We had the good fortune of connecting with JU and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JU, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
the ability to create, and inspire others through that creation brings me fulfillment. we are creations, so we must create. it’s an innate part of life

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Life is art. Art is life. Born in Chicago but growing up in Nigeria (2001 -2008) , I was automatically engulfed in a plethora of culture. A lot of it was unconscious just because that’s what I was surrounded by so I didn’t know any different. It took me coming back to the States to notice how vastly diverse my upbringing was compared to people around me.

I’ve been around music as long as I can remember, from singing in the choir when I was younger, to wanting to join the band at Commands Children’s School, Yaba (the military school I went to in Nigeria), to my mum playing Sade’s Love album on cd over and over again, or Seal blasting thru the speakers on a Saturday morning. I couldn’t escape it. So now me being a music producer is almost a full circle moment. I say ‘almost’ because there’s still so much work to be done in order for me to hold that space in people’s minds as far as being part of the soundtrack to their lives. That’s inevitably what I strive for.

Football has been a part of me as long as I can remember. When I finally came back to the States I used beg my parents to let me join a pop warner team, but they never budged. It’s an obsession. I started playing my freshman year in high school. Not getting any good offers out of high school, I went JUCO. 2 years and 3 surgeries later and balling out the way I wanted to, I made the decision to take the time to fully get healed and then return to play. Sleepless nights, unbearable pain, loss, joys, breakthroughs, frustration, endurance, faith, obsession are all tools needed to achieve. Training daily at this point is habitual. From working with the team at EXOS, to training with incredible minds like Zach Cogen, DocVas, and TJ Hart, they’ve been key in helping me elevate my training both physically and mentally. To be in this elite shape and performance gets me even more excited for what’s next with making in it the NFL.

Perseverance and discipline, I feel, is always part of the foundation in building anything substantial and meaningful. I learned this early on from waking up at 4am to fetch water for 2 hours before school from a well in a ground outside our house on Iwaya Road. My aunty and uncle who I primarily lived with during that period instilled so much in me, which would later manifest in good and not so good.

I’m not afraid to be inspired. Drawing inspiration from every moment is how i see the world. Whether is it’s from movies like Papillon, Ip Man, Dirty Harry, King of devils Island, Warrior, Inception, Phantom Threads, and on and on. Growing up I was immersed in so many films from different cultures. Or watching Derrick Rose play when he was on the Bulls. Or watching Usain Bolt break new records. Every moment was and still is undeniable.

Fast forward to 2019 where I began officially producing music. I would watch my brother Uche, who was already an artist and years deep in music, produce entire albums by himself. From being able to just watch, I downloaded so much. Before then I would write and help construct songs, but it never fully dawned on me that this was actually something besides just a God giving ability, and it was fun. Pure. Since then I’ve worked with multiple artists from the likes of Uche, Fivio Foreign, G herbo, Chloe Bailey, Lil Keed, KayCyy, Tia Corine, Tekno and more. Being able to observe the process and workflow of so many different artists is majour; it helps me be fluid.

I’m excited for the new music I’ve been working on; my personal projects, as well as music with other artists. Currently, I’m working on 3 albums of my own which have been years in the making.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
i thank GOD for His continual guidance and vision in my life.

Instagram: ju__akogu

Other: https://on.soundcloud.com/HbeHEsHPvjchHiJ69

Image Credits
Photo with me and other person – Zach Cogen

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