Having had a pretty busy calendar year in music and film, multi-talented Nigerian singer-songwriter, record producer and composer Jasën Blu emphatically rounds off 2023 with the release of a fiery remix of his September single “BluFunk”, dubbed the RockOut Remix, which features a guest appearance by Nigerian Rap/Hip-Hop artist, Hotyce, marking Blu’s fourth and final release of the year after “Chill” released earlier in March, “Summertime” in July and “BluFunk” in September, all released via Blu’s company, Nubiana Records in his continued buildup to his well anticipated debut album Soulwave.
“It’s been an extremely hectic year,” said Blu when contacted for further details on the new music. “I just concluded the score on my eighteenth film title of the year at SoundQraft, just a few days before the RockOut Remix with Hotyce arrived, and honestly I’d admit my work rate in film impacted the frequency of music releases a little bit. But on the other hand I was able to find good balance as I’ve now released more music this year than any other, with this fourth record. And that number is about to spike a lot in 2024, with the Soulwave album scheduled to arrive in the first quarter of the coming year.”
The new record “BluFunk (RockOut Remix)” marks yet another moment of mastery from the maestro that is Jasën Blu, who channels the delicate and now almost rare art of solid remixing by cleverly flipping major elements of the original, also produced by himself, into a hugely different and yet interestingly familiar record. While retaining a lot of the sounds from the original version, the steadily urgent Pop/Funk drums on the original gives way to an easy-going, tightly woven set of 808s on the remix, altering the overall progression; the dominant vintage muted funk bass transforms into a deeper, more relaxed synth tone, and Blu’s first verse cedes its position to definitely one of the best guest rap verses of the year on any Nigerian record, impeccably delivered by top-tier talented Nigerian Hip-Hop artist, Hotyce.
“Massive respect to Hotyce man”, furthers Blu. “Great collabs like this are generally hard to come by, from my own personal experience. And that makes his guest appearance even more special. I hit him up earlier in November with the original version, sent him the remix beat and he sent me back one of the best rap verses ever. That’s one thing about high-talent music artists, they just get it effortlessly. He fitted so perfectly into the music, I couldn’t waste a single second to mix his verse and get the record ready for distribution. I’ve been a huge fan of real Hip-Hop soon as I’ve been old enough to choose my own music, and I’ve regularly hosted rap artists on my projects so having a huge talent of the genre like Hotyce on my record is massive for me. I don’t think there’s any fan of Nigerian Hip-Hop who doesn’t love and respect H’yce and his exceptional presence on the mic, which is why I approached him with the record in the first place. We’ll definitely be doing other records together. That’s for sure.”
With 2023 ending on this brilliant note for Blu, it’s safe to project a great 2024 for the R&B star, with his debut album already confirmed for release in the first quarter. “I’m definitely hitting the ground running in the new year,” he affirms. “I’m more than excited for the album, and I’m even more excited for what comes after that. There’s so much music coming. I’m excited for the fans also, we’ll be having a lot of fun moments with the music and everything. I’m working on my first sets of solo concerts and fan-oriented events also. It’s going to be an incredible experience.”
