10 Questions: King Joey

1. Who is King Joey and what makes him different from other artistes?

King Joey is a Ghanaian artiste dedicated to promoting the youthful and modern image in Ghana while motivating and entertaining the masses in the process.. *Laughs* To me the difference is clear considering my beat selection and the style I use in making these songs, to even some of the things I say on the songs

2. How did you get started in the music industry and what gave you the motivation to stay with it?

Since a child, I’ve always enjoyed listening to music but it’s when I got to secondary school that I started hanging out in studios during the vacations, Dugud’s studio to be specific, on the Spintex road at that time… then I got into the university and started recording at Eddy Kay’s studio then finally decided to work on my first project with Slimbo, that’s when everything officially started. To be honest, how the audience received my releases motivated me a lot cos I personally enjoyed making songs and recording and all that but when I get love with every release it motivates me to work on more songs.

3. Who are your top 5 MCs of all time? Why do you vibe with them?

Easy, Biggie, Hov, Rozay, Pac, Drake … in no particular order well I vibe with each of them for different specific reasons, like for Pac it’s not because of his flow but more because of his personality and the rest generally because of their flows.

4. Any local musical influences?

Not really influenced but I listen to a couple of them.

5. How do you define the genre hiplife? How different is it from hip hop? And why do you think hip hop has still not peaked in Ghana?

I feel like hip-life is Ghana’s own modern version highlife with more of rap sometimes in the local dialect with some indigenous Ghanaian melodies in the sound but hip-hop is a more imported genre with its own bounce. As for it not peaking I feel like its a matter of time and as generations come and go different waves will do the same.

6. LOW TIDES EP – Tell us ALL there is to know about that project. Should we be watching out for a follow-up project?

Low Tides Ep to me is one of the best decisions I’ve made on my own and I had to go through things to make it happen, but I’m glad everything worked out and I’m glad it opened new doors for me to be confident and optimistic about the future. As I already mentioned earlier I recorded and mixed it at Slimbo’s studio and 90% of the beats were made in my uni room… I spent a lot of time with Arrow preparing the sound for the project. And yes, I’m about to release a follow-up project which is a direct contrast from Low Tides with respect to the general vibe of both projects.

7. What do you think your listeners will get out of your music?

I think I have different songs with different vibes that the listener can enjoy depending on the mood at that time and with that I think satisfaction is the main thing to get and entertainment of course.

8. What are your thoughts on the current state of music in Ghana?

Well, I feel like the game is the game and it has been like that since, but considering the music being made especially by the youth I think its just a matter of time before the music scene experiences a refreshing change.

9. Walk us through our creative process

For me once I like the beat most of the work is done, I just proceed to find something interesting or personal to talk about, then I decide how I want to sound on the beat, that’s the style.