Cameroon-born Afropop musician, Michael Baiye, better known by this stage name, Jbwai, has recently released a tracked ‘Ona‘, a high life Afrobeats fusion which talks about his affection for a girl he met in a party.
Jbwai who is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, made his first venture into music when he was 20. Now at 26, he has released several tracks such as “Come Close” featuring Tropicoboy and Tyke, ONA ft Tropicoboy, Holiday (single) and Imani which is his most recent single.
Jbwai revealed that his greatest challenge in his early days as a musician was whether or not he should be a singer or a rapper. Though he did concede that he was part of a team, and they help they rendered to each other helped lessen his initial challenges while also spurring his growth.
Michael gives credit to Nigerian Artistes, who originated Afropop – particularly mentioning Runtown and also some Cameroonian urban artist like Salatiel, Daphne , Charllote Dipanda whom he been following their music as the source of his inspiration. He also gives credit to many of his older colleagues in the industry who helped him master how Afropop is created. Micheal hopes that one day, he’ll be a mainstream artiste, and can’t wait to show the world his music.
Jbwai is advising young people and up-coming musicians to go after their passion while also not shying away from trying new things and also learning the business aspect of the music, there is time for creativity and there is time for business , he emphasize .
Speaking about the track, Jbwai said “(ONA) is a highlife Afrobeat song that talks about a girl he met at a party, she’s proving hard to get, at first she didn’t want to party and dance with everyone else, but as time goes she finally open up and was the most admirable dancer on the floor also Showing how free we are when we go out to party with friends and how nothing matters at that moment since we’re just out to dance and enjoy one another’s company.
The excerpts of the track, ‘Ona’ which has its lyrics in a mixture of pidging English, Swahili and French with a catchy hook and melody keeps the listeners seeking for more .
Presently ONA is having huge spins on most mainstream media in cameroon .
The future of Jbwai is very promising in the genre of Afropop as he has find his sound and style that made him stand out .
