AFROMUSION: ONE ON ONE INTERVIEW WITH: BIGGIEMAN

Tell us a little bit about your background- your siblings and education?

I am in a family of three and I am the second with a girl in front

and a boy behind me. I had my basic education at New Heaven

Preparatory and had my high school education at Accra Academy and then

attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

When did you discover your love for music?
I remember my uncle was with a radio station so he used to take us there and one day I saw Shaggy's CD and brought it home. Later on I realized I could sing all the songs on the album and with passion. So in my free time, I tried to write a couple of tunes on my own.

What inspired you to come up with the name BIGGIEMAN?

Biggieman, well, I love Rasta living so instead of calling myself a Bingi man, I prefer to say Biggieman, and not because I am fat.

How long have you been in the music industry?
Well, I started singing to people in the year 1999 back in junior high with an acapella group as lead singer. I got commercial in 2005 with a feature on Manye Mercy's song, Saa Ade3 no, produced by Appietus.

What was the first song you ever wrote?
An HIV AIDS song with Reggie Zippie, back in Accra Academy.

Out of all of your songs, which one is your favorite?

Okoto, meaning “the crab”.
What was your purpose in writing the song, “How Can I survive”?

I wrote the song when I saw the movie American History X. Killing of black leaders, leaving the young ones to hustle the streets. I released it onto YouTube when the Ivory Coast war came up, just to set as a campaign for peace and unity in the 2012 Ghana election. With the 1Love concept.

..How can I survive in poverty, how can I survive in pain..(those are some of the lyrics).. do you

think your listeners relate to those lines in your song?

Yes o, that song has really been the song which has made people take my music seriously because those who were featured in the video were happy to be part of it just because they felt that I was speaking on their behalf to the leaders of the world , even though they saw my production team just when we were shooting the video, which is awesome.

What role does the environment play in your music creation? All my songs that get the most love were created as I walk from one place to the other and I feel no tiredness when I try to compose a song as I walk because it has to be sang over and over again.

In the song ”Allo”, how do you define the term “ allo”?

“Allo" simply means fake, anything that comes to pose as the original is fake. Any girl with makeup is “allo" because that is the natural person undercover, so if you use make up to please your man, you will lose him when you can't afford it anymore. Therefore, my advice to the ladies is “be natural” because you lie to us too much... Lol

What inspired you to write "Allo"?
My fellow females in Africa love to wear makeup and it seems it is causing us the men to eat lip gloss and ponds which I think can cause cancer. Lol.

What have been the pros and cons of being a musician?

People, people, people- you meet people .People begin to like or dislike you depending on your first impressions or the content you posess. The negative aspect of being a musician is that it is not easy to get your song out there for people to love; money is a factor

Which Ghanaian musician would you like to work with? Edem

How do you define your music?
I have no special definition for my creations because I have several genres featuring in my creations. So I'll say, I'm an entertainer and messenger

What makes your music/sound different than other musicians?

I never try to sound like anyone out there and I can't compare my popularity status as of now to that of D'Banj but I tell you, all my songs come with concepts that bear maturity and discipline like someone who's been in the system for ages.

Growing up, who were your favorite musicians? Who are your favorite musicians now?

I have always listened to Amakye Dede, Rex Omar, Yousou Indour, Sizzla

Kalonji and Capleton, those were the guys who inspired as I kept them

as my favorites.
Now, I'm happy to say Edem, Efya, and StoneBwoy are some of my favorites.

If you were not making music, what do you think you would be doing in your

life?
I studied Communication Design in University and so I am into advertising and marketing .

Are you working on any future song? If so, what can your fans expect from you?

As we speak, I have a new tune bubbling in the headphones of most of my friends and still spreading with no caution.

This is a link to it >>>#FeshMuzik! Brand new mixtape by Biggieman

[Love Yuh] DjFrass #1clickDownload in 29 seconds: http://tiny.cc/sdxekw

What inspires your music writing?
The environment and what it brings to me. People say I like to stare. I like to take in my environment, everything within it, and read everything around.

Name one thing that has changed in your life since becoming a musician?

Working under Richie Mensah, CEO of LYNX Entertainment Ghana

Richie Mensah really took the time to invest in me, he taught me how to manage my voice on pitches and falsetto dynamics... he believed in me even more than I did myself, he told me I was a star even when I had no song recorded. Richie Mensah gave me words of encouragement and recently when I saw him at Reggie Rockstone's office he told me again, which I listened very closely to, "Biggieman, i always pray for you, i heard your songs online and you will make it no matter what".

What advice would you give to young aspiring musicians?

If there is a dream on your mind, all you have to do is put your passion into the making of it because I have been patient for ages until I got a job, paid for my records and all my videos. Promoting a song requires a lot of money- money is needed to get the song out to the public: online, on air, on screen, and on the lips of people.

If you could look back and give one piece of advice to yourself, like 5 years ago, what would you say?

Biggieman, please stay away from women because they come with setbacks if you don't meet the right one.

What are your goals for the remainder of the year, music wise?

I have to breakthrough before the next year begins because I intend to do a lot of charity work in the coming year.

Fun Facts about BiggieMan:
Real First name is: Kwasi
Favorite TV show: Thank God Its Friday
Favorite song; Odo, Amakye Dede
Favorite place to hang out: Nowhere specific in Ghana

When was the last time you:
Cried: less than a year ago, I'm soft sometimes
Cooked: maybe last week because I like to cook yams and ground pepper

Lost something: wow, I lost a President last three or more weeks ago

Laughed uncontrollably: I just did, people laugh when I laugh because I laugh like a witch character in the cartoon Scooby Doo

Were scared: I don't remember that – I am a guy
Attended a good concert: last week, a church rocked my world with some band I can't remember

Travelled outside of Accra: last four days