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Okhuofu Isaiah Oshoriameh, known as Blaq Jerzee, became one of Nigeria’s best producers and later a full-fledged artist, proving that nothing is impossible for people who put their souls into their work. He was born in the relatively small state of Edo in Lagos, Nigeria.
The music came to Blaq Jerzee's life not immediately. Although his childhood could not be called difficult, he still had his challenges. It was unlikely that he knew then that it was these difficulties in the future that would lead him to the success he has now.
Blaq Jerzee faced his first difficulties at school. One of the mandatory school rules was attendance in uniform. Of course, not every family could afford to buy several sets of clothes, and his family was just one of them. Because of this, he quickly had to get used to independence, and from an early age, he washed all the clothes. Of course, these clothes had to be taken care of, so he didn't wear them anywhere except at school. He had to go in a jerzees for various meetings or church groups. The friends eventually started calling him Jerzee for this very reason, and now this nickname is an integral part of his musical career.
It was at school that the boy showed his first serious interest in music. Unlike most musicians who start their journey with a dream to perform on stage, Jerzee just wanted to make music. He was interested in musical combinations, structure, and other elements. This thirst for knowledge forced him to pick up musical instruments and gradually learn to play them himself. The further he delved into music theories, the more it became apparent that he wanted to connect his future with music.
In addition to music, Jerzee has always been interested in business. Perhaps this is why he decided to enter the Auchi Polytechnic after graduating from school, where he studied business administration in more depth and successfully graduated. Looking at how he built his business, we can say that he has found a way to competently combine both his hobbies into what will soon become his profession. Shortly after his release, he became much more active in music and gradually made his way into the music business scene.
Blaq Jerzee has long had a special love for Hip-Hop music. This love of energetic beats, combined with meaningful lyrics, led him to produce. He liked the idea of not only collaborating with famous artists but also the opportunity to help novice artists break into the music space. Pretty soon, he started working as a producer. In a relatively short time, the producer’s talent began to be noticed by quite popular people in show business. Later, he signed a contract with the record label StarBoy Entertainment, which belongs to Wizkid. There, his talent was quickly appreciated, and he began producing serious singles and albums.
One of the first hits that Blaq Jerzee produced was "Gift" by Iyanya (feat. Don Jazzy). The song was released in 2015 and became an unexpected hit. Over the next few years, Blaq Jerzee actively improved his craft, and by 2018 he became one of the best producers in Nigeria. Under his leadership, even simple or outdated bits sounded completely new. Wizkid immediately saw the talent in Blaq Jerzee and decided not only to let him produce a new album that he recorded with StarBoy but also to record with Jerzee a few songs that will be included in it. Although Jerzee had no particular desire to sing the song himself, he agreed. The result of this collaboration was the songs "Blow" and "Thankful". The song "Blow" first showed Blaq Jerzee from the other side, not just as a producer and songwriter but as a full-fledged artist.
Such sudden popularity was quite unexpected for Blaq Jerzee. He was already famous in music circles before that, but now even ordinary listeners have learned about him. To date, the music video for this song has more than 5.5 million views on YouTube. It became an exciting experience for him, and later, he decided to try himself as an artist. To do this, he decided to change some of the principles he used in recent years. In 2019, he still decided to change the label under which he will work and thus moved to SJW Entertainment. 2020 can be officially considered the beginning of his solo career.
"Arizona" (with Wizkid) became the first single by the now full-fledged artist Blaq Jerzee. Even though this was only his first single, he was able to please a vast number of listeners, which made "Arizona" a real hit. Spotify alone has listened to this song almost 2 million times, and the music video has been viewed more than 1.2 million times on YouTube. Such a strong start to a solo music career has not been given to everyone, but if you look at how well Jerzee understands production and what listeners want to hear, it becomes clear that this results from hard work.
Throughout 2020, despite the difficulties that musicians faced, Blaq Jerzee still decided to continue to release songs actively. Following "Arizona", Jerzee released such singles as "Onome", "Olo" and "Pito" (with Oluwa Kuwait). They were good songs but still failed to capture the audience as much as their debut single did. This all changed dramatically with the release of his recent single "One Leg Up" (feat. Tekno). This song contains everything that listeners want from a real afrobeat. Dance rhythm, words that are easy to remember, and positive energy in one song, which asks to dance.
To date, "One Leg Up" is the second most popular song by Blaq Jerzee, right after "Arizona". Although it was released recently, Spotify's "One Leg Up" has almost half a million listens, and the music video has garnered nearly 300,000 views in just 2 months.
To date, little is known about the artist's plans because he likes to keep everything a secret, but watching how fast his career moves, we can assume that we are waiting for the release of the EP or even a full-fledged album. Of course, so far, this is just a guess because, in addition to his career, Blaq Jerzee likes to help other artists move forward in their careers. Whatever path of development he chooses, we will closely monitor all the innovations of the artist.