By Osagie Alonge
One word that could best describe Bolaji Ojudokan is unique. In the past few years, BOJ (that’s his stage name) has carved a niche for himself with his sound, which is quite fresh and fascinating. His music style has attracted the likes of Davido, Olamide, Ajebutter 22, Show Dem Camp and even Asa, all of whom have worked with him.
In this interview, BOJ details his journey into music, starting out with a boy band and tell us why he thinks the teen market is his sure bet to superstardom…
Tell us how your journey into music began; how did it all start?
In 2009, I was attending Malvern College in Worcestershire in England and a couple of my childhood friends were there as well. They used to do music; they started DRB together and actually started out as rappers. But after a while they all stopped rapping and started singing. We had another guy join and then another guy called Teezee which made it four.
There was this period in the summer of 2009 when we were all going back to Nigeria and since everybody was returning home, I didn’t want to seem out of place so I asked if I could record a song with them.
And when you returned to the UK?
We would hook up and record a lot of songs. We used to send emails to all our friends because that’s how we got the music around. We were quite popular amongst our peers; that’s how the DRB Lasgidi brand grew. The buzz then got a bit bigger in London. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, we could distribute the music faster and grew our fan base.
Where do you see DRB Lasgidi in 2014?
Interestingly, DRB Lasgidi isn’t a boy band. Contrary to assumptions, we are just a group. It might come as a surprise saying this as fans have always seen us together and because we made our entry with the group song ‘Toyin’. We’ve always been individual artistes before ‘Toyin’ came out; we used to release solo stuff but ‘Toyin’ put us in the limelight and made everybody think we were a group.
So how come BOJ stands out?
After ‘Toyin’, we carried on and did some more DRB songs but we still carried out our individual stuff as well. Because I’m a singer, people took more interest in me and because my voice was kind of different from the norm, people caught onto me faster. In 2014, we’re going to be doing a lot more of our individual stuff so that people can actually understand. That was why last year three of us actually released our mixtapes so that people can get a feel of each of us.
Do you also think it was only your sound that people latched onto or because of your eccentric style?
Not really. Each of us has our different styles and we’re different from everyone. If some new guys just come into the scene and they’re completely ‘different’ people will obviously notice them. And it’s not like we’re trying to be different, we’re just doing us to be honest.
What kind of music has influence your style of music?
Honestly, I don’t listen to music.
What were you listening to some 5,6,7 years ago?
I hardly ever listen to music like that; when I was very young I was the only child for nine years so I used to go everywhere with my mum, so I used to listen to whatever she was listening to in her car
What was she always listening to?
She was listening to a lot of Lagbaja, Fela, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef, Bob Marley, all those type of guys. So that’s probably where it came from. I remember that I used to know all those songs and that’s probably why I have the kind of vibe that I have. I actually just put that in thought last year.
So which music do you listen to now?
If you check my phone now, you’ll only see DRB songs. But sometimes I go to the music blogs and listen to some new stuff. I don’t download music like that per se. But I know people, I know their songs. I go out a lot at night, [so] I hear songs, I hear songs on the radio, and my friends listen to music so I still hear it, but when I’m on my own I don’t listen.
You shuttle between the UK and Nigeria a lot, doing music in the both places, what do you think the differences are, especially with your own kind of music?
(Sigh) I mean there’s an Afrobeats scene here [in the UK] but I’m not really in it because I’m more focused on what’s happening in Naija at the moment. That’s where I’m from and I feel it’s always better to build it from ground up.
But a lot people say you have more buzz in the UK, you are getting paid shows here…
(Cuts in) Yea I’m getting paid gigs in the UK but it’s from Nigerians that are in University here. The songs have a buzz from Nigeria and transcend into the UK. If you’re not hot in Naija, you can’t have that buzz in the UK.
What’s the kind of reaction do you get when you perform here and in Nigeria?
It depends on who you’re performing to. In Nigeria, there are some crowds who’ll just sit down and be looking at you, but when I’m performing, because I have the young crowd on lock, it’s always easier.
The 14 – 18 year olds?
Yes! Exactly, you understand what I’m saying. That is my aim. When I’m with them I know I’ve killed or I’m killing it. I know I’m holding it down because those are our fans; those are the people that have been following us since the days of nothing. They understand the ‘P’ and they sing every song religiously.
What did you study in school?
I studied Audio Engineering.
When we think BOJ, we think big hats and circle rimmed glasses. How did you develop that brand?
Well my former manager TK bought my first pair of glasses for me, that’s how it all started. And for the hat, I actually used to wear the smaller bowler hat before I switched to the fedora. I came across the fedora in the airport when I was going back to Naija one Christmas, I bought it and that’s how I started wearing the hat and the round glasses.
Would you say that the brand has helped you a lot?
Definitely, because people see this weird looking guy and they want to know more. Why is this guy looking weird? They eventually go out and look for the music.
When people hear BOJ’s music, the style is quite similar to that of Ajebutter 22 and Falz. What do you say about the similarities with your music?
Nigerians like comparing people and there’s nothing we can do about that. I feel like we make different kinds of music. It’s because it’s a new vibe, and not ‘kpangolo’ so they just class us like that.
But do you think if all three of you grow bigger as artistes, have more fans, you wouldn’t clash due to similar styles?
None of us have the same style. Like style? How do you mean music style?
Music style, like say Ja Rule and DMX…
Well I don’t think we’ll ever [clash] because of the type of people we are and because of the type of upbringing we’ve had. I don’t think we’ll ever get to that point where we’ll be fighting each other over similar styles. I mean, as long as each of us are doing our own thing and getting our own share of love from every one, we’ll be happy. We are just happy for each other honestly. [With] this new school generation, there’s no beef or fake relationships. We are all good guys, we all make music together. I have a song with Falz [and] I’ve done loads of songs with Ajebutter.
Do you feel you’re privileged?
We’re privileged. I mean, we just thank God we were born into the families we were born into. It doesn’t really have any impact on the kind of music we make, which is the important thing. That’s what we do, we make music. So being privileged doesn’t affect the music
So tell me about your upcoming projects; you dropped a mixtape already…
Yea I dropped a mixtape last year. It’s called BOTM, which means ‘BOJ On The Microphone’. Now I’ve just been recording. I’ve been recording a lot. This year I think I’ve recorded 30 songs already. I’ve been doing a lot of features as well.
My plan right now while I’m here in school is to just stay relevant. I’m out already and I don’t want a situation where I’ll be quiet for a long time. These fans will forget all about you, I’ve seen it happen to people (Laughs). I really don’t want that to happen to me so I’m just working as hard.
Tell us about your upcoming collaborations
I’ve recorded with Davido, Seyi Shay, Lynxxx, Dr SID, Reminisce and Olamide. There’s loads I actually can’t remember right now but I know I’ve done a couple. I’m working with Asa as well, that’s one person that I’ve always wanted to work with. My mum used to listen to Asa as well, so Asa has had a big influence on me, and I like her music a lot.