 Hi. Hi, how you doing? How are you? Big name, how you doing? I'm good, I'm good. Good to finally meet you. Yeah, me too. I heard a lot about you. All right, you have done so much. You are an award-winning artist. You are a musician. Apart from that, you are a songwriter. You are a producer. You do a lot. Yeah, exactly. All right, now let's just get right into it. Now you grew up in Ghana at some point at a refugee camp, and that's where your music journey started. So, tell us about that. Oh, yes. So, I fled from Liberia. My family and I, when I was young, because of the civil war back home in Liberia. Yeah, so we went to Ghana. So that's how I started doing music. I met a producer in a barbershop. And then I was, at that time, I was doing a freestyle on a hip-hop beat. And then the producer was like, ah, this sounds good. Can we work together? I'm like, yeah, we can give it a try. And then that's how we dropped a single. And then we dropped a single. It went like really big all over Africa. So that's how I got in the game. It's a transition between like barrier, barrier, barrier, barrier. There's a lot of changes, you know, because now my fan changes. I got a lot of new fans. And then being out of Liberia is a very big challenge. It's a very big challenge for me, you know? Like getting to not really changing your kind of music, but you have to be able to dedicate what people, you know, to be able to deliver a song what people want to hear nowadays. And then for my kind of music, there was this like a typical traditional Afro kind of beat. So it's like, I have to change a little bit, bring the Afro with the new style. Because if you meet new people, you know, new producer and everything, it's really challenging for me. Every other song that was being produced in Liberia was all about war and politics, but that was something different. And now you have influenced the scene in a great way. So tell us about that, about the whole journey. Yeah, that's a good one. So when my music is like old traditional songs, people used to sing back home, like doing long, long time ago before even my father-father was born, you know? So that's the kind of music people used to sing. And then I grew up listening to people singing those kind of songs, especially when the people are going out to like a traditional party, traditional engagement, you know, and stuff like that. So I was in Ghana, I was thinking about, okay, I'm coming back home, everybody doing the, as you say, everybody doing singing about peace, reconciliation and stuff, what can I bring to the people? So I like, okay, I like to go back to the history, you know, I say, okay, I think I need to do something that people should be, that people should identify what I'm coming from. People should know what I'm coming from. Even when I, once the year, it's going to be the, yeah, because imagine Jamaican guy, Rageed and Raga, a Ghanaian guy, hip life, and the Caribbean, they got so-called music, you know what I mean? So I was trying to bring out something strange that the war happened earlier, you know what I'm trying to say? So I was like, okay, I will do the traditional music where my music, that was the name of my music, you know, people used to do that before, but I just brought it in a different way, you know, and then trust me, once I brought it, everybody was like, this is why we've been waiting for it, this is why we've been, because even the market women that sell pepper in the market can relate to the music that I do, you understand? So once I did it, because they then lost, I feel the people being lost, the people were missing the tradition, the culture, they were missing the culture, so I brought it back to life. Yeah, so that's how I came about doing my music. I feel so proud. I receive calls from every part of the world, people want to know about music. I even got a call from BBC that they even want to do an interview about what is this library, about music, everybody is talking about, and I feel so honored and proud that at least now people are not listening to what I started to do, you know? So that's it. Yeah, and you are a great advocate for other African artists to do that, you've been very vocal about that, you still feel the same way. You are telling artists to try to pick deeper into their culture and produce more music that speak about their culture. You still feel the same way. Yeah, trust me, I will encourage any artist, let me just tell you one thing, the world want to hear something new, they want to see what you can, they will tire listening to things over and over and over and over again. So you can dip into another, you can dip into other styles and get around to other music, you know? But I stick focused on it, with my music, you understand? So I just want to encourage any artists that are coming out, new artists and stuff, just be original, be yourself. You know what I mean? You can't be like another person, you understand? Just stick to what? Just the good thing, go and make everybody to talk differently. So if you can talk differently, I mean you can say something that people want to, you understand? To come up with something strange, something creative, be yourself. Don't be like, you know, don't sound like other people. Sound like who you are. That's my voice. So artists are listening up. Yeah, I get that. And also, I wanted to talk about the fact that Burma is very vegan like Beria, but as a country, what do you think you need to be done so that even this part of Africa people get to be sent to that? Because we have in Kenya, even Ghana artists, but right here, we don't have, Burma is not big in Kenya. So what do you think you're supposed to do to make sure that it becomes as big as these other like Afrobeats are? So first thing first, I would say, like what I'm from is like my country that I'm coming from, we're just trying to get up everything. You know, we're just, trying to heal from a lot of stuff that happened back home. So we talk about financially, we need to invest more into our traditional songs. Even I had an interview for newspaper in Nigeria and that's what I said. Our music needs a good governor to be able to make people to hear the music. And what I'm doing for my, I encourage a lot of young artists to tap into the Burma music. You understand that to be able to spray out there, like this year you're going to hear like a few new artists, almost like seven new artists coming out with some really dope Burma songs. You understand. So if we get, if we encourage people to do more Burma music, be original and be proud of where they're coming from. And you have to be proud of yourself before