Pheelz And Young Jonn: The Nigerian Producers Now Succeeding As Recording Artists
Pheelz’s EP, Pheelz Good arrived in January, and it is a fine summation of his foray into performing artistry. Before this he had secured his place in the industry with “Finesse”, the mellow Afropop joint from a year ago with a chorus so addictive it became a Tiktok legend even before its release. The song’s popularity stretched beyond Nigerian borders, landing spots on the UK’s Official Charts and the Billboard Global 200 after an incredible global run. He followed this up with “Electricity” 5 months later, recruiting Davido for a single that lived up to its predecessor enough to open questions about which song was better. Subsequent releases in “Balling” and ”Stand By You” restated the undiminishing depths of his talent while showcasing his impressive range, with each addition helping to etch in permanent ink his new artistic status. Pheelz Good is therefore curated as a palette for his music, displaying in equal measure these fan favorites and a new set of songs he intends to propel him to the next stage of his career.
Pheelz is basking in his success, and his decision to take charge of his own music—after a decade spent laying the beats for other artists—is proving more and more intelligent in its planning and execution. His career began in a fashion similar to other young creatives—in the backrooms of studios of a more established act, this time the legendary Street Pop producer, ID Cabasa. There, his career grew alongside Olamide’s, who at that time was preparing to exit the incubation stage of Nigerian music and approach the limelight. Together they spun party starters like "First Of All" and "Durosoke", and as Pheelz grabbed a chunk of production credits for Olamide's YBNL and Baddest Guy Ever Liveth albums, the talented pair built their careers and portfolios while building each up. With Pheelz’s crossing over to the performing side of music, he sits at the charge of a vanguard of producers opening up their craft to take on more than just beat making. As Pheelz alluded to in a recent interview, he had been supplying backup vocals on as much 90% of his produced tracks, in addition to taking some of the songwriting burden as music producers often do. Between 2015 and 2020, he interspersed his production career with the occasional song of his own, leading up to 2021’s Hear Me Out EP where he would make his most committed step toward his current status, before following it up with “Finesse” the following March.
Young Jonn, another music producer who made a significant mark on 2022’s music chapter, has a career with an uncannily similar path. He began his journey looking up to Olamide and Pheelz in Hit Factory studio, which at the time had an affiliation with Olamide's YBNL, while he worked on his own beats he hoped would one day be graced by the rapper’s voice, a wish that was granted with the release of "Story For The Gods" in 2014 .The 28 year old artist also possesses credits to some of Olamide’s most alluring Street-ready tracks, including bona-fide anthems like "Bobo", "Wo" and "Science Student", culminating in taking complete charge of Olamide’s 7th studio album, Lagos Nawa, with the sole exception of "Shine", which Olamide produced himself. Since then he's opened his services to other members of Nigerian music's top class, including Davido, Kizz Daniel and Tiwa Savage. His entry into music wasn't quite the start and stop motion of his YBNL colleague; he took the gradual decision to slow down his music production while he invested an increasing studio time into writing and recording his own music.
"Dada", his March 2022 release was his statement of intent, and since it coincided with the announcement of his signing to Chocolate City as a recording artist, it was clear Young Jonn had put his hands on the plough and had no intentions of looking back. That proved to be the right decision, as the song quickly rose in popularity and became a fixture on the airwaves, so much so that Davido wanted in on the action in a bigger, better remix. Young Jonn sought, as is to be expected, to cement this stand with some projects, interspersing these singles with the releases of the EPs, Love Is Not Enough and its Vol 2, where he laced his melodic tales of love and heartbreak over bouncy Afropop production. Already he has made a fine start to the year, with a long-anticipated collaboration with Olamide that arrived earlier this month.
Pheelz and Young Jonn are currently the most prominent travelers of this route, but they are not the first. KDDO (Or Kiddominant) earned his credits behind the boards stamping his signature tag to legendary Afrobeats records, especially Davido’s “Fall”, which is still accumulating certifications five years post-release. His rebranding came with more than just a name change, and the newly christened KDDO released “Beamer Body” in April 2021, with his debut EP Too Late Too Lit arriving a month later. It featured Mayorkun and The Cavemen, as well as South African act Sho Madjozi. His collaboration with Cassper Nyovest, the Amapiano-tinged “eWallet” also made an appearance on the EP a year after its original release, making it clear KDDO intended his project to have a bi-national appeal. The artist is currently gathering laurels via his work as co-writer and co-producer of Chris Brown’s “Under The Influence”, while he plots his next big move in music.
Before these men, many other artists had spent their formative years as music producers before committing to singing, though these periods admittedly did not last long enough for them to make a mark as music producers. CKay’s voice can be heard at the start of “Ella”, Dice Ailes’ love ballad from 2017, as well as other Chocolate City records from that period, as he cut his teeth in the industry and slowly settled into his artistry. His production credits can also be found on parts of his breakout EP, CKay The First, most notably on the global smash, “Love Nwantiti” that brought it to relevance. Tems too, possesses a history of self production, one of many similarities the singers share, as her debut EP, For Broken Ears, came off the back of several DIY sessions learning production on Youtube.
Artists pulling themselves to popularity with songs and projects they produced, wrote and delivered themselves is impressive, but even more so are creatives that juggle both roles even after establishing themselves in the music industry. Maleek Berry self-produced cult classics like “Been Calling” and “Juice” (with Ycee) while working with other acts like Davido, Wande Coal and Runtown in a strictly production capacity; Tekno may be more famous as the harbinger of the catchiest feel-good tracks around, but he was the producer and songwriter of Davido’s “If”; Don Jazzy spent his time at Mo’hits and early Mavin days doubling as producer and artist but has now stepped back from both and taken a role guiding other young artists behind the curtain. With Nigerian music’s time in the sun opening up channels for even more artists to join in the fun, it wouldn’t be surprising to see other producers make this transition, ready to take more a conspicuous spot in the industry and gain a fanbase for themselves. Pheelz and Young Jonn have set an example with their 2022 headlines that there are no limitations to creativity, and it will be interesting to see which creatives follow in their footsteps this year.
This article was written by Afrobeats City Contributor Ezema Patrick - @ezemapatrick (Twitter)
