Jujuboy

From Wizkid to Burna Boy via Adekulende Gold or Davido, artists from the African continent never
stop shaking up the codes of global urban pop. Straight out of one of the “dustiest” states of Nigeria
as he describes it himself, Jujuboy is the next singer to renew the genre, infusing his Afro culture with
r&b and rap from across the Atlantic.
In a few singles published regularly since 2018, the 27-year-old artist has imposed his style with
“Gimme Love” (2018), “Dear Girlfriend” (2019), “I dey There” (2020), “Enjoyment” (2021) or the
recent “Mad” with Stevjazz and Kida Kudz (2022), mixing afrobeat or highlife rhythms with its
melodic lines that Usher or Mario would not have denied.
Osaretin Rock Akhibi his real name aka Jujuboy grew up in Edo State, Benin City, Nigeria, raised
mainly by his mother, a primary music schoolteacher. His grandmother watched him while she
worked and transmitted her taste for music. This elderly and stubborn woman was a “composer at
heart”, describes her grandson who continues: “She created songs with everything and at any time.
She would take a pair of slippers and play music; she would make up lyrics to a song with the name
of the chocolate cake she was making for me. And when the young boy began to sing for the first
time in public, at around 6-7 years old, it was for her: “My grandmother went to church a lot and had
enrolled me in the choir, by force! I didn’t really want to participate, but sometimes she was in a
terrible mood I didn’t dare to refuse her. Once in church, she became a different person. She sang
and jumped around. I loved how the choir made her feel, and I wanted to be able to do that for her.
Therefore, whenever my grandmother was not well, I would start singing Christian songs to her and
she would smile again. The effect it had on her was crazy. »
As a teenager, it was no longer singing that interested him but the rap that the young adults in his
neighborhood listened to, those who, like his uncle, swore by 2Pac, wore big football and NBA
jerseys, but couldn’t obtain a visa for New York or Los Angeles. Cities appreciated above all the other
American cities, because of the film and music industry that was there. They didn’t let that stop them
and every year at Christmas time they organized the “L.A. Carnival” in Benin City. This is where
Jujuboy, 13, got on stage for the first time to rap. The public gave him a standing ovation and
showered him with banknotes, as tradition dictates when a griot has done his job well. Jujuboy can’t
believe it: "I managed to return home intact, he remembers, with all this cash in my pockets. My
neighborhood was not the safest. I was so proud to show my mother what I had earned in such a
short time. “As a teenager, JujuBoy who chose his name thanks to one of his songs, “JujuGirl”, which
he put on Soundcloud, continued to reject local music, the afrobeat of Fela, the highlife of Ghana:
"For me, it was my grandmother’s music…for adults.” He preferred American R&B and wrote his first
songs about his love affairs while listening to Mario’s "Let Me Love You”, Chontelle’s “T-shirt” or
Rihanna and Eminem’s “Monster”.
He reconciled with the music of his origins thanks to another Nigerian artist, Adekunle Gold, who
launched a contest with his fans on the networks and offered them to cover three of his songs and
post a video. At 18, Jujuboy, convinced by his grandmother to sing, then saw his cover of Era
reposted by the star: “One morning, when I woke up, I had a bunch of new followers on my
Instagram with loads of comments. I had never read so many good things about my music.
Unfortunately, I didn’t win the contest but the simple fact that Adekunle Gold reposted me was
already a victory. He also messaged me to say he liked the song, and he wrote on his Twitter: “Who is
Jujuboy?” Two days later, someone invited him to come and play at a club in my state. And I thought
to myself, the timing is incredible., I managed to sneak into the club with a friend. I had my laptop in
my backpack, convinced that I was going to succeed in getting him to listen to my music in the club! I finally managed to approach him to tell him how grateful I was that he posted my video. He replied,
"Oh cool”, a little tipsy…. He proposed to come to his hotel later to let him listen to my music. “I
played him a song called, “I have no visa”, which he really liked, and he asked his manager to take my
number.”
A few days later Jujuboy received a plane ticket for Lagos and sees his career as a musician launched.
In the studio, he perfects his music, no longer ignores the saxophone, emblematic instrument of the
Fela family present on the title “I dey there”, keeps the rhythmic progression of highlife while mixing
it with the cloud rap he listens to on the platforms. This gives for example his title “Gimme Love”
(2018), melancholy, infused with the sadness he felt after the death of his grandmother. In each of
his tracks, he makes it a point of honor to keep the expressions of his Nigerian slang. In 202O, he
signed with Universal, left the madness of Lagos for Abuja and concentrated in the studio for his new
album and released two promising singles “I dey There” and “Enjoyment”.