirational while there are songs that you just replay and never get tired, and songs we play in parties consistently for just merriment and enjoyment. To

“To me, I think every song or video you see out there is a matter of choice and what you as an individual wants to do or portray.

“Do you mean artistes should not be mindful of what they portray in their lyrics or videos considering that the younger generation often sees them as role models? Actually, artistes need to be mindful of what they say in their songs and likewise be mindful of what they do in their videos.

“For example, when you are shooting a video, at the pool side, girls can wear a bikini and I’m not against that because I do that also. But there are some acts that are not acceptable in some music videos of today, because of the younger generation.”

On if winning awards translates to being a good artiste, he said, “I don’t think winning an award makes you good artiste; it just means people love what you’re doing and they appreciate you. But to me what makes you a good artiste is for people to relate with your songs and if your fans know what you’re doing. If people love what you’re, if they love the kind of songs you’re giving them, I think to me that the best award we can get, I still appreciate awards if it’s been giving to me though.

Omoleye Omoruyi

Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram