Happy Birthday to a Legend – Minister Samuel Giveson (SMJ) 🎹🥁🎤🎼
Today, I join millions of voices across the world to celebrate a man whose life, sound, and spirit have become an instrument of divine transformation — Minister Samuel Giveson, fondly and iconically known as SMJ.
Sir, words truly fail to capture the depth of gratitude many of us carry in our hearts for the gift of you. You are not just a producer, pianist, drummer, or gospel artist — you are a movement. You are a divine sound sent from heaven for such a time as this. The ripple effect of your ministry has crossed continents, crossed generations, and most intimately — touched my own life in ways I could never fully articulate.
I remember the first time I ever heard your arrangements back in my early university days around 2014. Back then, you were the Music Director of the phenomenal Xtreme Crew under the visionary Dr. Tim Godfrey, and for young musicians like myself, you were the north star. My fellow pianists and I would literally gather like disciples hungry for revelation, listening intently and trying to decode your chord movements. I specifically remember the "Ibuchukwu" medley in D♭ — an absolute masterpiece. Only a few of us dared to attempt it, and fewer still could even wrap our minds around the musical genius embedded in it. And of course, who could forget your Igbo medley — rich, spiritual, and rhythmically complex? We’d spend hours pausing, rewinding, and replaying, trying to understand how you made the impossible sound effortless.
It wasn't just the music though — it was the intentionality. Every progression. Every voicing. Every “drop 2” chord (which we struggled to understand back then 😅). They all carried not just skill, but spirit. You weren’t just playing notes — you were speaking the language of heaven.
But what’s even more humbling is how you evolved. You didn’t stop at being a world-class instrumentalist. You embraced your voice. Your calling. Your mantle. And today, as a gospel minister and music director of Logic Sound Mainland, and as the visionary of your own personal ministry, we’ve watched God elevate you beyond sound into significance. *Continued in the comments
MARYLAND MALL
Sequel to a rather tranquil birthday celebration, I thought to myself “is this how I want to approach the penultimate stair to the third floor?”. It was in those very moments I decided to embark on this journey. Placed a call across to the amiable, @loveth_edwards and the venue was set. Then I booked a ride and headed to the popular Maryland mall.
I used to frequent the mall a lot but not in recent time and as a result, I was met with a lot of beautiful changes. Upon entering the mall, I was greeted by beautiful African-inspired ornaments which I wanted to purchase but for the journey which laid ahead of me, I suppressed those desires. First stop was The Place restaurant. My The customer service was top notch and the environment was clean, cool and cozy. It also looked like it could comfortably double as a workspace on some other days. I ate a very sumptuous plate of jollof rice, plantain and chicken. Not long after, I headed to Genesis cinemas to watch a movie titled “Love and New Notes”. Alas, there were no other people in the cinema!
After an unending series of trailers and advertisements, the long awaited movie begun. It had a historic Lagos theme and centered around a moral lesson which is a hallmark of many African stories.
Once the movie was over, we took a few pictures and I headed home- not the same way I came.
At Maryland bus stop, I saw this nice looking salon car that could pass for an “uber” and as I tried to quickly board it, one “agbero” stood in the way. Apparently, the driver hadn’t paid his dues. With a little humor and pleading, we were granted access into the vehicle and off we zoomed to our respective places of habitation.
