How Joeboy rose from a freestyle act to the hottest kid in the music scene

4 years ago

How Joeboy rose from a freestyle act to the hottest kid in the music scene

Afrobeat has been blessed with new buzzing talents in 2019. Mavin Records and YBNL unveiled Rema and Fireboy DML respectively to spearhead the leadership of the Nigerian music for the younger generation. Mr Eazi's emPawa discovered the ripe talent possessed by Joeboy.

Born Joseph Akinfenwa, Joeboy started in 2017 with a viral cover of Ed Sheeran’s smash hit, ‘Shape of You' which made him take music seriously and it led him to Mr. Eazi - an unexpected encounter. He is a student of University of Lagos.

Joeboy might not b a household name, but his songs sure is. The Banku Music act has been a great player in the Nigerian music scene releasing several hit singles and bagging huge numbers on streaming platforms.

On how he met Mr Eazi during an exclusive interview with Pulse he said,

"It (meeting Mr. Eazi) was through my cover of ‘Shape of You’ (In 2018)… The funny thing is that, I didn’t even know the song until a day before I recorded the cover. (Recording the song) It was actually my friend’s idea… Then I used to listen to a lot of rap music… So I did (the cover) for it and the song started going viral…

“And then, I met a female friend on Instagram who is friends with a bunch of artists. She didn’t know me, but she said she was going to send it to a bunch of artists. She sent it to Wizkid and so forth.

“The next day, I was reading for my exams jejely o and I saw a notification that Mr Eazi liked my video with his verified account. Next, Mr Eazi commented and then he messaged me saying, ‘sup.’ Next thing, he dropped his number. Next thing, he says, 'Call me.' I said, ‘Jesus’ (laughs)," he says.

He continues that, “That (Shape of You) cover was like that step that just started the process for me. That’s how I met Eazi, we started talking and we started working together.”

Joeboy since discovered by Mr Eazi has dished out several hit singles like Baby, Beginning and the recently released "Don't Call Me Back" featuring Mayorkun.

In November 2019, Joeboy released his debut EP "Love & Light" to cement his musical career. The 5-songs EP has so far amassed over 12 million streams on Audiomack. He has also accumulated over 37 million views on YouTube.

2019 has been a dream year for Joeboy. He has gone from grass to grace in less than a year. After loosing the Headies Next Rated Awards to Rema, Joeboy during the weekend, claimed the 'Best artiste in African Pop Category' at the 6th Afrima awards.

Even if the year is to end now, Joeboy is a success.

Watch Don't Call Me Back featuring Mayorkun