GONE SOLO, ABOUT TO ROCK YOUR WORLD- NEJ

GONE SOLO, ABOUT TO ROCK YOUR WORLD- NEJ

Before you mention 10 hot and sexy female musical artistes in Nigeria, her name would have popped up. Nene Johnson was an active member of the now defunct group, Ecstasy. Due to personal and label issues they broke up. She has gone solo. In this interview with Paschal Chikero, she speaks on her solo career and what she has been up to. Enjoy:

Let’s meet you

My name is Nene Johnson, also known as NEJ. I am a graduate of Lagos State University, I am musician, a model, I am an entertainer. I from Arochukwu  Local Government  in Abia State.

Why did Ecstasy your former group break up?

Ok Ecstasy was a musical group made of two female artistes, we had issues with our UK based record label as a result of the fact that the label was new and based outside the country. Before the break up, we got up to the level that our video was on air and our song too was on air. So there were personal issues and label issues so everybody just sat down and trashed it all out and decided that we should all go our separate ways.

Since the break up, how has your relationship with your colleague been?

Very platonic and cordial. I wouldn’t say that we are still as close as we used to be in the past because then we did everything together, like recording in the studio, hanging out but this days we now do our thing, sometimes in shows we bump into each other , we greet each other. That is just it.

What is NEJ up to at the moment?

NEJ is actually taking her time to do something meaningful, everybody is rushing to do something but to me this is the time to sit down to strategize, rebrand and work on stuffs. So when I come out I can make positive impact. At moment NEJ has singles but not yet on air. I am just taking my time producing and recording but before this month runs or early quarter of next month, about two of them will be on air.

These days every artiste throws out at least one single to remain relevant until the album is complete, why are you not doing that

That is exactly what is going to happen before this month runs out or early next month, I have singles now but we just don’t want to rush out.

Can we know the titles of the singles that you are coming out with

I have Ezi Okwu, I have Be My Bobo and a couple of others. I have worked with a couple of good producers and I have plans to work with Sam Clef. These songs are there but I have not picked out my single but definitely before this month runs out, I will.

So when will the full album come out

Well let’s look at singles for now then shows etc.

Who are the big artistes we should expect you working with

Am looking forward to working with Olamide, Durela  and then the females, I would like to work with Eva, Muna the pretty rapper, Omawumi, Waje has a wonderful voice. I am actually happy that the female artistes are really thriving.

It’s now a general complain from the female artistes, they say they are not treated equally with the male artistes, what is your take on this

I feel that Nigerians as a whole should accept the woman. You guys just feel she is just a woman. I think African men should just accept the black woman as an equal and it will do a whole lot of good. For instance women are more reasonable than men; we are not as callous as men in making decisions.

In America we have big and well respected female artistes like Beyonce, Rihana, Lady Gaga. These are big artistes that must be respected , don’t you think that the reason women are not yet well respected in Nigeria is because we don’t have the big female artiste with the extra gift to compete with Tuface, Dbanj etc

Those American female artistes we feel are respected today were actually given a chance, they were embraced. The difference here is there is a wall the lady has to break down and to do that it actually takes a lot of courage. I believe that if those walls and barriers are broken down for the female artistes to express themselves, we will make the difference.

So as a female artiste how are you going to break that wall?

First of all I am coming in with a male mind set. Be consistent, persevere. Men have this mindset that I have responsibilities so I have to this but ladies, we come in with the mindset of lets go and try, some day, one man is going to come in and continue from where we stopped.

So what is the next level for NEJ concerning record label

I am actually so open to record labels right now.

There is this die hard attitude new artistes have these days, just go into the studio, do a nice song,  promote it, do shows  while you work on your album then straight to Alaba, sell then back to the studio. Don’t you want to apply the winning strategy?

It’s about the kind of society we are in. as a new artistes people find it difficult to deal with you, they feel it’s like gambling; they would always prefer to deal with the older artistes so you have to proof yourself and to do that, you have to make moves. You can’t just fold your arms waiting for record labels, your dreams would just die.

So as I am looking at NEJ, she is about to blow and when you do don’t forget me (laughs).what kind of brand are you coming out with, the Lady Gaga thing or what

NEJirism thing (laughs), which you are about to find out. It’s a mixture of weird, unpredictability, real talent and reasonable contents, all these in one.

Let’s talk about the he in the she

He is fine; I don’t really like to talk about my relationship. He is fine.

There is this rumour that you will soon get married

(Laughs) Very funny.

Are you going to settle down one day with a man?

Off course I would, hello?

A lot of ladies these days say I don’t have time for men, I want to just have a kid and make my ends meats

Let’s get it straight, I believe God made woman for man and man for woman if not there wouldn’t be two sexes in the world. Off course I am going to get married but I am trying to get my priorities right. As a woman I feel I owe it to humanity to achieve something in life. Something that my kids will say that is what my mother lived for, my husband can say that is what she achieved not the just give birth to children kind of woman.

So what kind of music do you do?

Pop, a fusion of R and B, Afro music and hip hop but basically Pop.

What does style mean to you?

Well I think style is your persona. I don’t think style is something particular; it is basically what you are comfortable in and confident in.

What is your beauty routine?

I make sure I shower two times a week and whenever I have the time I always try to get a good sleep. It’s always good to rest.  I try to get my facials done once a while, unplug my purse and then eat well.

Where will NEJ be in the next one year?

Next one year, I see NEJ being a recognized brand, doing big shows in and out of Nigeria.

Nice talking to you

Same here.