My early Christian family upbringing shaped my musical identity and sound, Says THEBB02

THEBB02 (real name Jesse Adesotu Woghiren) is many things wrapped into one. He is a music producer, rapper, fashion icon/designer, performing/recording entertainer/artist, TV/social media personality, multi business mogul, philanthropist, and social activist. In this interview, he speaks of his craft and early experiences that shaped his musical identity and sound.

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How would you describe THEBB02, both the artiste and the person behind the name?

You may have heard it said or floating around that someone is an enigma, often in the entertainment industry/spheres, as some like to use the word mindlessly. When I was given birth to, I was called 02. That’s oxygen. You can feel oxygen everywhere, but you might not be able to see it. Does it have a colour? Yes. But then again, that will be a story for another day.

THEBB02 is an artiste and yet, more than an artiste. A burst of spontaneous fresh energy, but still, he is also an executive in the same breath. So, it’s fair to say that it doesn’t get any enigmatic than that.

I am blessed in Christ through the household of the Woghiren Obamedo family via King Obanosa, King Esigie, and all the other Christian kings who reigned in the Benin Kingdom.

You have been in the music industry for a long time. What has been your motivation over the years?

My reality. Readily conspicuous, self-evidentiary applicable qualities. The truth; my true talents; the undeniable history and eventualities of the entertainment industry and the integrity of my work. In an industry/era where a typical artiste is hunting down studios for the next hit writer, beat maker, it is fair to say that such an artiste does not represent fairly the raw emotions that abound while those songs were being put together/written. If your life is lined up with biblical doctrines like mine, then I will take you to the section that says your gift will present you before kings (notice that the bible didn’t say someone else’s gift but yours).

As it is not fair in matters of medical emergency for someone to entrust their life to you when you didn’t diligently go through the four walls of a university to become the applicable medical professional to attend to the situation, or for you to entrust the safety of your travel across the Atlantic to someone who is not a trained pilot, so it is with music. When you emotionally labour to put out a track, the stage presence is real and raw; you can see the synergy between the performer and the audience. This is why we call our group, the Liquid Emotion Music Lines (LEMLINES) because we represent real and raw energy. It’s like how you mine gold. Like in the case of ‘Eye Dey Red’ and the process, frustration, emotion, synergy, energy and vibe it took to put that together.

No doubt, there’s room for everybody (all categories of talent), but it’s only fair for everyone to take their rightful place and stay humble. The entertainment industry is made up of a lot of bravado and braggadocio (which is also my brand swag and bragging rights, no cap). This is why THEBB02 rides his lane. Even though I have other things I could be doing, like my other estate portfolios, music is my first love. What has kept my longevity are just the hard facts and how Almighty Father God pours into my spirit, original songs. Take, for example, the book of Psalms addressed to the chief musician and thousands of years later, it is still relevant to our lives today, still impacting lives. That is where the mission of the THEBB02 rests upon, that when I finish my journey, I would say I gave it my all as given by my Father in heaven.

An artiste who is not coming from the aforementioned antecedent, who does not operate on that vibration, is here today and gone tomorrow. That’s unless they have a knowledgeable and strong-willed management team behind them who will have to toss up a lot of empty hypes about nothing, because, such narrative benefits them (puts money in their pocket). As we all know, every good song, talent, everything that is good comes from God and if you are not specifically called into this industry, you have to make up for it with a lot of BS; but, if you are called, you have less to do in terms of putting out quality work. That is why those who are not divinely/naturally called cannot sustain longevity and end up getting involved in all sorts of entertainment industry-related vices in the absence of a strong management team behind them. These strong management teams that represent such false hypes fuel the corporate greed that is killing the soul of the entertainment industry, which every well-meaning industry practitioner has been complaining about over time.

What early experiences shaped your musical identity and sound?

Truth be told, giving honour and respect where they are due first; any response outside of Christ Jesus is not and cannot be right. All good things come from God. When people say worldly music, I don’t like that at all. Some songs clearly glorify God and reverence Him wholly and directly; yet, as a Christian, you can write such works as ‘Jesus walk’ by Kanye West or ‘Pray’ by MC Hammer, etc, and it will still be okay. There is nothing wrong with you talking about clubbing with your street slang and giving one line or two to the aforementioned that you are proudly a Christian and our Baba God will still not have a problem with that.

Have you ever read the Songs of Solomon? Take your time out and go listen and pay attention to that. God says we should carry and acknowledge Him wherever we go, in all our ways. He says we should pray without ceasing.

Sometimes, we wake up and the song in our mouths (hearts/mind) which people term “secular” can be used by God to send messages to us. One line from it could be something God is trying to tell you at that moment. God is all powerful and He can use anything to talk to you, like when he used the donkey, etc.

God lives in our truths. God knows how much time we have daily that we can spend in His presence and plug into him and be refilled. You ought to know that the spirit is the boss of the flesh. There is a time and a season for everything under heaven.

Being born into a Christian family and raised through my Catholic education informed my early choices and exposure to pop culture, also in a way that revolves around my perspective on the entertainment industry globally speaking. As a kid as early as 10, I was exposed to that lifestyle. I have always felt the spirit of God around me. In a way, there was a time when I was given an opportunity to choose and I chose music. It is my first love. I was exposed to a lot of foreign artistes like Michael Jackson, New Edition, Lionel Richie, and local artistes like Osayomore Joseph, Sunny Okosun, Victor Uwaifo, and others.

Michael Jackson was a great singer, but also in that era, Luther Vandross was a vocal powerhouse along the likes of Paul Johnson. Also, Michael Jackson was a great dancer and in that same era, there were Jeffery Daniels of the musical group Shalamar, and Michael Bugalo Shrimps of the breakdance movie.

Michael respected and cared for the profession and industry enough to the point of taking things to another level, which I believe was one of the reasons he was also chosen. Michael was a perfectionist. I can say I am similar to him in that regard. When I am in my creative sense, I don’t give up until I see the final product in the flagship status that I envision. Folks who work with me can testify to this part of me as they call me a perfectionist, which is okay because, I don’t accept mediocrity and neither do I take things for granted.

What continues to shape and evolve THEBB02’s sound into ever futuristic musical themes (outlook) is the ability to evolve using current soundscape to produce my originally given musical motifs, not by following trends as they come and go, but using the original soulful components that can stand the test of time.