Czar and Greezy make up the group of Dirty Denimz and are one of the fast-rising artistes on the entertainment scene at the moment. ROTIMI IGE had a discussion with them recently and presents excerpts of their interaction.
Tell us about yourselves and early memories growing up.
We are brothers from same family and graduated from the University of Ilorin. We are proudly Ogun State indegenes. We have been able to create a bond musically because we learnt how to do the most of the producing, mixing and mastering our songs ourselves.
We have always been fans of hip-hop music and started writing our songs from about 15 years ago. I remember many years ago when we recorded songs played on the radio station programmes just to have copies on tape. I also remember that our mother had a piano she got from overseas which we used in rehearsing and also creating sounds even though we didn’t have a studio yet.
I remember one time, at my friend’s house, we used a radio tape player to play beats while I used another tape player to record the vocals to be able to record like a real song and funny enough it came out not bad. We had to improvise till we had the opportunity to go to a proper studio.
What kind of music do you do and how did you discover your sound?
Our kind of music is ‘World music’ because it encompasses many different styles of music from around the world; you can find hip-hop, reggae, R n B, alternative, soul but to mention a few. Our music is very relatable in the sense that anybody listening can easily tap into it because of our unique style .
To be honest, I think it’s the sound that discovered us because we have always had our own kind of sound. We have never tried to sound like anyone or digitalise our sound to sound too synthetic. We love to sound original. I guess that’s one of the reasons we don’t sound different from what you hear in our music even while performing live on stage because it’s original from the depth of the heart and soul.
Dirty Denimz’s sound can best be defined as ‘organic music’ because it mostly starts out as a simple concept but develops into and idea with the improvisation that comes in.
What do you want to achieve with music?
Greezy: We want to achieve a lot but the most important thing for me is for us to establish a relationship with our fans in a way that the message of our song is impressed in their hearts .
Czar: Music to me is a calling and a calling that demands inspiration, devotion and dedication. I do music for the love and fun in creating but again as a creative, I do it as a business. I want to inspire the world with my vision of love and harmony and in the end the blessings that come with it will be sufficient and yes that includes money.
What challenges have you faced as international artistes?
To be very candid, it has to be the promotional aspect because that is all we need to get to the next level and get people to listen to our song and showcase the art. The aim is to grow fan base and keep the fire burning as the inspiration grows.
How would you say Afrobeats can influence global perspectives as regards the entertainment industry?
Czar: Without any iota of doubt, Afrobeats is the fastest growing genre and the world now identifies with it thanks to my brothers Tuface, Dbanj, Wizkid, Davido and Burna boy. They all made coming up less stressful.
Greezy: Afrobeat has gone far and wide and it reflects the African heritage and tradition. Africa is the home of Afrobeat so our music must reflect Africa’s beauty and strength, no matter what. We can show the world what it feels like being African by fusing the Afrostyle and other genres thereby bringing both worlds together.
Today, Afrobeat has been recognised as one of the major genres in the world because of the beauty and style reflected through the music and videos respectively. Now, we now have international artistes working with Afrobeat artistes because Afrobeats is now established as one of the major genres of music.
How do you intend to capture your Nigerian audience?
The Nigerian audience are a very sensitive set of people; they are emotional in their taste and consumption of music so they get attached and detached when it’s music. Dirty Denimz will make music the Nigerian audience can relate to using a brilliant form of communication which is a fusion of pidgin and local dialect and never stop giving them that sweet tune, melody and big bass. We love how Nigerians love beats so yes, we give them that. We are lyrical people and big story tellers which are some of the ingredients for the Naija musical recipe.
Tell us about some of your songs…
Czar: Our songs are of true events and a bit about someone else’s story. It’s a real life story or how life plays out when it comes to story telling for me. All my life, it’s been events upon events so when I make music it’s inspired by that. We made ‘I gotta win’ when our mother was ill and we were flat broke, it was one of those really hard days during the COVID-19 breakout.
Greezy: Let me start with ‘I gotta win’. This song is a fuel for every mind telling you no matter what life brings, keep hustling till you win, you can’t stop. To live your dreams and keep pushing till you hit your mark. ‘You go kee pesin’ is a lively and catchy one for the streets and the club. It’s an anthem to get everyone into the dancing and party mood.
What’s next for you?
The next thing would be to establish our name ‘Dirty Denimz’ worldwide and the name comes with the music, the label and clothing line. We want every fan across the world to recognise and identify the name anywhere and anytime it’s seen.
We have another single out and looking to put out another one after. The album drops around the end of the year too.
Asides music, what are your other interests?
Czar: I love football (a Manchester United). I love to exercise and workout too, business ideas and video games. I read when I have some time and no one around me too.
Greezy: Asides music, it would be food business. Having a five-star restaurant has always been one of our dreams. We are good at cooking and have the experience and skills, so it’s one of the things of interests. Another thing of interest would be the movie industry.
If you have the opportunity to work with anyone, who would they be and why?
It would be Wizkid and Burna boy. They are talented and have set a standard of music and also have taken Afrobeats globally. Asides winning the Grammys, these are some of the most featured Nigerian artistes because of their style and hardwork. We definitely want to work with artistes like that who would keep taking Afrobeats to the world .
How do you think streaming has impacted on our local industry and where do you see the future of Nigerian music?
Streaming has made sharing and listening to music easier and both artiste and fans benefit from it so much that it bridges the gap between both sides. Now, as an artiste, you can post music and see how the fans react without even putting it in the album. Back in the days, you could hardly test run.
Nigerian music will dominate the world because of talent, creativity and ever evolving inspiration but it will stand the test of times based on the quality support on and from home soil.
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