‘You need to be ready for failure in order to succeed in music’

DZ, real names Dele Azeez, is one of the new generation music makers set to take the music industry by storm this year. With his latest single and video, ‘Everyday’ currently enjoying around the country, he told ROTIMI IGE about his quest to mark his mark in the industry, among other things.

The music industry in Nigeria is evolving. What stands you out as a musician?

I have always loved all kinds of music plus I have an adventurous and wide-ranging mind, as an artiste. It’s probably because of the environment I grew up in. Every song on the radio, when I was a kid, sounded very different and unique, and I grew up with a mother who loved and played different genres of music. This makes me quite versatile.

Musical experiences while growing up?

It was a great experience. Every song and every artiste had a distinct and unique personality. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly like that anymore. The present day artistes in the Nigerian music industry are primarily or mostly obsessed with emulating very precisely, a particular style or sound or, worst of all, a specific artiste.

Tell us about the story behind your stage name DZ.

The stage name is from my real name Dele Azeez.

Your kind of music…

I do Afro Pop because I am an African and I love out beats. I mix them with the pop genre in my songs.

Passion or business? Critics say most new . artistes are mostly into music for fame and fortune…

Becoming a famous singer takes a whole lot commitment to yourself, it takes more than passion. One needs to have an obsession; you’ll need to have the courage to face the audience screaming your name, you need to be ready to face the failure at first, in order to get successful in music industry.

What challenges have you faced as an artiste? Tell us about your songs and the inspiration behind them.

It’s hard creating good songs, getting them out and promoted well, finding people to appreciate it and making a living while doing what you love.

My songs and inspiration comes from stories around, personal experiences and inspirational love songs which provide extremely powerful emotions to attract special people.

What should fans expect from you this year?

Fans should expect good songs and duel with a known artiste that I don’t want to mention yet.

I dropped a song and a video two months ago, which is receiving massive airplay and street credibility.

I just dropped another new song and video titled ‘Everyday’, directed by young prolific director, Yemmy prodigy. The song was produced by Echo. It’s enjoying rave reviews online, on TV and radio stations around Africa.