The super talented Jesse John plays the drums, guitar, sax, violin, piano and can sing to boot. He was also a contestant on the just concluded MTN Y’ello Star, but he couldn’t beat the competition.
At the semi final leg of the auditions, when the applicants had been trimmed down from 10,000, to 43, the competition for top 13 began. At the last minute of final selection, the judges, Banky W and Omawumi made a veto decision to add one more person to the selection of contestants. Bumping the total number of contestants from 13, to 14. Jesse Drums, as he likes to be called, was the final 14th contestant.
Netng caught up with him for a quick chat. It was enlightening and enlightening.
What inspired you to audition for MTN Y’ello Star?
I want people to hear my music. I want to make a change with my music. I just felt even though I don’t win, I’ll have the platform to begin to make that change.
Where did you audition from?
I auditioned from Kaduna.
Is that where you live?
I live in Abuja, but my parents are in Kaduna.
Did you grow up in Kaduna?
Yes, I grew up in Kaduna, though I was born in Katsina. And I’m originally from Plateau state.
How did your family feel when you were selected for MTN Y’ello Star?
Initially, I didn’t even know MTN Y’ello Star was going on. My sister (Blessing) did everything for me. She arranged everything for me, from the first and second auditions. She even travelled down to Lagos with me from Kaduna for the final leg of the auditions. She also manages my social media platforms.
Tell me a little bit about your family
I’m the baby of the house. The last of five children. I have two brothers and two sisters. I’m 23.
How long have you been making music?
I’ve been singing for a long time. I’ve been drumming since I was four. Since I lost my sight, I do more listening and hearing. And that’s how I picked up drumming. I’ve been drumming since the age of four.
Would you like to tell me how you lost your sight?
When I was about two, I traveled with my parents to my dad’s village. An uncle, who was my dad’s friend, made a passing comment about me. “This your son na big boy o. He is going to be great.” My parents didn’t think much of the comment. They moved on.
Two weeks after we got back, I got sick. The left side of my body got completely paralyzed.
Slowly, my body recovered from the paralysis, but I had lost my left hand. And my sight.
My parents tried the best they could. They even travelled to India, but they were told there was nothing to be done.
What was your experience growing up?
If not for the recent unrest and insurgencies, the North is beautiful. It has music and a lot of talent. I had fun growing up in Kaduna. We are very competitive. When you see someone playing the guitar, you want to play better than him. We are always challenging one another.
How many instruments can you play?
I play the drums, I play the guitar – the acoustic and bass guitar-, I play the piano, I play the violin, I play the sax… (I had to cut him off at this point, lol)
What is the most enjoyable part of making music for you?
I love playing with my guitar, and writing songs. I love producing music. It requires strength and creativity. Whenever I’m producing, I feel energized. I love playing drums and most importantly, I love singing.
Who are your mentors in the Nigerian music industry?
I keep saying and I will continue to say, Cobhams. I love Cobhams.
What do you love about him?
He’s a great songwriter. He passes a message with his music. And that’s what I said earlier. I want to use my music to change the world. Not just Nigeria. Nigeria is part of it, Africa is part of it, but I want to change the world with my music. And that’s why I love Cobhams. He doesn’t write songs because he wants to blow. He’s making songs because he wants a change. He’s always passing a message.
What would you say were some of the challenges you had in the Y’ello Star competition?
I’m this kind of person that loves facing things, no matter how hard. If im pass my power, I go bounce back. But no matter how hard it is, I try my best to conquer.
So coming here, I already had the mindset that stress go dey, but I was ready for any stress that I was going to pass through. I consider being a part of the Y’ello Star a privilege and I got to learn new things about myself and about music.
What was your experience with the judges, what would you say is the most critical feedback you got from them?
At some point, I came close to quitting. Because if you keep putting your best effort into something, and you are told it’s not good enough, it affects your mind.
They wanted me to move around while performing. But I couldn’t, cos I was not familiar with the stage. In my church in Abuja, I can jump and move around as much as I like, because I know that stage. But I couldn’t do that here. So I’ll say that definitely affected me.
What did you do before Y’ello Star?
I’m a singer, producer, songwriter and instrumentalist.
What’s next now that Y’ello Star is over?
Before I came here, I worked for a studio in Abuja. I’ll continue my production But I plan to set up my studio and push out my music. Setting up a studio will make it easy to produce my own songs.
Besides music, what are your hobbies?
I love making new friends. I love meeting people. I love playing games. I play the PS4. And people are always shocked that I can play.
What are people most shocked that you can do?
They are too many. Sometimes when people ask me how I can do certain things, I don’t know how to explain it to them. There are a lot of things I know how to do that I can’t explain how I know how to do them.
