Meet S.Jay, Nigeria’s inspirational rapper.
Connect Nigeria had an interesting interview with him which gave us a deeper insight into his eventful journey pursuing his career so far.
CN: What is your full name S. Jay? Why did you choose to use S.Jay instead of your name?
S.Jay: My full name is Aigbeniode Joseph Akhidejor, and the reason why I chose not to use my real name is that I wanted a name that my fans would find easy to chant whenever they see me jump on stage. I started rapping in school and my friends who heard me would call me S.Jay so I decided to go on with S.Jay.
CN: What is your professional and educational background?
S.Jay: I am a graduate of Ambrose Alli University where I studied Agricultural Economics and Extension but now, I am fully dedicated to my music.
CN: What drew you towards inspirational rapping?
S.Jay: I would say my experience in life itself drew me into doing inspirational songs. I will always say that my life is like a story book and every day is the beginning of a new chapter.
CN: What else do you do asides inspirational rapping?
S.Jay: I do secular music. It can be about love, partying or living the good life depending on the mood I am experiencing while I am composing the song.
CN: Which achievement of yours do you term as notable?
S.Jay: For now I will say my achievement so far is the acceptance of my music by everyone who gets to listen to it in Nigeria and outside of the country.
CN: What was your earliest ambition as a child?
S.Jay: As a child, I wanted to become a medical doctor.
CN: What three adjectives describe you best?
S.Jay: Creative, funny and ambitious. To me, those are the three adjectives that best describe me.
CN: What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
S.Jay: I would like to own a car, house, a nice bank account with lots of zeros and a recording deal (laughs).
CN: What would you term as the most important event in your life?
S.Jay: The most important event so far that I have had was a show in Lagos that had a lot of top stars present – Sound Sultan, Mr. Raw, Faze, Ice Prince and a whole lot of other top artistes.
CN: How do you deal with criticism?
S.Jay: Well… at first, I feel a little bit sad, but then I compare the criticism with the wonderful comments I get and smile because the nice words matter more than the criticism if I placed them both on a scale. But I learn from every criticism once I see it is the right kind that will really help me grow.
CN: How politically committed are you?
S.Jay: I stay off politics as much as I can. I don’t get too involved.
CN: What is it that you term satisfactory and fulfilling about your career?
S.Jay: Well… the acceptance so far has been encouraging so I would say that the way my song has been accepted so far is kind of satisfactory to me.
CN: What would you view as a challenge at any point in your career that you had a tough time handling?
S.Jay: The most challenging time in my career so far was last year when my sponsor backed out on me because of an unresolved issue we both had and in that same year my mum had a stroke and I was the only one who could stay beside her as my younger ones were in school and my elder sister had to work so I gave up chasing my musical dream to stay beside my mum as she recovered.
CN: If you had the chance to go back in time, would you want to choose a different career?
S.Jay: If I should have the chance to go back in time, I will choose to do music again and again. I don’t picture me doing something else because doing music is my source of joy.
CN: What piece of advice do people frequently ask you for and what is your answer?
S.Jay: Well… Most times I get approached by some younger artist, they always say it is so difficult to make it in music and I always tell them to hang in there, work hard and always pray because without God, the labourer laboureth in vain.
CN: What is your favourite vacation destination?
S.Jay: I haven’t been on a vacation in a while but I would love to visit Dubai for vacation.
CN: How do you remain yourself in the face of continuous change in the world?
S.Jay: I grew up knowing that the only thing constant in life is change and I know that to stay in the mind of people, you have got to move with the trend, so my awareness of the importance of changing with the trend has helped me to be myself.
CN: What books have helped you on your way to success?
S.Jay: Well… After I graduated, I read only a few novels to help strengthen my story writing but musically, I don’t think I need to read any books to aid my musical success.
CN: Who is your role model?
S.Jay: 50 Cent
CN: What three watchwords have you followed that have brought you to this point in your career?
S.Jay: The three watchwords that have kept me going so far are – desire, hope and believe.
CN: If you were to address a hall full of young people waiting to explore the opportunities awaiting them in the world, what would you tell them?
S.Jay: Well… if I were to address a hall filled with young ambitious people, I would tell them to always believe in God because if God isn’t on their side then it won’t work with ease. I would also tell them to believe in their dream and themselves and be ready to grab any opportunity that comes their way.
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This article was first published on 21st June 2014
Comments (2)
Meet S.Jay, Nigeria’s inspirational rapper. Connect Nigeria had an interesting interview with him which gave us a deeper insight into his eventful journey pursuing his career so far.