anybody can listen to you. You know what I'm trying to say. Yes. So it's a struggle. It's a journey. We're still doing it. You understand. Yeah, man. Yeah. I am today. You're doing an interview asking me about Burma music. You understand. So it's a gradual process and stuff like that. And then nowadays, one of the things I'm doing I got some new videos coming up. Like, because when people hear Burma music, the other thing about is traditional stuff. You know what I'm trying to say? So now I'm trying to infuse some some of the new kind of video, the video differently. Bring the video to the people differently that you know it's Burma music but why I sing a rose roll car in a Burma music. Why I sing a Broadway jet in a Burma music video. You understand to grab people's attention that's one of the things I'm working on doing some really good videos that people are going to be like, oh my god. His sound's different but I'm kind of like, oh my god, he too. You understand because Burma music, the very first time I performed Burma music, everybody expected me to dress in an African, a Thai African clothes, you know. When they saw me coming out, because the song was a hit. Everybody thought it was some old man that did the song, you know. When they saw me coming out, change, dress up, blah, blah, oh my god. Oh, you know, you don't look like a Burma artist. So just trying to change the way people think of Burma music and then more investment, more good work, quality work, that's it. And then trust me people are going to hear it. I think you're doing a good job. Run the step at your time. Thank you, yeah. And of course you've won different awards. The one that stands out is MTN and you've won it four times. Why, what would you credit that to? Because there are other artists watching one like four times in a ball. What do you think is like, how does that make you feel? And does that make you even work harder? Does that motivate you to get in the studio and work even more? Yeah, um, like, the year I won the four award, I worked very hard, you understand. So it was not something that was surprising to me, you know what I'm trying to say, because I worked a lot that year. Everybody was playing the song all over and I worked with the top producer at that time. I featured some really good artists, so I expected that. But never did I still work harder than that, you understand. And I felt so proud winning the award and stuff. Even up to this time, once to say by my, once to say by my award, once to do the award by my award. Imagine, artists winning by my award nowadays, but they still call me, oh, I got your award. I said, no, this is not my award. That's your award, you understand. You got to call me by my king. Yeah, so I just I just told them, like, yo, you guys have to encourage the young artists that coming out to give this some award, you understand. I can't just be winning by my every year, by my I was honest with them. So we have to encourage the young artists that is coming out to be about KZKZKZ, you understand. That's why before I drive up by my music I wait, I wait some time for give some space for other artists to do some songs, you know. You got to trust me once I drive up by my song, no matter why it turned out to be our hit. And I'm about to drop another one before my tour in the U.S. It's going to be like trust me, like, hard kick. So I feel so proud that at least I'm giving those awards and stuff. Congratulations on that. So you had taken a break from music for a while and then you got back, it's good to have it back. What was happening at that time? We're just curious. At that time I just came to Australia. I was trying to settle one or two stuff get myself together and I was getting my studio equipment. I was trying to understand the industry in Australia trying to, you know give it some time, you understand. So I just give it all and then the one year I give the music like my phone was blasting every day. So I was like, okay, let me just drop this song and then when I drop this song boom. It turned out to be our hit again. So I was just trying to settle myself when I came to Australia. That's how I got to do it. Yeah, then you came back and you gave us two great songs. No pasta. Pasta, no. Pasta, no. You're not going to be dropping these. It's a good song. Trust me. Pasta, no. Pasta, no. Pasta, no, you just thought about you know, people fake people nowadays in the church you understand. They go to church, they act like they're the best but they are not speaking to people in the church. They gossip about the pasta when the pasta is gone around. They love in the church you understand. So I'm just asking you know, all of that. Your pasta know you know in the church, your pasta know you smoke cacao every night. You know what I mean? So it's just, it's reality that's why people like it. And that's everyday activities, things that happen every day. You understand? You are a good rich friend. Tell us about that. Is that your latest project? Is that the one? Yeah, good rich friend was done by his Afro beat kind of star so there is this Nigerian artist he's doing well in Australia he's doing his currency in my bag so he came over from Sypne he came to Melbourne and he came to visit me just in the studio of Vaping and I was playing the beat and then the beat dropped I'm like I see it, you like this beat? I just started singing on the beat my girl love me and I love her too a good rich friend she got plenty of money he said oh my god let's drop this song let's drop this song and that's how we drop it it creates a lot of avenue too for me, you know people play in Nigeria in Ghana everywhere I receive a lot of new friend requests all over the world and people a lot of people started asking I like that kind of music I was just trying my latest project my latest project was done in Grenada it's a so called song called Bum Shaker it was done by one of the biggest producer in Grenada so that's my latest project and the reason why I got to know it in Grenada because when my music almost like the so called music same kind of a melody and beat so that's how they like we doing an album in Grenada and we like your song it's african real afro beat afro panasonic traditional then you come on the album so that's how I did a song on the album called Bum Shaker trust me it's a good song alright that's great and unfortunately we have to get to go because of time but it was so good talking to you and anytime we drop by Nairobi or Kenya you have to come to our studios and say hello so very soon alright I would love that thank you so much for talking to us we'll see you next time I respect one lot