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Demilade Egbeolu a.k.a Juggernaut is the first artiste signed to Seun Kuti’s Black Hauz Entertainment record label. He tells Saturday Beats about his career

As the first artiste signed on to Seun Kuti’s record label, what do you have to offer music lovers?

We just released a song called Obirin Asiko. We are trying to educate the Nigerian minds with our music. It is not revolutionary music because there is a fusion of pop in my song. I cannot exactly say I have a genre of music that I adhere to, all I do is paint pictures in peoples’ mind based on the kind of inspiration I get.

So you don’t always sing afro beats like your boss, Seun Kuti?

There is a bit of everything in my music. I would say my kind of music is versatile, intelligent music. I am trying to reach out to people from the day to day aspect of a normal Nigerian boy; things that you can relate to and not just to talk about things that you absolutely have no idea about.

How long have you been a singer?

I began my career in 2007 when I was in a group called Triple X. The group was made up of me, May D and one other counterpart of ours. We recorded some songs together but we were more focused on campus concerts. We did not get involved with any talent show but we tried in our own little way to push our brand.

Why did you break up?

The thing about group is that at the end of the day, everybody is in it for himself. You start a group and people begin to have favourites for some unnecessary reason and that damages long term friendship. I would not say that we had any fight but we just had an understanding to move on with our individual solo careers. I am glad that the decision never worked against me. From then, I started going to Kalakuta Museum because back then, a lot of artistes used to go there to show the stuff they are made of.

Was that how you met Seun?

Yes. One day, Seun Kuti was upstairs listening to us rap and he asked me to come up and fill some papers. He likes everything I put out so far. It has been a long way but we pulled through. We were meant to have officially launched the record label in 2014 but I had a car accident where I almost lost my life. I broke my two legs and I was trapped in the car for some hours before they could get me out. I thank God I am alive. I needed some time to heal properly before we commenced on the project and that was what slowed us down. I am happy I am here now; we recently released the video for my song. Shan George’s son, JG, was the one that made the beat of the song and the video was shot by Camworld.

Seun Kuti is an international artiste but as the first person to be signed on his record label, don’t you feel pressured to succeed?

It really does but I don’t like to work under pressure because things might not work out properly. It puts me under pressure because of the fan base that I eventually have to satisfy because it is either you are doing the Nigerian music or you are not. I am trying to make an African music that can compete internationally. Sometimes, I rap in pidgin or Yoruba because if you are trying to be the best, you have to be versatile and be the best at everything you do. I write music based on my mood and how I feel.

You and your boss both have videos out in the market; do you feel threatened that his might overshadow yours?

I have no issues with that, the sky is big enough for all the birds to fly without bothering themselves. Rome was not built in a day.   Seun Kuti   has worked hard over the years and if he is promoting his video, it does not work against me because we are under the same record label. I will always have to let my boss be the boss, there can be no pressure.

What do you think is special about you that made Seun Kuti sign you to his record label?

I don’t want to brag but I believe it is just like in my name Juggernaut, I just cannot be stopped. The power in my lyrical content gives me an edge because if you sit down to listen to my song, you will be hooked to it. My lyrical content and the subject matter I speak about also give me an edge above others.

Who do you look forward to collaborating with?

Seun Kuti and I have worked on an amazing project together but it is not out yet. It is step by step.

Are you likely to work with May D?

Yes, we have something planned that we are about to do but until it is done, I cannot say anything about it. That would probably be the only famous artiste aside from Seun Kuti I may work with. We still have a lot of things to be done and I have some videos I am going to push out this year. We plan to take over the Nigerian entertainment scene.

When do you plan to release your album?

We are still deliberating on the right time but the album is ready. In fact, we have two albums ready and we are trying to push them out simultaneously. All the while I was in the hospital during my accident, all through the three months, I was writing songs.

What do you think about the Nigerian music industry?

I think Nigerian artistes are so lazy. It is sad how lazy the industry stakeholders have become and how people have accepted this music we have. It is sad that you have to be intoxicated or be in another state of mind before you have to feel their music. I will not call any artiste’s name but can you think of any Nigerian song that you can wake up in the morning and actually play? There are no songs like that, they say it is commercial but what does that mean? The only thing that is keeping Nigerian music is afro beats.

Are you saying you don’t feel challenged by the present crop of artistes?

I am not challenged by them, I am just going to do what I have to do and as time goes on, I know that people would be able to differentiate good music from bad ones. I want to inspire more minds.