Hit-Making 101: Jamix Provides the Lecture

By Chiagoziem Onyekwena

Whenever there’s sudden power failure in our homes and offices, Nigerians have a habit of yelling- ‘Ah, NEPA don strike!’ so on Wednesday the 25^th of August, 2010, they actually did. It’s not like there was much electricity in the land to begin with, truth be told the majority of Nigerians will continue to live in darkness even after the strike has been called off, it’s just the disappointment that our leaders had allowed this 7 year-old issue go this far before doing anything about it that bothered most people; the Federal Government had failed us once again.

Jamix is an optimist, regardless of what anyone has to say about this country, the Ogun state indigene is proud of his heritage and in the omnipresent M.I, the ever-spirited Terry G and the new-look 9ice, the ace producer was lucky to find a few comrades who shared his patriotism. The result was Omo Naija, a strong contender for hip-hop collaboration of the year 2009 but as has been the case for most of his career the soft-spoken producer seems more like the outsider for the accolade than the ‘man-to-beat’.

Jamix has been blessing tracks with his trademark adlibs for more than ten years now. From his HQ in Abuja back then, his production helped steer the careers of respected wordsmiths Mode 9, Overdose, Pherowshuz, Six-foot Plus and Rule Clean (of Wetin I Want fame) in the right direction. In ’06, Jamix produced his biggest hit so far, Faze’s Kolomental, before working with R&B group Styl Plus, Black Solo, Ruggedman, B.O.U.Q.U.I and a few other artistes.

In this edition of 15 Questions of Fame well-respected producer, gentleman and hit maker Jamix, joins me as we talk about Fruity Loop producers, his secret singing ambitions and the ingredients necessary to cook up a hit track.

1. Where did you get the name Jamix from?

My friends from the US and Nigeria gave me the name Jamix, simply means the god of mix.

2. You’ve come a long way from being a young producer finding his way in Abuja to one of the most respected hip-hop producers in Lagos, do u feel Jamix has finally made it?

I feel a bit good at this level, it was not easy at all, when I look back from where I’m coming from, but it can still be far better than what it is right now.
3. If you weren’t a producer what would you be?

I don’t see myself doing any other thing apart from music, I love music, and I was born to do this music thing.

4. Do you consider yourself slightly underrated in the industry considering some of your work?

Yeah I would say I’m somehow underrated in the industry with all my hard work, all the hits to my credit and its seem like I’ve done nothing yet, never been recognized for any award or for any cooperate thing in the industry, but I’ve kept up and worked more.

5. Are you an ‘old-school producer’ with the keyboards and drums or do you Fruity loop it all the way?

Keyboards and drums is not old school in anyway, I play the keyboards and drums for all my productions. The Fruity Loop thing some people do use it well for what they do. For me, I think it’s just for some weak beat makers that don’t know how to play the keyboard, it’s not for serious producer, and it’s never a tool for the professionals worldwide.

6. On the average, how long do you need to craft a beat start to finish?

It depends on my mood and what I want, four to six hours should do for me normally but sometimes it could be days.

7. Are you tempted to leave the boards sometimes and enter the booth to bust a 16 or you never see yourself becoming a rapper?

If I’m going to do anything in the booth, I think I’m going to be singing. I see myself more on the singing side than the rap thing; I can do both if I want.

8. When an upcoming artiste comes to Jamix and says come let’s do this jam and after 10 minutes with the artiste you realise he’s really bad, do you sometimes compromise and just record his work, take his money and ‘clean mouth’ or do you politely decline?

(Laughs heartily) No I don’t just take their money and clean my mouth oh! But for real the ones I can help put through I tell them what to do, but those ones that I can’t at all… I tell them truth, I can’t work with them.

9. Most of your beats are upbeat and bouncy; do you try other genres besides hip-hop once in a while, something a little mellower?

Yeah that’s true, my beats are up tempo and bouncy. I do other style of music too like; R&B, soul, reggae, dance hall and even slow songs the Nigerian hi-life music. A lot of people think I only do hip-hop music, yeah no doubt about that I love hip-hop.

10. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?

I’ve faced a lot of different challenges as a producers, you produce for this artistes, some of them don’t give you credit for the productions, or they don’t get promote the songs, or they get to release the work so many years after, which is not good for me as a producer after putting so much time and creative energy into a song. Some of them don’t even have money to pay for their production; they just come around looking for free beat from you. No royalty, no publishing, no good studios to make your production come out great, but I’m still making hits that’s the most important thing with it.

11. Who would you love to work with that you haven’t worked with yet?

Wow! There are a whole lot artiste I would love to work with that I’ve not worked yet. I would love to work with anyone who’s good that knows what they are doing and has something really good to bring forth, male or female, big or small artistes.

12. How hard was it bringing so many big artistes together on one single album?

Hmm it was crazy…  it took a whole lot of time recording over the years, travelling from one state to another, at the end of the day everything came out to be a great success.

13. Your debut is called the Lecture, so Jamix give us a crash course on how to craft a hit song

There are lots of things you need to put in place for you to have a hit song, first of all the beat has to be good, the melody of the song, the hook lines, the vocals all this has to be on point 100% and then above all you need to keep it simple.

14. How would you describe your album?

One of the hardest classic hip-hop albums ever to come out of Nigeria! I featured top artistes home and aboard and it’s the first ever producer’s album with a world class production. All songs were produced by me, perfect vocals from the artistes, and this kind of classic hip hop album can only be done by ace producer Jamix.

15. What are we to expect from you in the rest of 2010? Who have you worked with or currently in the studio with?

Expect a whole lot from Jamix, my (album) release is coming up next month September in Lagos and Abuja, more videos for the album. Right now I’m working with Godwon from Houston and a whole lot of other artistes.

Jamix’ debut album the Lecture is out in stores.

Related posts:

1. The Making Of Terry G
2. Why I’m Making Clothes For Women – Ruggedman
3. Poor Video For Jamix’s Nice Song

Tags: 15 Questions of Fame, 9ice, Black Solo, faze, jamix, mi, mode 9, overdose, Pherowshuz, ruggedman, Rule Clean, Six-foot Plus, styl plus, terry g