November 2022. A close friend sends me a spotify link - “Just found this guy, he’s Nigerian, based in Abu Dhabi.” I listened. Replied “wow, that’s some dope stuff.” And kept it moving.
Almost a year later, this same kid is commenting on
@rain_labs posts, sliding into our dms asking for support. I told him to email me his stuff. I clicked the link and within minutes I was asking for his whatsapp no.
What I didn’t know then was he’d already emailed twice in 2023. Once about an internship, once to push his music. The timing was all wrong. I was still in the trenches building the company with a full time job.
Good thing he was persistent.
I flew to Abu Dhabi just to catch him live. 300 Spotify followers and a fully managed Apple Music show. Make it make sense chale! I walked away knowing everything I needed to know.
@jiiresmith is one of those rare ones. Intentional, self-aware, hungry to grow and genuinely not too good at FIFA 😂.
Today I executive produced his debut EP. Every word, every note - by him.
The song sent to me in 2022 is Track 1 of the EP! Signalling this is the beginning of something special.
“Diamond In A Process” EP out now on all platforms!
An arena near you. Soon!
