Jess “The Architect” Ekagbo, also known professionally as “Jess E.T.A”, is a Nigerian producer, singer and songwriter, whose journey into music began from singing in his church’s choir at 16. He categorizes his music under the R&B genre, describing it as “soulful”, with recent incline towards Afro fusion. Having spent most of his developmental years in Abuja, Nigeria, he now shuttles between Nigeria, Ukraine and the United States. On September 4 2020, Jess E.T.A released the six-track “Balance EP”, which is a follow up to his extended playlist, “Aphrodite”, released in 2018. In “Balance,” The EP, Jess displays mastery of his sound, while exploring different spectra of emotions. In his words, it’s a collection of songs put together to narrate a story of love found, love lost and self-discovery.
49th Street: Tell us a bit about yourself? Without the music, who are you really?
Jess: Ha-ha, the question “who are you really?” is such a philosophical question. I like it.
If I had to use just one word to describe myself, it would be “creative.” Even without the music, creating is the core of who I am. I enjoy expressing myself through different media such as writing and painting, so these activities serve as my hobbies.
Outside of my hobbies and creating, I grew up in Abuja, and since then I have lived in multiple cities in the United States and Ukraine, so I have had a nomadic lifestyle in the past few years. I identify very strongly with the Nigerian experience, but my experiences so far have helped me build a diverse worldview.
49th Street: How did you come up with your stage name “Jess ETA”
Jess: I like to think of music production as setting up a stage for a play. You need everything in specific places, and it goes beyond just where the performers will be but all the way to the details of the room the stage is in, the props, equipment, the whole works.
I see myself as an architect designing everything, from the production, to composition etc. Consequently, I started calling myself “Jesse The Architect” or “Jesse TA” and that sounded a lot like “Jess ETA” so I let that stick.
I am curious as to what other people think though, my manager used to call me “Jess Expected Time of Arrival” for the longest time. I forgive him though because we both attended an Aviation focused school.
49th Street: This is a new and interesting angle to the birth of a stage name. That’s great. What is music to you?
Jess: To me, Music is a lot of things. It goes beyond just a tool for entertainment. There’s a reason Saul hated David but still wanted David to play the harp for him. I feel Music is instrumental to our very being. In nature, many things happen rhythmically and whether it is the frequency of the change of seasons or the frequency of a heartbeat, the universe is always playing a melody. To answer your question plainly, Music is the very thread that sews up our existence.
49th Street: Quite an in depth and refreshing perspective to the essence of music, noone has said it this way before. This tells a lot about your connection with music; strong, intentional and beautiful. What’s your inspiration to keep making music?
Jess: Many things inspire me. For me, I enjoy making music so it’s a blessing to be able to wake up each day and make music. Just that fact is already motivation enough to continue making more and more music.
It also helps that I have a strong support system and people who genuinely love my music, so I do it for them too, but even if no one listened to my music, I’d still make it because it is a wonderful form of self-expression.
49th Street: What made you decide to pursue a career in music?
Jess: I have been making songs for quite some time now and behind that, I also had a desire to perform on a stage, just to get to share my art live with people. So, this motivated me to take music professionally, but it seemed like a dream to me for the longest time, so all I did was make my music and share it to whoever would listen.
In 2018, I made this song, “Red Velvet”, really a diamond in the rough, but my manager was convinced I had just done a cover of a popular artiste’s song and it wasn’t mine. Eventually, I convinced him it was original and not a cover, and he became convinced we could really make a professional career possible. It’s been one heck of a journey since then, I’m thankful to God for grace.
49th Street: Tell us a little about your creative process, how do you make such beautiful sounds?
Jess: Well, the ideas for songs come in different ways. For me, whatever way the idea comes about, I like to make sure I have a key feeling driving the creative process. I start with an idea/feeling/vibe and I use that to guide me as I work.
Basically, that “vibe” is what directs the beat, the tempo, the progression, the harmonies, all of that. Once I have a blueprint (sometimes not an incredibly detailed one) of where I’m headed with the song, I just start putting the pieces together.
A lot of the time, the idea changes in the middle of the process and that’s always fine because I take the new idea and work with what the old idea has made and start from there. A couple of times, the ideas change too much, and the song starts to sound “bad.” When that happens, I just take a break from production and I let the “bad” song end there. I save the files sometimes but most times, they become forgotten songs. Ever so often, a song makes it through this process and that’s what sees the light of day.
49th Street: Interesting. What are the challenges you face in the music industry?
Jess: My number one challenge is trying to find my own distinct sound that I can own as mine but still being able to enjoy the freedom of being a versatile artist.
So, this is not with the industry per se, but just something I face as I try to navigate the industry.
I want to have my signature sound that I can be recognized by, but I still want to be free enough to make any type of music that I wish to. I love to make Afro, RnB, Trap and EDM, so I’m still experimenting, trying to find that spot where I am distinct, but still versatile.
