The Nigerian producer has been making a name for himself over the past few years, creating records for our favourite artists, his breakthrough and number-one record came from Davido’s 4th studio album. Edwin Quartey from iMullar caught up with him to talk about his journey, working with Davido, and initiating the “Ragee” process.
Congratulations on your first number 1 record with Davido. How does it feel to achieve this so early in your career?
A: Well it feels good, personally I don’t know if I will call this early because I’ve been producing for a while now but all the same it’s a good feeling, especially knowing I put my all in this craft, to get a number 1 record shows I’m on the right path and there’s more to come.
What was your exposure to music and production as a whole, while growing up?
A : It started all the way from primary school for me. I was that type of kid, always thumping the desks as a form of drumming, rapping and all when the teacher was not around, I’d try to sing/rap something. And there was this ruggedman song, “Baraje”, I used to like it a lot. It grew my interest and eventually I joined the choir in church, I was playing the drums in church, all this added to my origin story, moulded me into this.
At what point did you start to feel like a “real” producer? The one record that made you feel like “it’s serious now”?
A : That will have to be when I produce “Have Fun” for Bad Boy Timz in late 2020. It was a smash hit, everyone was getting familiar with me and my numbers were going up. Timz was on fire too so it was a good feeling. That song’s aftermath put me on the right path, and it’s been a good walk since.
What do you think, as a producer, sets you apart and is emblematic of your sound?
A : I think the use of drums sets me apart,, when you hear any record from Ragee, you’ll notice the drums so well. I focus on them a lot, the kick is punchy,the drums make you groovy. When anything from Ragee comes on in the club, you can feel the vibration. That’s how I like it. How I want my sound to be consumed.
One of your most unique qualities as a producer is the ability to steer an artist in a new direction. Logos Olori’s “Jogodo” springs to mind. What’s your relationship with him? Looking at how far you’ve both come?
A : Logos and I go way back actually, I’ve known him for a decade. Him, me, magicsticks, we’ve been together, never gave up on this journey, and we kind of built a chemistry throughout the times we were together, cooking together, learning together, experimenting together, good memories actually, created a lot of gems too. It makes the work easier because we know how we work and all.
You both soared evenly on “Picasso”? How did that record come about?
A : I was making that beat in the studio, one of those sessions and Logos was around at that time, he heard it and was like he has a vibe for it, so I recorded him. So it was a full record by Logos, then Davido heard it, that night he heard it, he instantly requested that he would like it to be on his album, he liked it so much, and it took us by surprise because we didn’t see that coming. The song was definitely getting a slot on “Timeless”. So he recorded his verse and all, sent it for mixing and it was a wrap, the rest is history.
You have two production credits on Davido’s album, co-producing “Unavailable” with magicksticks. What was the experience like? Working with Davido and Asake’s right-hand man?
A : To start with, I met Davido through Magic, like I said, we got way back, he linked me to Davido, shout-out to Magic, such a great guy. It’s always a great experience working with him too, our chemistry is incredible, he makes things easier, smooth, so co working on “Unavailable” was a fun moment, with Davido putting in the work, it’s like magic. His energy and approach on the song, and the verse from Musa Keys, we really crafted a smash hit, an unforgettable moment.
How do you approach the creative process from start to finish when producing a new song?
A : It varies, there are days when I get in the studio and just listen to music, not create anything, and have a listening session on my own. I like driving around too, and just listening to music. During these drive-sessions, I can pick inspirations from what I blast out loud, like new stuff from other artists, or on my way to the studio. Sometimes it’s natural, I could be driving and just hear something in my head, a particular sound, a progression, I just take my phone out and record it real quick before I forget, so yeah it comes from all sorts of places, and that’s music for you.
Where do you feel you’ve experienced failure, and how did you deal with that?
A: Wow, that’s a good one, anytime I fail, I just know I’m coming back harder. It actually happened to me sometime, I was booked for a studio session, it was a mess and embarrassing. During my early production days, he wasn’t feeling the beats at all, he literally left the session, I was so hurt.
I just said to myself “ Ooo this guy is rude o”, but later it started seeing it from his view, and I said to myself “guy, you see improve your craft”. And it happens, production is a never ending cycle for learning, I could’ve given up based on that experience alone, but I picked myself up, treated the whole situation like a fair or brutal review, and worked on myself more, now we are here.
What is the story behind your famous Tag?
A: I was a rapper, getting involved in rap battles, you know, going hard, the one time, a friend said “omo, the way you dey rage when rapping be like your name for be ragee o”. That set the tone for me, when I switched to production, I was practically “tagless” during that time, then I met Jay Pizzle, another brother, the brain behind Skale’s 2015 hit “Shake body”. I randomly hit him up that I needed a tag, the next day, he sent me an email and it was an audio tag that went like “ Initiating…..Ragee process”. From there, I knew that was the one, and it’s been with me since, shout outs to Jay Pizzle.
What instrument do you find yourself playing most times ?
A: Drums bro, drums. Thumping stuff, I’m quite good with the keyboard, still getting better but I know the basics, but for drums, it’s sort of my calling.
What next for Ragee?
A : Speaker-blowing sounds! I’m coming in hard, more sleepless nights in the studio, experimenting sounds. After this Davido experience, it feels like the responsibility is big now. It’s a different ball game, the type that requires your A game, so I’m coming in hard, blowing up everybody’s speaker. That’s what the big league is all about, quality stuff, just wait on it.
