In a time when music is more about the groove than the lyrics, Jahblend stands out for all the right reasons. His music is fierce, piercing and carries a message, with every line spat out with intention. A truly exciting artiste, Jahblend’s music ticks all the boxes for originality, relatability and versatility. We caught up with Jahblend recently to discuss his music, roots and inspiration, as well as a run that he terms his “victory lap”. Read all about it here:
Taiwo: Let’s meet you. Who is Jahblend?
Jahblend: Jahblend is a great reggae-dancehall artiste from Warri, Delta State. My real name is Toju Buwa. I’m a big dreamer, a lover of life, peace of mind and women (chuckles).
Taiwo: Why did you decide to make Reggae-Danchehall music, instead of Afrobeats which is the popular sound around here?
Jahblend: Apart from growing up listening to a lot of reggae-dancehall due to my Reggae loving parents. Coming from a place like Warri also played a role. You know, the Niger-Delta is the Caribbean capital in Nigeria. You have Dancehall and Reggae music banging everyday. Reggae-Dancehall is the sound of Niger-Delta. Initially, I used to be a rapper, but it got to a time when I felt the need to make the kind of music that I enjoyed growing up.
Taiwo: Who were the biggest influences in your childhood, that helped to shape your sound?
Jahblend: I grew up listening to a lot of greats like Bob Marley, gospel Reggae artistes like Buchi and Edna Ogholi, as well as Daddy Showkey. That was the kind of music that I enjoyed growing up, I wasn’t cooked in Afrobeats. Reggae-dancehall came as a result of me trying to make songs like the people that I admired and adored.
Taiwo: What was the result of the switch in your sound?
Jahblend: When I went down that line, the music got spiritual. Spiritual in the sense that, I had more peace of mind doing Reggae-Dancehall. I had more influence on people, I could make them dance in front of me. I could relate to them in a way that I could not do with rap music. I have never been one to try to blend. I feel like I get more fire, when I see that a large number of people are against me.
Taiwo: So are you saying that you are an outlaw when it comes to music?
Jahblend: For the term “outlaw”, I feel that it should carry a positive feeling when pronounced. Everybody should be an outlaw, if the law is bad. If the law is not favorable to humanity, I don’t see why you should try to be “inlaw” (chuckles). What I’m saying in general, is that I try to be 100%. I do not compromise in order to fit in. For my music, my music is me. So if that is what you are getting from my music, it means that at a time in my life, I’ve experienced something and what I sang is what I stood what in such experienced.
Taiwo: Speaking about spirituality, your music always comes with a message. There is an anger and a fire burning inside you whenever your lyrics come out. Is it a deliberate thing that you are always conscious of?
Jahblend: One thing about my music is that, I try as much as possible to let the music write itself. I’ll say I deliberately do it, but it is not like I deliberately come up with every line. It just comes, that is how it is for the music. Whatever message that I feel like will go on the beat, is what I deliver. When we were making Compos Mentis, we didn’t know will make the project, at the time that we recorded Black on Black which was the first song. We recorded Black on Black six months before it dropped, it dropped in April 2020. It took some months before we recorded the next song. So that’s how it is, when the message comes we just do it like that.
Taiwo: You sing about things that you’ve experienced, so what inspired Black on Black?
Jahblend: The Nigerian police inspired Black on Black. I suffered police brutality, so much that at that period in time, I could sing of nothing else. I was making other songs then, but you know when you get a message, you just get a message. That’s the thing about Black on Black. Even on the day I recorded the song with P.prime, I was supposed to have a session at Magodo. So I was coming from somewhere around Sango-Otta, and they stopped us at Agege. They took me to their cell, wasted my time, eventually letting me go in the evening. The pain and anger of that experience birthed Black on Black. That day marked the sixth time of being harassed by the police in just two months. Tough times.
Taiwo: Away from Compos Mentis and the conscious sound, Puella shows that there is a soft side to Jahblend. So are you a lover boy at heart.
Jahblend: Lover boy? Well, I love. Like I said I love women, it might not be one at a time but come on, I love women (chuckles). But I’m still searching for that right one tho, that number one you understand. The one to share my journey with, that is how Puella came about. Just telling the gyal say, mi go like dey with yuh for a long tym.
Taiwo: So you stand with Blaqbonez in the Sex over Love advocacy?
Jahblend: Yeah, for now till I find true love.
Taiwo: Back to the music, what is your vision for the brand Jahblend. Where do you see yourself taking this?
Jahblend: Like I tell my team, it is global or nothing, because I believe I have a message that the whole world needs to hear. It is more of a long term thing for, you will see that. I’m trying to do for possibly as long as I live, because for a while now, it has given me a reason to live. It is my purpose, so it is forever. I know it’s going to be big, and I know my wildest dreams is just a pinch of what is to come.
Taiwo: What difficulties have you faced in the course of your career so far?
Jahblend: Man, it has been like 11 years already doing this. Trust me, multiple difficulties. Problem no dey finish my bro. I have come to understand that these difficulties shaped me, they gave me the experience I needed to weather the storm, that I didn’t know was ahead. Sometimes, I’m grateful for how long it has taken me to get to where I am now. This is because I’ve been opportuned to learn and experience a lot that I would have not experienced, if I had blown earlier. As long as you are living, you are bound to face difficulties. Above all, I am grateful for the fact that I am able to overcome these difficulties and turn them into valuable experience.
Taiwo: Who are the top three artistes that you’d love to work with?
Jahblend: For now, based on strategy, I’ll say Damian Marley, Popcaan and Rihanna. You can add Beyonce to that too (chuckles).
Taiwo: What are your plans for the coming summer?
Jahblend: I have big plans for the coming summer. I have jam-packed it with great songs, for the next four to five months, it is back to back. It is a run I call “Victory Lap”, because I believe at the end of it, my intention and vision will be clear and known. So, for the coming summer it’s hits, heavyweight jams.
Taiwo: Any final words?
Jahblend: Rounding up, I’ll like to say a big shoutout to 49th Street, bless up I appreciate. Also to my people, my support system, yah know.