There are myriad ways I can “settle” with the type of music I make, but there’s a dichotomy there between being versatile and having a distinct sound. Balancing that is a great source of mental strain that I am still working on conquering. I assure you, however, that I’ll soon conquer that and have a different problem on my hands, ha-ha.
49th Street: It’s impressive how you’ve come to understand your journey and needs as an artist. We dare to say, you’re on the right path to finding that distinguished niche for yourself. Who do you look up to in the industry?
Jess: I really look up to Rema to be honest. I like the confidence he has come into the music industry with. His first EP was wonderful, and he’s been working consistently since then. I aspire to make music on the level that he makes and deliver with the finesse that he has.
49th Street: Who do you hope to work with soon?
Jess: If you told me right now that I have a session with Rema, I would legit just burst into flames with excitement. I would love to work with him.
And you didn’t specify a number, so I’ll just plug in here that I hope to work with Efe Oraka, Remy Baggins, Buju—there is a long list.
49th Street: What do you love the most about your sound?
Jess: I love the fact that my music is not boxed into any space. I enjoy music of all types and so I make music of all types. That would be my favorite thing about my sound; the fact that I can enjoy it in a variety of moods. I have music for every kind of setting. Drilling (all types), chilling, songs for lovers, songs for the heartbroken and heartbreakers.
I also like my lyricism, and when I am on the beat, I like the care I put into my composition, so I love when people can pick up on that and also read between the lines on my lyrics.
49th Street: Favorite Collabs so far?
Jess: Tough one. I’ve worked with a lot of amazing people. I would say, however, that my favorite collaboration would be with 3kene because we would just stay nights on end making music with no aim in mind and the songs basically used to shock us each time. He’s a wonderful creative and an even better friend.
I also enjoy working with Seddy, she’s the baddest rapper in the game and has the range, she can hit high notes and body a song, and then she can rap hard over a beat. Excited to see where time takes us all.
49th Street: What genre would you classify your music as?
Jess: The first thing to be noted is that the boundaries of genres are getting crossed a lot more these days. More and more (shameless More Ft Zarion Uti plug there ha-ha) songs are being made with less genre-based limitation. I can make any genre I put my mind to and I hope to be known as an artist that can create in any genre. However, the genre I feel that gives me the most freedom to stretch the limits of my abilities would be R&B. For my most recent songs, I’ve been inspired heavily by afro fusions, but I see my music as R&B and very soulful.
49th Street: What kind of impact will you like to have in the industry?
Jess: I enjoy my music because I make music that I enjoy. I hope to inspire more and more people to express themselves explicitly without fear of rejection. There are many brilliant people all over Nigeria and all around the world and I hope I can help to inspire some people to show the brilliance that they are capable of despite what circumstances may be.
49th Street: What else do you have passion for besides music?
Jess: I write a lot and I hope to put out a book in the future. I am also passionate about giving creatives a platform, so Empawa by Mr Eazi is inspirational for me.
49th Street: You started your EP pretty strong with a favorite with SGaWD, how did the song come about?
Jess: Resistance is one of those songs that when you start to create, you just know will be special.
I initially sent it to one of my collaborators and he wasn’t really feeling it. Then, my team tried to get another vocalist on it and that didn’t pan out either.
Seddy (SGaWD) and I had begun collaborating then, we’d just released Like Me to positive reception. So, I sent her Resistance and I still remember hearing the demo verse she sent back, just astounding, I was convinced we were creating a classic.
From Seddy’s verse to the guitars to the experimental rap verse, everything just seemed to fit together. Sometimes you have a feeling about a song and the reception doesn’t match it, I am just thankful the reception of Resistance has matched what we envisioned.
49th Street: 6 beautiful tracks on the EP, which one did you enjoy making the most? What experience do you have with the Balance EP?
Jess: Thank you very much. I honestly enjoyed making all the songs. Each song came at a different point in my journey, but I’d say, my favorite to create was definitely Puppet.
For Puppet, I initially wrote the lyrics to a beat one of my collaborators brought to me, however, her producer took the beat away and she ended up not sending me her verse. But, I really liked what I had written, the initial beat was more RnB, but I decided to give it an Afro-Fusion spin and give it a bounce, and I loved the end result.
I really enjoyed the feeling it allowed me to express, some people don’t like it though, I think that level of exposure just cuts too deep, but it’s a facet of love, so I enjoyed expressing it.
Overall, this EP had me experimenting with different sounds and writing styles, and I enjoyed that whole process.
49th Street: What are you hoping this project does for you? How’s the response been so far for you as a creative?
Jess: I hope this project is one of those projects that people still refer to years down the line as my music career progresses. I want this music to be the kind of music that people think about on their own because of how much meaning the songs have to them.
As for the response, I have honestly been blown away by how much people actually believe in me and the numbers of people. The support has been tremendous, and it is something I’m really grateful for because it gives me this confidence boost when I think of how to progress in my future bodies of work.
49th Street: What advice would you give someone aspiring to walk a similar path?
Jess: We’re all created with genius inside of us. All you need to find is your own form of genius and once you find it, harness it. Groom it. Grow it. Fight for it. And show it to the world.
