How late Michael Jackson influenced my music career ― Hanujay

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5 years ago

Emerging as one of the fastest rising musicians in Nigeria, Hanujay, born Aghogho Hanu Agbodje, has revealed the secret of his success on the music scene.

Hanujay, who has released two EPs of 13 tracks in a brief interview with TribuneOnline disclosed that he could only keep adrift of the rising waves on the music scene by not sticking to a particular genre of music because it would limit his talent.

According to him: “It’s mixed for me as far as music is concerned. I grew up with RnB and soul but now we have the popular Afrobeat. My kind of music is a combination of different genres.”

Recalling how his music career started, the budding artist said singing started professionally for him in 2016. He stated that he had always been around music when growing up.

“I was highly influenced by the generic sound of Lagos (from Ajegunle to Festac) in the early 90’s. My instrumentation and melodies are mostly drawn from and inspired by the kind of music I listened to while growing up. I have blended these sounds with contemporary RnB, Soul, and hip-hop and this is my music.”

But Hanujay had a turning point in his life. Music wouldn’t probably have been an option but he had a huge influence that shaped his life.

“I got into music because I saw Michael Jackson on TV and I was like 3-5 year at the time. It was totally amazing and exciting at the same time, seeing what he could do and how people loved him. In fact, I fainted and died for him and I want people to do that for me too. The beginning was alright, the process was great. I learnt for a couple of years, went to a music school before making music then I realized I was the real McCoy,” he said.

But things didn’t start to get on the up and up for him until 2018 when he released his first EP and the second next year to announce his intention on the music scene.

“In 2018 I released the ‘Vibes’ EP’ which consists of 8 songs: namely; Dance; Special; Dodo; Fine Wine; Rock Well; Skit; No Smoking Zone; and Good Love. That was in January of 2018. Then I released another EP, in December of 2019 titled ‘Let’s smoke and Fuck” with 5 tracks: namely; Uber, Magic, Love, Guyman, and Vibration. They were all produced by Patricia Studios. There are so many more unreleased singles. Just watch out for Hanujay.

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The two EPs, according to critics were not run-of-the-mill stuff, their titles were off the rail and there were a lot of questions on Hanujay identity and what he stands to portray in the music industry.

“There’s nothing kinky about the titles. They only sound a little sensational but absolutely harmless. The first is pretty chilled, just vibes. The second one was more like a magnet tool, it’s something everyone can relate to, either you practice it or you know someone that does. It was just to draw the attention, when you listen to the playlist you’ll understand better. The first EP “Vibes” is pretty cool. Aghogho Hanu Agbodje known as Hanujay is a graduate of Delta State University. He hails from Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. He is a musician, comedian, and a content creator. He was a dancer before music took hold of him through the influence of ‘king of pop,” Michael Jackson.