How Jeriq Built Community Into Success in the Music World

This episode of Afrobeats Intelligence is powered by OkayAfrica, the pulse of African culture, and presented by Martell.

Jeriq has built a career by staying deeply connected to where he comes from while finding his place in the mainstream.

In this conversation with Joey Akan, Jeriq reflects on growing up in Enugu, the determination to make it out of a difficult environment, and how his community became the foundation for his music, identity and career.

He talks about staying true to his sound while learning how to navigate the mainstream, why he continues to live and create in Enugu, and the tension between representing the East of Nigeria and building a global career.

Jeriq also discusses the lack of structure and access for artists in the East, the evolution of his music, the rise of Yoko Cartel, his fashion brand and the importance of building a community that can grow with him.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple ambition: to show young people from the streets that there is more beyond what they can currently see.

Watch the full episode of Afrobeats Intelligence with Jeriq below.

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