CN: What is your full name S. Jay? Why did you choose to use S.Jay instead of your name?
S.Jay: My full name is Aigbeniode Joseph Akhidejor, and the reason why I chose not to use my real name is that I wanted a name that my fans would find easy to chant whenever they see me jump on stage. I started rapping in school and my friends who heard me would call me S.Jay so I decided to go on with S.Jay.
CN: What is your professional and educational background?
S.Jay: I am a graduate of Ambrose Alli University where I studied Agricultural Economics and Extension but now, I am fully dedicated to my music.
CN: What drew you towards inspirational rapping?
S.Jay: I would say my experience in life itself drew me into doing inspirational songs. I will always say that my life is like a story book and every day is the beginning of a new chapter.
CN: What else do you do asides inspirational rapping?
S.Jay: I do secular music. It can be about love, partying or living the good life depending on the mood I am experiencing while I am composing the song.
CN: Which achievement of yours do you term as notable?
S.Jay: For now I will say my achievement so far is the acceptance of my music by everyone who gets to listen to it in Nigeria and outside of the country.
CN: What was your earliest ambition as a child?
S.Jay: As a child, I wanted to become a medical doctor.
CN: What three adjectives describe you best?
S.Jay: Creative, funny and ambitious. To me, those are the three adjectives that best describe me.
CN: What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
S.Jay: I would like to own a car, house, a nice bank account with lots of zeros and a recording deal (laughs).
CN: What would you term as the most important event in your life?
S.Jay: The most important event so far that I have had was a show in Lagos that had a lot of top stars present – Sound Sultan, Mr. Raw, Faze, Ice Prince and a whole lot of other top artistes.
CN: How do you deal with criticism?
S.Jay: Well… at first, I feel a little bit sad, but then I compare the criticism with the wonderful comments I get and smile because the nice words matter more than the criticism if I placed them both on a scale. But I learn from every criticism once I see it is the right kind that will really help me grow.
CN: How politically committed are you?
S.Jay: I stay off politics as much as I can. I don’t get too involved.
CN: What is it that you term satisfactory and fulfilling about your career?
S.Jay: Well… the acceptance so far has been encouraging so I would say that the way my song has been accepted so far is kind of satisfactory to me.
CN: What would you view as a challenge at any point in your career that you had a tough time handling?
S.Jay: The most challenging time in my career so far was last year when my sponsor backed out on me because of an unresolved issue we both had and in that same year my mum had a stroke and I was the only one who could stay beside her as my younger ones were in school and my elder sister had to work so I gave up chasing my musical dream to stay beside my mum as she recovered.
CN: If you had the chance to go back in time, would you want to choose a different career?
S.Jay: If I should have the chance to go back in time, I will choose to do music again and again. I don’t picture me doing something else because doing music is my source of joy.
CN: What piece of advice do people frequently ask you for and what is your answer?
S.Jay: Well… Most times I get approached by some younger artist, they always say it is so difficult to make it in music and I always tell them to hang in there, work hard and always pray because without God, the labourer laboureth in vain.
CN: What is your favourite vacation destination?
S.Jay: I haven’t been on a vacation in a while but I would love to visit Dubai for vacation.
CN: How do you remain yourself in the face of continuous change in the world?
S.Jay: I grew up knowing that the only thing constant in life is change and I know that to stay in the mind of people, you have got to move with the trend, so my awareness of the importance of changing with the trend has helped me to be myself.
CN: What books have helped you on your way to success?
S.Jay: Well… After I graduated, I read only a few novels to help strengthen my story writing but musically, I don’t think I need to read any books to aid my musical success.
CN: Who is your role model?
S.Jay: 50 Cent
CN: What three watchwords have you followed that have brought you to this point in your career?
S.Jay: The three watchwords that have kept me going so far are – desire, hope and believe.
CN: If you were to address a hall full of young people waiting to explore the opportunities awaiting them in the world, what would you tell them?
S.Jay: Well… if I were to address a hall filled with young ambitious people, I would tell them to always believe in God because if God isn’t on their side then it won’t work with ease. I would also tell them to believe in their dream and themselves and be ready to grab any opportunity that comes their way.
Actually, Sjay is a wonderful rapper and with God on his side, The sky is the beginiing for him..
Coming from a musical background, I find SJay one of the most creative and talented artists out there. The song Copy and Paste is just the beginning for him. I believe he will continue to surprise us all with his wonderful talent.