Swayzee, The New sWave
Hello guys and welcome to the first ever EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW hosted on this website.
Today I'd be interviewing one of the hottest emerging artists in Nigeria, Swayzee (Full name, Ezekiel Georgewill) as he bares it all on his personal life, inspirations, his hair and his new music; 'sWave' amongst others.
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed making this. Thank you.
First things first. Your name! It's very unique, how'd you decide on your name?
Well, the name Swayzee was actually inspired by Tory Lanez’s “Swavey” which was equivalent to words that were cool or tight to compliment someone or something in the greatest sense. I called my style of music sway because of how I flow and do the rap-sing thingy. So the name Swayzee is a combination of my music and my personality which is the “Zee” gotten from my first name Ezekiel.
Okay! I see. So it's a word combo, from Sway and Zee. Good to know. Now your hair!
Your hair is very notable; it's part of what your brand is. You see the hairstyle, you see Swayzee and every girl out there who just wants to touch it. So can you tell us;
What inspired this hairstyle?
My hair plays a very big part in my brand. I’ve always been a shy person, I used to find it difficult to speak in front of people or even take pictures. I’m what you'd call “camera shy,” so I needed something to help boost my esteem, and so far my hair has really done a good job on that... I’m still kinda shy though [Laughs].
I think there's nothing wrong with being shy.
Would you describe your dressing style as Alte fashion?
I wouldn’t describe my fashion sense as the Alté style. I mean, I almost literally wear just hoodies, jackets, and sweatshirts, maybe sometimes plain tees. I love keeping it simple, but anything I wear at all fits.
The song Wild by Yarden FT Swayzee (You) is on its way to 100,000 views on YouTube and has amassed over 555,000 plays on Audiomack. That's over half a million plays on Audiomack alone!
Were you shocked by the level of reception this song got? Or did you expect it in any way?
I’d be lying if I say I expected the reception. Though I was really confident about the project, I never expected it to be accepted so easily. We had 10,000 Audiomack streams on the day of the release, and it’s all thanks to our fans and our team Etinsrecord. This year is really going to be massive.
Oou, sounds like you're teasing something new. Okay!
So how long have you done music?
I would say I started music in 2016 when I had my first ever record, “Music and Hennessy.” But it wasn’t that serious because it was just something I saw as a hobby and not a profession; did it for the fun of it. 2018 was when I started music officially, even though it was all just freestyles and inshallah. WILD is the first major project I got myself on as a musician.
When people think about Swayzee, what do you want people to think about?
When someone thinks about Swayzee, I want them to think about resilience, patience, and at the same time influence. [Laughs] That’s a whole pack of ence. Well, you get me. I’ve been out here for so long doing my thing without making progress, yet I stayed true to myself. I want people to know that no matter how long it takes, we all have our time, and if it doesn’t come on time, we change the clock and get a new time. And guess what? It’s my time now.
Speaking of new, what can you tell us about "The New sWave"?
sWave is just basically wave with an “s” in front of it, meaning Swayzee’s wave. It defines a coming of a new brand, a wave that’s going to lead the new generation of music and other different forms of art. The sWave is a movement! It’s an influence, and it’s ready to spread like a virus.
You know, with the whole Corona-pandemic going on, you'd think I'd hate the sound of that. But. I actually can't wait to get infected with the sWave virus. Bring it on!
So, we would love an insight into your personal life—your background...
How was it like growing up? Where did you grow up?
I was born in Lagos, then I moved with my mom to Port Harcourt. I grew up in a polygamous home, I was a shy kid, I loved being self-isolated and my life was more personal. I was more like this introvert kind of person, and the kind of family I grew up in, if you do well, like if you come out of it a very bright person, there's no challenge in life that you can't ever go through.
Like I had many step siblings, lots of step siblings. My dad married lots of wives, so everybody with these different personalities trying to merge and trying to tolerate each other was not easy at all, but somehow we kinda scaled through.
So yeah, I grew up in Port Harcourt, so I'm basically a Port Harcourt boy, and it makes sense because I'm actually from Rivers State.
Wow, wow. I'm glad you guys scaled through.
Being famous looks fun on papers; it's all glitz and glamour from afar, but it's also extremely challenging.
