RNDMVBEZ is a young talented artist ready to take on the industry by any means possible. His ability to fuse music genres effortlessly will prove useful on his journey to the top. The 49th team caught up with RNDMVBEZ to talk about his stellar new video and his career so far.
49thStreet: Tell us a bit about you, your music, and how you got into this industry?
RNDMVBEZ: I was born Jan 28, 1995, full name is Olowa Gbeke Anthony. I’m a recording, producer/sound engineer. The name RNDMVBEZ is basically coined from my style of music, RNDM (random) VBEZ (vibrations). I like to experiment across genres but still with an infusion of Afrobeats. I started releasing music in 2018 with my debut EP “RNDMVBEZ: Thursday Car Radio”. I’m an only child so I love to enjoy my peace and quiet.
49thStreet: Where exactly did you grow up? How did those cultures and environments influence you as a creative and also your sound?
RNDMVBEZ: To be honest, I never really stayed in one location. I was born and raised in Pedro, Bariga. At 9 I moved to my aunt’s on Admiralty Way so I could be closer to my secondary school, St Gregory’s College where I was classmates with the likes of Nonso Amadi and O.C Nicotine. Then I moved to my grandma’s at Surulere when I got into Unilag. I would say St Gregory’s college shaped my music the most, it’s where I discovered my talent and I understood the dynamics of music making. Also having a taste of the Bariga and Lagos Island life helped me become versatile with my sound.
49thStreet: What kind of music did you listen to growing up that have helped shape you as an artist? Also, how did your parents react to you going into music full time?
RNDMVBEZ: I love music with strings, but I listen to anything….music across all genres. I have favs from different genres, PartyNextDoor, Burna Boy, Runtown, Jesse Jagz, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Maleek Berry, Osadebe, Frank Sinatra, Mr. Eazi, Fela, Drake, Daft Punk. Growing up it was basically my dad’s vinyl records I bumped to and that was where my love for strings started. Listening to Osadebe’s music play through the vinyl on a lazy Sunday afternoon hits different. To be fair they reacted positively when I told them about my choice of career, their only request was that I finished school first. That’s why I’m late to the party.
49thStreet: Tell us about your latest music video and also the creative direction of the video, were you actively involved?
RNDMVBEZ: “Love You” was people’s favorite off my last EP so it was a no-brainer when I sat with the team to pick a song to shoot visuals for. I wrote the script so yeah, I’d say I was involved in the creative directing. It was a lot of work scouting for locations and putting everything in place. It was fun though, learnt a lot about the process of putting together a music video. We wanted it to be rural, African with some infusion of the urban culture. The aim was to appease both the urban and rural crowd. To some extent, I think we achieved that with the locale and costume. The concept was drawn from Mr. Eazi’s “Tilapia” video. We just wanted something simple with a plot relating to real-life events. It’s more budget-friendly for an upcoming act.
49thStreet: What is your most special song to you and why do you feel everyone should check it out?
RNDMVBEZ: That’ll be 9:00 PM VBEZ. The song is titled 9:00 PM VBEZ (Vibrations) and it explores the thoughts that go through my mind at that time of the day. It was a depressing period for me, I was watching a lot of animes, movies about love and heartbreak so I infused these elements into the song as samples. I also made the beat by 9:00 PM sampling Mick Jenkins’ “Martyrs”.
49thStreet: As an independent young Nigerian artist it is never easy in this music industry, how do you keep yourself motivated and hungry?
RNDMVBEZ: I let the success stories of others motivate me. Nonso Amadi motivates me a lot. He’s also an independent act doing his thing and sticking to his sound. As an upcoming act in the industry, you need to pree the game a lot so you’d learn. You need to pree what the other artists in the industry are up to, musically though. It’ll help you learn and stay ready for when the opportunity comes. You just need to stay positive and keep scheming. Having a side hustle is very important as an upcoming act because omo 9-5 won’t give you the time you need. I tried it and it fucked me up mentally. So having a side hustle is another way to stay motivated because you’re investing in yourself, you can’t afford to fuck it up
49thStreet: What would you classify your sound as? Is there going to be a lot of genre-shifting and experimenting from you?
RNDMVBEZ: I would say Afro-Fusion. So even if I end up experimenting across genres it’ll still be with an infusion of Afrobeats.
49thStreet: Which artistes would you love to work with in the industry, that you feel creatively align with the kind of music you create?
RNDMVBEZ: There’s a lot man, but to list a few: PrettyBoyDo, Runtown, Mr. Eazi, Patoranking, Genio Bambino,
49thStreet:So what’s next for you? What can we expect in 2021?
RNDMVBEZ: More visuals and I should put out my sophomore EP. I’d also push for more features and I’ll be collaborating with a couple of digital artists to put out merch
Video Rating: 7.5/10
