“I am a reggae artiste; in fact I do root reggae, rock, dancehall and I organize a monthly musical concert at Freedom Park here in Lagos. I do that along with members of my band. I started playing music about 16 years ago. But I went professional 7 years ago. Reggae became my forte when I finally decided to go professional. But before then I was doing the normal general stuff of miming and doing other people’s stuff.”
A former member of a pentecostal church choir in Ondo town of Ondo State, Blazee was not too comfortable being limited to the choir alone. “I was there for many years, devoting my time working with the church. At a point really, I became an assistant choir master of the church. I love music and acting and that was how the whole thing started for me. Eventually, because I wasn’t really a religious person, it was time for me to leave.”
And he left. From there he moved to Ibadan where he again tried to find his grove. “The music truly influenced me. In Ibadan, I began to do hip pop and urban contemporary with a few of my guys. By then I had some recorded works; I’d go for shows, play in night clubs and hotels and often have one or two gigs at birthday parties. Eventually, I started listening to Lucky Dube’s works. Even I fell in love with his works – his model of presentation, the lyrics, the style, the messages and more. It was at that point that I said to myself that I’d become a reggae artiste.”
After digesting the messages, the philosophy and vibes behind Dube’s works, Blazee then went to town with his own brand of reggae music. “Lucky Dube’s legacies therefore happened to be one of my push towards reggae. And I started just like that and today, like they say, the rest is history. The journey has not been smooth. I was an artiste before, but I switched from a normal artiste, to a conscious artiste, ensuring that the reggae genre of music in revived and kept alive. Through my lyrics and my composition, I have been able to create my own impacts.”
In the process of trying to find his rhythm in reggae music, Blazee also encountered some artistes from Kingston, Jamaica who came to Nigeria on a visit. “These two guys along with Shaka Zulu, another reggae artiste from South Africa came here and my encounter with them influenced me a lot. I was indeed inspired by their ways of life. Shaka Zulu, in particular taught me some rudimental aspects of music. I studied their style the way I used to study the Bible.”
Therefore, he began to have rasta friends, those who have given themselves so deeply into the reggae genre of music. “All along it was a big experience all through. This is why I have chosen to promote African leaders in all spheres of life. So far, we have done Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Mariam Makeba, Nelson Mandela, Emperor Haile Slessie, Jomo Kenyatta and now we are ready to do Malcolm X. As you know Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was one of the human right activists in the U S in the 1960s asking for equality for Blacks.
A graduate of Accounting from Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Blazee worked briefly as a Chef in some well-known establishments before veering totally into music. “After that stint at Rufus Giwa Poly, I went to a catering school where I also obtained a certificate in Catering and Hotel Management. This was at the famous Eleyele catering school in Ibadan. After my course there, I worked with British-American Tobacco Company as one of their chefs. Later I worked with Tantalizers and other companies as their chef. But all these years music beckoned on me. I could not find any fulfillment anywhere also but music.”
People come to Freedom Park to listen to these vibes and then remember that reggae is an evergreen genre of music. With the combined efforts with others, the sky is our limit.”