Mr Julz is a fast-rising Afropop artist from Nigeria making waves internationally. His digital releases such as “You Are Mine” and “Ya Bam Bam” pulled in views into the thousands quickly building him solid a cult following. In his latest single “You Are Mine” he collaborated with the songwriter and producer Egar Boi whose credits include writing with Oxlade, Yemi Alade, Yemi Alade and more. We took the time to talk to Mr Julz about his rising journey and his plans to release his debut album in 2023.

 

WHAT DREW YOU TO BECOMING A MUSIC ARTIST?

I started off being mesmerised by Micheal Jackson whose dancing got me so hooked at a very young age. From dancing in primary school soon enough I started writing music for fun and at the time trying to be the cool kid among my mates. But later on, after a few demos, I was hooked on the idea of being able to come up with all these melodies and create music people loved.

 

GROWING UP LISTENING TO THE LIKES OF MICHAEL JACKSON, BOYZ 2 MEN, AND SISQO, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THEM THAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE MUSIC?

Micheal Jackson’s dancing got me hooked up very fast and I was immediately blown away by all the videos I watched. Same with Sisqo it was a new version of Micheal and I gravitated to that stage of attention

 

WHAT’S THE ONE THING NO ONE KNEW ABOUT MR JULZ?

I am actually a very emotional person and not a big fan of loud music, especially in clubs. I hang out to socialise and clubs are predominantly loud music and you always end up screaming for the other person to hear you (Lol).

 

DESCRIBE THE MOMENT THAT YOU NEARLY WANTED TO GIVE UP ON MUSIC AND WHAT CHANGED?

After releasing “Go Down”, despite its massive success, I think I mentally burnt out. My creative side went numb as I always was writing. But I just felt like I had enough of chasing and kind of stopped producing music for 2 years. During the coronavirus, I noticed that I had so much time so started just writing music for fun. This really helped me mentally as this got me in the right mindset. After a few months of recording demos with new instrumentals, I was so hooked. At that moment I realised how much I had missed creating music. So decided to return and give this my full attention.

 

 

IN THE MUSIC SCENE IN AFRICA AND THE UK, WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES YOU’VE EXPERIENCED?

In Africa gaining fans is a lot easier than in the UK especially due to the fact that targeted promotion yields a bigger return on engagement. In the UK not a lot of people know Afrobeats so engagement is still on a rise.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE AFROBEATS BECOMING MORE POPULAR IN THE MAINSTREAM?

I am really excited about the rise of Afrobeats in the mainstream. It is time the world gets to understand our music our stories and our culture. This also opens up [more] doors.

 

IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH ANYONE IN THE WHO WOULD IT BE?

Mr Eazi, Burna Boy and Skales.

 

GIVE THREE TIPS YOU WOULD GIVE TO SOMEONE IN THEIR JOURNEY OF A MUSIC CAREER.

I would say patience and setting little milestones for yourself along the journey because it takes time for people to start believing in you and your music to travel.

 

WITH THE SUCCESS OF YOUR PREVIOUS SINGLES “YA BAM BAM,” AND “YOU ARE MINE” WHAT’S NEXT FOR MR JULZ?

I am presently working on new music and also recording more songs for my album next due for release next year.

 

Check out Mr Julz latest single “You Are Mine” featuring Egar below!

Gifty
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