SNY SPOTLIGHT: JahBlend

JahBlend (Toju Buwa) is a vibrant and gifted music artist with a lot of energy and he has so much to say. He uses his music to convey his thoughts about how he reflects on his society and the future he envisions for himself, fellow creatives and citizens of Nigeria. With the debut of his most recent project ‘COMPOS MENTIS’, JahBlend has proven to be unstoppable!

• Give us a brief background about yourself

My name Toju Buwa also known as JAHBLEND, a reggae/
dancehall artiste. I’m from Delta state and I grew up in Warri and studied economics at Redeemer’s university.

• How did music start for you?

Music has always been a part of my life from the time I could listen. My
parents were music lovers and so I was introduced to music at the earliest stage of my life. As I grew my passion for music grew too and
so when I was about 15 years of age I recorded my first song and that
was the beginning of it all.

• What inspired the name JahBlend?

Funny story it used to be Jblend, Jblend because then I was a rapper
and I could flow and make words blend into rhythms with rap but as
time went on when I wanted to switch to reggae/dancehall I got a
Divine prompting to make the J stand for Jah and that’s how it birthed
JAHBLEND with no space in between.

• Tell us about your reggae/patois sound

Hmmm, growing up my parents listened to a lot of genre ranging
from reggae songs to gospel artistes like Buchi, reggae legends
like Lucky Dube, Bob Marley and even sometimes locals like Edna
Ogholi. Also, my environment at that time encouraged it with songs from
Daddy Showkey , African China and Baba Fryo, so many of them. There is no doubt my music is influenced by these artists I mentioned but then the uniqueness of the sound is me combining all my influences to make my sound.

• Who are your musical influences and why?

I’ve mentioned some above and so I’ll just add to the list, in no
particular order Kranium, Popcaan, Burna boy and so many other artists because I’m always open to new and beautiful music as it broadens my scope for music.

• There seems to be a recurring theme in your music where you
  address the social issues, injustice and bad government we face
  as Nigerian citizens. Is that the direction you have chosen for
  your sound or will it change as you continue to evolve?

My music is a reflection of me, it is my thought process, in most cases, my music is about how I feel, what I’ve seen and my experience in life, so this direction my music has taken in recent time is just one of the directions with me, as time goes on many other parts of my music will be unveiled because there is so much to tell and sing about. So, yes it will change but more, it will be alternating.

• You are on Sarz’ latest project. How did the collaboration come
  along?

Yes I am, apart from recording the song, my team did all the work and
I’m grateful for them and to God.

• Are there any future goals you would like to share with us?

At the moment my most pressing goal is to be a part of good and
great change in Nigeria and globally.

• What advice do you have for upcoming music creatives?

You might have heard this over and over again, but don’t give up and
make sure you do the work. Cliche right? Settle these two aspects and
let the universe do the rest.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Connect with JahBlend on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or his website

Photo credit: Willens