Have you ever been scared of fame?
I'd be lying if I said I ain't scared of fame. I'm scared of fame, yeah, but at the same time I actually want it. Yeah, I want it. Since WILD dropped, we had favors, lots of platforms, radio credibility and stuff, and it felt really good. I'd love to do it again sometime [Laughs].
So yeah, I actually want to be famous. I know it's scary—the pressure that comes with it and the whole challenges: your life being out there, people being all up in your life, and people criticizing every move you do and every step you take. It can be frustrating sometimes, but when you know what you're coming for, you stay focused on your goal and try to filter out the hate. Yeah, then build some love and spread love.
Let's talk about pressure in regards to new music. How do you handle the pressure around your new release, like the pressure for this next single to be a hit, the expectations and everything?
About my new release (DMS), I'd say I'm not really pressured, you get? I have so much confidence in this project. Yeah, I have so much confidence in this project. I don't know why—I'm just so confident. But I don't feel pressured at all. Even though the creating process of the visuals and everything, the whole plan was really pressuring, releasing it, I don't feel pressured at all.
Hm, confidence is a really good trait. I like that.
Have you ever encountered trolls? You know, people who HATE the way you sound and make huge efforts to let you know?
Okay yeah, I've encountered trolls many times, especially online. Sometimes most of the trolls don't even listen, or maybe they don't like you or your music based on their view or, let me say, the impression they have about you. But you know, you must always have a troll.
How do you handle trolls?
Um, I just see it as part of the struggle, and I try my best to ignore it. I think that's what matters—you just have to focus on your goal and learn to filter the bad energy. And those trolls are critics too; they help you improve, you get? At least among them are some constructive ones there. So I think it's normal.
How do you handle fans? How do you continually reach out to them directly and indirectly?
I try to build this kind of strong relationship with my fans and let them have direct access to me because that way, they feel like it's a family thing. So they give it their all with their whole heart. That's how support is built, especially genuine support. You just make them feel like they're participating in whatever you're doing, so that way they give you more energy because they like that sense of belonging.
Don't we all? Don't we all like that sense of belonging?
What's the future of Nigerian music?
The future of Nigerian music is alternative music. And yeah, the future of alternative music in Nigeria is really going to be big because people are now filtering the noise. I've seen slow songs and new songs blow up, so I think the future of Nigerian music is actually evolving. It's really, really evolving, so I think there's room for trap, room for any other genre too. It just depends on how you present it because the presentation really matters. If you want to sell a new thing in the market, your packaging really, really matters.
What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next 5 to 10 years?
[Laughs] Well, this is a very tricky question, but I'm very, very ambitious and determined about where I'm going to. But I'd just like to let my audience and my family—my fans—watch the progress. Then they should help me report how far I've gone and where they see me in the next five years, in the next ten years.
Hmm.
What are you working on? What should we expect next from you?
Okay, I'm working on my EP, the name of my EP is The New sWave, that's basically me, the brand and like I'm unveiling my brand. Like, this is a new wave like I explained in the meaning of sWave, it means Swayzee's wave and that's what the EP is about. I'm trying to show you who Swayzee is, my sound, my person, and my everything.
Any more information you'd want to disclose?
Well, the only information I have to share is that you guys should expect anything, my fans should just expect anything, you should be expectant, that's just it... because I'm going to be very unpredictable.
Very unpredictable... okay!
Should we expect an album from you soon?
[Laughs] An album? ... Well, I think an EP would do.
How have you kept sane this pandemic?
Well, I've always been an indoor person so I saw the pandemic as even more opportunity to stay indoors [Laughs] and give excuses to whoever wants to bring me out. During the pandemic, I learned a lot. I mastered my art of beat production, in fact, music production as a whole, and got a few tips on the mixing and matching process because, as a creative, I actually create my own content on my own.
Wow, I didn't know that.
So yeah, I built my brand with the pandemic, the peace of mind that came with it, even though it was a little bit depressing. But I think I pulled through it.
I think we all pulled through it.
Thank you very much for sharing with us! I can't wait to hear your new single, titled "DMS," dropping soon!
UPDATE: DMS Is Now Available For Streaming Everywhere!
