As Afrobeats continues to take over the world by storm, Nigerian-Canadian group, Certified Bad Guyz are contributing incredibly to the scene. We caught up with the leading group to gain insights into their journey of working together and changing the game from the Canadian lens.
1. Cohesiveness and Chemistry
It was trial and error. The funny thing is Double R Oscarr and Omaremi actually didn’t like each other at first. There wasn’t any ‘beef’ between them but it was –as they describe it– just bland. However, we found ourselves in the studio jamming out and found that we vibed musically. So after the first song clicked, we tried another song which also clicked; and things just kept working out from there.
2. Strength
Production-wise, Omaremi can make any beat; be it Afrobeats, Trap, RnB, or Hip-Hop—you name it. He is always trying to fuse all kinds of different sounds together to make something unique for the group. B.O.S raps, but he also does a lot of audio engineering and mixing. When we’re recording, he’s usually the one recording everyone and mixing the vocals to ensure that they blend well together. Double R Oscarr raps and is the major singer in the group. He also does a lot of content for the group and networking too which he’s quite adept at. The wheels of the group keep rotating every day and the roles change from time to time with each member constantly bringing a number of strengths to the group.
3. Creative Process
It really depends, the creative process does not really have a straightforward template. Sometimes we feel it’s just God because some days the music just comes to us, and then the inspiration just flows.
4. Dream Collaboration
If we had to pick one, we’d pick Davido.
5. Canadian Landscape
It’s good and bad. It can be challenging because, for any artist who’s straddling two cultures, it can really feel like there’s no place one can call home. But, with the understanding of the industry that we’ve come to possess, we know that we have to make the best of it and own our industry in the time frame that we currently have. When we first moved to Canada, Afrobeats wasn’t as trendy as it currently is and so much has changed since then. The landscape will continue to change, it’s really cool to be part of the artists on ground who are contributing to the Afrobeats landscape in Canada and to the growth that is happening in it.
Tessy is a writer who loves music, and trying new things. She also really enjoys staying in the house as there is truly, always rice at home
