From living in the street, James Oluwajuwonlo Edahi, popularly known as Jaywon, broke into the music industry with the hit song 'File Be'. He recounts the story of how Kennis Music gave his music career a boost, his journey into music and other issues.
You were picked from the crowd…?
I was discovered during the 2009 Easter Music Fiesta. There was this artiste I've known before that I met there. So, I approached him and told him that I'd like to perform too. He said he'd seen one of the collaborated songs I did with an artiste and that he liked it.
He told me he'd help me. And that's how I was allowed to perform before the crowd. I didn't go there with my CD but I performed excellently and the crowd loved my performance.
Other artistes came armed with their CDs, but I sang without my CD.
How many minutes were you given to perform?
I was given about two minutes to perform. After my performance, the artiste whom I shot a collaborated video with was invited on stage. People already knew his song, so while he was singing, I went on stage to join him and we performed the song together.
People loved the song, they screamed and responded to whatever I did and Keke was behind the stage, watching the response of the crowd. After the performance, he asked for my number, I gave it to him and he said they were going to get back to me.
Did he get back to you?
Yes, he did but it took about two weeks before he did. I couldn't sleep, waiting for his call. Before he finally called, any time my phone rang and it was a strange number; I would quickly pick it up.
So what went through your mind when he finally called?
I just knew that I was blessed. And I kept praying because when I came to Lagos as an artiste, I never dreamt that I could have something to do with Kennis Music.
And how did your friends react to the good news that you were with Kennis Music?
Some of them just told me that they believed in me and knew God would do something good for me.
What has the experience been like with Kennis Music?
The experience has remained memorable. When I joined them, I saw a lot of different things that people don't really take notice of.
Like what?
People don't really know that Kennis Music is a business venture that partners with artistes. All what people say is that Kennis don't care about artistes. But thats not true. here at Kennis, everybody works together to make things better.
And when the single finally dropped …?
Yes, it was the File Be song that brought me to where I am now. But the one I performed at the concert was my own version of the song but when I was signed on, it was turned around. They had to record the song all over again. A lot of ideas were shared to improve on the song
