“Life go teach you further mathematics/ so you better learn Japajantis,” His buttery vocals open up the album with soothing piano chords. The Majeek’s scintillating artistry has been an open secret within Afrobeats’ corridors, since he first stepped into the scene, in 2021, with the RnB spinner, Cool Me Down.

Last year, his distinct artistry broke into the mainstream with the string-heavy pop-soul fusion, Cocoa Butter, netting nearly two million song plays on Spotify alone, as well as going viral for weeks on social media. Now, on his just-released album, The Majeekcian, the young bard rehashes that velvety tone, fluid flows and heartfelt melodies have since distinguished his discography.

The entire album travels through different life experiences on love, heartbreak, and survival, featuring notable voices like Ghanaian singers Kojo Black (Cocoa Butter remix), and Camidoh (Face My Fears), as well as Nigerian counterparts Shoday (Face My Fears), and Layzee Ella (Bae), respectively.

Catching up with Guardian Music, the Edo-native, born Desmond Momoh, opens up his spellbook of romance and love melodies, tracing his come-up journey; while detailing his musical muses; creative process; his private life as a computer geek; as well as his vision to keep making relatable records that speaks to the heart of its listeners.

When did you start your journey into music?
I started pretty much from my childhood, I started from like a family of six, and every one of my siblings were part of the church choir. Our eldest brother at the time was the music director in the church. So I sort of came from a music family. So, I knew I could sing from a very young age. Although I did music in secondary school, I started being an artist properly, since 2019 when I started putting out covers and releasing music.

So what made you decide to pursue music professionally?
Honestly, it was something I was really good at the time. I am an intelligent person and I did well in school, but when you find that one thing that you can do really well you just know that it’s worth running with. Before I finished secondary school, I would go to street carnivals at the time and shut it down, because I started off rapping, then producing, then I started singing. So, I would go to carnivals and it was always lit and crazy. I just knew that I really wanted to do this. Being a producer as well, music is just something that is a part of me and I cannot let go until I have unleashed everything that I have inside me.

How were you able to hone your craft?
I sort of taught myself. However, shout out to a friend called East Coast. May God bless his memory. He gave me the basics of production, like how to sequence beats and all that. I mostly made Hip hop beats at the time, but I also really wanted to make Afrobeats, so I was just pretty much taught myself, after observing the basics from people I listened to a lot. I listened to Sarz a lot. Being an artist is really tough when you’re not Bill Gates or you have someone funding you from the start. So, I feel like production was that thing that sort of helped me make some money to push my career at the time.

How did you bag your first record deal?
Shout out to Sony Music! It’s a long course. I think a lot of labels were reaching out at the time. There were a lot of labels reaching out at the time as well, but it made so much sense to go with Sony Music. I was putting out a lot of freestyles on social media, and I was growing my followers a lot, so I believe that helped put me on their radar.

Tell us about the muse behind your smash hit, Cocoa Butter.
I was living with Patoranking at the time. And shout out to Pato; because I recorded most of these songs in his house and I was disturbing the whole house with my music but he let me. That’s my big bro and I was in a different mindset then. Still, I was recording everyday, but I knew where I was mentally, because I really wanted to create a distinct sound. I’m pretty excited that it worked. I really wanted to create a sound that resonates with the new Afrobeats wave, something that makes African women, and every woman in general, to pretty much appreciate their skin and love their essence. Our skin is beautiful and I wanted to make a song that really makes you feel good about it.

Tell us about creating the remix with Kojo Black.
Kojo is my bro. We have a lot of songs together, and we are pretty much going to release a lot more soon. It was a seamless experience. It was just the vibes and shoutout to my entire Ghana family. I know how difficult it is for two creatives to be in a room and create. I’m super excited that we did; Kojo Black gave me an amazing verse and plenty more bangers on the way.

What was the general idea behind the album?
First of all, the title, The Majeekcian, is more than a name for me. It is a point where my production skills, art skills, and everything that I do meet. I do these things really well and the only way I can best describe it is magical. I’m this versatile person that loves to try new things. I don’t like to be boxed in, as much as sometimes it’s good. This project is all about embracing your truest self confidently, and being you unapologetically. So, anytime you hear the magician, you understand versatility. I’m coming back with Volume Two soon and it’s a variety of sounds mashed together in this project. You’re gonna hear from Dancehall to RnB to Afrobeats to Amapiano.

What is your typical creative process?
I start with the production then I move to writing. Sometimes I cannot always make the beats to the song that I want to like. I can always make beats and write because it takes quite a while to arrange the beat to even sound good to record. So most of the time I have people produce the beats for me. Shout out to all my producers. Sometimes I just hear a beat and I’m writing on the spot most of the time. I don’t like to be too intentional with the music, except it is production. Else, I might not finish a project in two years.

Any standout moment from making this album?
One of the amazing moments for me was writing the first song on the EP, which is Turn Up. I wrote that song in a very short time, but the message was so strong. Every time I listen to it, I am wowed.

Tell us about some of your earliest music influences.
Shoutout Patoranking! He has influenced me not just as an artist, but even as a person. He’s one of the first people that reached out to me; he followed me on Instagram in 2019. He replied to my comments on even other people’s posts. There was one time I commented on a Justin Bieber post, and Patoranking replied, ‘Amen,’ to my comment. I think early 2020, he reached out to me and brought me close. I learned so much from him. Shout out Burna Boy as well. I’m a huge Dancehall person, and I’m excited that I got to release some of my Dancehall records on this project. There’s something I’ve learned from each and every one of them. There’s also Chronixx from Jamaica. Then, there’s The Weeknd. Travis Scott. I am generally a fan of outstanding artistes.

Speaking of outstanding artistes, who are some people on your radar for collaborations?
Kizz Daniel and Tekno come to mind. I also love to make highlife. Even on Cocoa Butter, I fused highlife, and that’s something that’s a core part of me because I grew up in the South. I had a lot of highlife influences growing up.

Who is The Majeek when he isn’t making music?
I’m a really calm person. I’m a really easy-going guy who enjoys his own company. I’m just a simple guy. I’m just a regular dude. I love to cook. I love to play video games. I love to play football. I am just a nerd that makes music, pretty much. Anytime I tell people I’m a nerd, they say that they don’t see it, but deep down I know how much. I’m a computer geek. That’s how I learned how to produce and do all these things by myself. I’m learning how to play the piano by myself, right now. I am able to zone in and focus. So, that’s just who I am.

Finally, what is the vision for The Majeek?
If you had asked me this question six months ago, I would have given you a different answer. However, right now, the vision is to keep making music and doing everything within my power to not just have the biggest songs in the world, but also a core-following. I really understand who I am, and I see my difference from every other person out there. You know, having that, for now, is my definition of success.