Jai's Bio
Yakubu "Jai" Izuagbe has embarked and achieved an impressive repertoire of conquests that many music industry power elites could only dream of having. Having worked with musicians such as P. Diddy, Nichole Scherzinger (of the Pussycat Dolls), T-Pain, Consequence, T-Boz (of TLC), Pimp C, and Hurricane Chris, just to name a few, is not so bad for this new kid on the block. He has already received a Gold Plaque for the single he produced on T-Pain's first album "Rappa Ternt Sanga" entitled "Fly Away." One of his greatest accomplishments so far was receiving a Platinum Plaque for the single he produced on P. Diddy's "Press Play" album entitled "Come To Me" featuring Nichole Scherzinger, which peaked at 5 on the National Billboard charts. Jai is also currently working on new major and independent projects to be released later this year.
Jai was born from parents of Nigerian decent, and he lived in many places growing up because of his father's career. He was born in the United States; however, his family traveled continuously, and he has lived everywhere from Nigeria, London, Florida, Massachusetts, Southern California, and ultimately Arlington, TX. This played a big part into Jai's universal musical sound.Surprisingly, Jai's first calling was not music. He played the drums in grade school; however, he did not actually pursue a career in the entertainment business until after served four years in the United States Army. However, from the moment Jai's mother insisted that he could produce, his calling was palpable. Little did she know that those words and that encouragement ignited a fire within him that burned intensively deep. From that point on, Jai has been on a mission to prove his mother right ever since. He purchased a beat machine and started recording his music. Jai's ability to establish himself as a self-taught producer ultimately transpired from his deep-rooted talents. He plays the keyboards and is presently learning the base and acoustic guitar.
Jai founded Nexwun Music back in 2001 with his brother Solo. The buzz quickly circulated throughout Dallas/Fort Worth about the man with the contemporary hot sounds. Jai began to produce tracks for artists, such as Lil Joe, Big Tuck, Big Chief, The Gator Main, Mister Pookie and Mr. Lucci, just to name a few. His name amplified statewide and even nationally. From there, he collaborated and worked with the likes of Pimp C, Juvenile and Mike Jones. One of the pinnacle moments in his career was when one of his breakthrough produced hits for a local rapper in Dallas named Bo Legs spun on the radio. When asked what makes his music and his sound different from everyone else's, he said, "It is very broad and has a worldwide mass appeal to it that is extremely likeable. My sound is just different; it's universal. I grew up listening to not only Hip Hop, but music from artist like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Duran Duran and Billy Idol. I was a big fan of 80's Rock music and 90's Rock ballads. My sound is like multiple genres of music combined. It is a mixture of infused Hip Hop and World Music with a twist of Techno and a little Rock & Roll." Jai was inspired by artists Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Hendrix for being innovators.This super producer is a paramount force to be reckoned with as his magnifying beats place him on the similar ranks of veterans such as Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones and Pharell. Jai is far from the cut-and- dried beat maker or typical studio equipment handyman. His undeniable dexterity and incomparable knack for creating heart-pounding rhythms is projected through his amplifying hits. Jai has the natural ability and God given talent to take an artist, develop them, create their own sound, consult with their imaging and marketing that will essentially land them a major record deal. Jai presently has a production deal through Universal Records and feels that is a major accomplishment as well. "Some young producers do not get that opportunity", says Jai.He is currently working with several groups that are signed to his label NextWun Music. In 2010, he also hopes to venture off into doing movie scoring for television and films and perhaps opening his non- profit organization, which will be a music education based program to provide scholarships, musicalequipment and more to low income deserving families. Jai hopes to leave a legacy. He inspires to be one of the most successful and respected music moguls in the world. Jai lives by the quote he created -"Without adversity there is no success.
