The joy that comes with having a shared interest with a person reaches its apex when you realize that such a person is willing to fuel your passion and bring your desires to fruition. From randomly meeting at a place of work, to featuring each other on multiple tracks, and finally becoming a renowned music duo, the story of Ajebo Hustlers is an interesting one.
Born and bred in the city of Port Harcourt, they have succeeded in creating a generous blend of their culture with music, and made listeners long for each project. Since the release of their hit single; Symbiosis in 2018, they have scored multiple hits including Barawo, Pronto, Solace, amongst others, and earned collaborations with some of the greatest Afrobeats superstars including Davido, Omah Lay, ODUMODUBLVCK and Zlatan.
In our latest interview with them, we gain insight into their growth over the years, as well as their new project; Bad Boy Etiquette 102. Enjoy!
How was Ajebo Hustlers born and why does it wear that name?
We were just trying to make ends meet. We met at a catering company where we were trying to hustle money for studio time. When I met Knowledge, he played some of his songs for me and I played mine too, then we linked up and started working in the same studio. We were friends first, then we started making music together and featuring ourselves back to back, and figured that the songs we did together had a lot of impact, and people really connected to them.
One day, someone from NotJustOk reached out to us and said if we came together to push this as a duo, we would break boundaries. We sat down and thought about it and the rest is history.
“It is way easier to make music in the same language you communicate in.
Your style of music involves retaining to a large extent, your indigenous language. Why is this so?
It’s just our environment; growing up in PH City. it is how we communicate, so it’s more of a lifestyle. And it is way easier to make music the way you communicate.
Do you worry that people might not understand some of the slang/languages used in your songs?
So, we wouldn’t say we don’t bother, but we try as much as possible to make it less complicated. So we infuse English with Pidgin and slang. So, even if you don’t know what it means, you have an idea of what we are talking about.
Is this new project a sequel to Bad Boy Etiquette 101?
Yeah, that has been the idea, because if you look at the project title, you will realize that the theme of this new project is Continuous Assessment, so it’s a continuation of what we have been doing.
We saw a couple of songs make comebacks, this time, with features. What’s the idea?
Well, truth be told, we were actually just moving with the vibe. Also, people we work with are people we have relationships with – our friends. For instance, Zlatan was like ‘Dreams’ spoke to him and he wanted to tell a story, which was similar to what Blaqbonez said. Then for ‘Burn My Cable’, we had been talking to Sarkodie for a minute.
The instrumental for ‘Burn My Cable’ was a highlife and drill type-thing and it had that Ghana sound as well, so it was just right for us to get Sarkodie on it. ‘Kisses’, which is the third track that made a comeback from the previous album features Magixx who is really good with melodies and storytelling. So these are some of the reasons we made second parts of these songs.
Compared to your previous albums, we see some international features. What informed this decision?
It wasn’t planned per se, but we have a very strong following in Ghana, which was the reason we could even connect with King Promise and Sarkodie. It wasn’t planned and it was just us working towards the deluxe for the project, but not trying to strategically go into that space. We were trying to create music, and at the end of the day, we figured that the two songs we had with Sarkodie and King Promise were really solid and had to be in the project too.
Which track did you have the most fun creating?
We really enjoyed making Last Week because we were so high at that session, and the music connected well. We had fun creating that record with Jeriq.
Are we going to get a Bad Boy Etiquette 103 project?
We will definitely have another project. We don’t know if it will be Bad Boy Etiquette 3, but we are definitely putting out another project.
An interesting fact about this album?
We just want listeners to feel good and enjoy every moment, because every song is a different moment with a different feeling. So we will really love them to understand every record, because every record is different. We also pray they get the humor in every record.
What does fulfillment mean for you as a band, and as individuals?
In terms of putting out projects, we always look forward to ten years from now and ask if people would still be listening to our project. For instance, Symbiosis. We made this record in 2018 and till date, people still listen to it. These are the kind of things we look out for, that is why we don’t try to make party music every time, but songs that stand the test of time.
Chukwuebuka Mgbemena is a writer focused on the Nigerian & African entertainment industry. He loves fashion, art and is a staunch chess player.
