Former Def Jam Recording artist Razah recently took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions about his latest single, Too Much. The banging dancehall track was released last month, on June 21st, via Reggae Vibes Music. See the full interview below.
MJ27: So how does an independent Jamaican singer end up getting signed by Jay-Z himself?
Razah: Jay-Z signed me because I had a song called “where do we go from here” buzzing heavy in New York. It was being played a lot on hot97 and Rihanna heard it and wanted to be featured on it. The night I went to the studio with Rihanna to record her part, Jay-Z walks in the studio, we spoke briefly, he told me to come to his office the next day and he signed me to Def Jam.
MJ27: Once you were with Def Jam Recordings, assuming all was going well, why did you split from the label?
Razah: I left the label because at the beginning of 2009 Jay-Z left the label. My team and I had a meeting with the new president, he promised that he would do right by us but he did not, so we started to get my new song “Rain” playing on the radio by ourself because they weren’t keeping their word. Later after touring with Trey Songz and saw how we were being treated wrongly, we decided to ask for a release and we got it.
MJ27: Do you have any regrets about being signed to the label in the first place?
Razah: I don’t have any regrets in life, everything that has ever happened is apart of my journey and story.
MJ27: I take it that you are now back to being an independent artist, is that the case?
Razah: Yes, I’ve been independent since 2009; not interested in being on a major label again unless it’s a partnership.
MJ27: How did you linkup with Reggae Vibes Music?
Razah: Honestly, Reggae Vibes just linked me on WhatsApp, sent me the riddim, I loved it and recorded the song same time.
MJ27: Did you write “Too Much”?
Razah: I write all my songs
MJ27: What inspired “Too Much”?
Razah: The inspiration behind Too Much actually came from being in a relationship with my lady, and not wanting to talk too much about it on social media because I’m a very private guy.
MJ27: You seem to have the recipe for coming up with hit songs. What was the creative process for “Too Much” like?
Razah: My recipe for coming up with songs usually come from the beat. I usually have a lot of ideas in my head and the beat usually just brings it out of me, putting the words together as I go, because I never write anything down.
MJ27: How do you feel about all the positive feedback the song has been getting?
Razah: “Too Much” is my first reggae vibe I’ve done in a long time. The feedback got me feeling so positive that I actually want to do a entire reggae album.
MJ27: What do you want listeners to take away from “Too Much”?
Razah: I want the listeners to just know I truly appreciate them for even listening to my music, cause I know there’s a bunch of other artist they could be listening to rather than me. I just can’t wait to start touring and performing for the ppl cause that’s when I truly get to feel the love, and hate(cause that’s apart of the territory)haha! The Love always outweigh the hate though!
Too Much can be streamed and downloaded from Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Amazon Music, Tidal, Boomplay, Pandora, etc.
