Jumbo Anibiet uncovered, a journey through ones man’s eye opening lesson of  how the sades tragic in his life gave birth to a new world filled with purpose , foundation-ed with love. Enjoy!

Jamati: Welcome under our tree and thank you for gracing us with your journey.

Jumbo: My pleasure. I must say that you are doing a fantastic job with your online publication, I am a big fan.

Jamati: Firstly before we go any further, what has been your most inspirational life quote?

Jumbo: Well, I have several actually. In terms of music, I draw inspiration from Nelson Mandela who once said that: ” The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale. You may be poor, you may have only a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope. African music is often about the aspirations of the African people, and it can ignite the political resolve of those who might otherwise be indifferent to politics.” This quote sums up my philosophy of music. Using music as a tool to inspire people and make a defining impact in their lives.

Personally my inspirational quote about life comes from the Bible; “Love thy neighbor as yourself”. I think that quote forms the fundamental bases on how we as a people interact with each other. If I love you as much as I love myself, then I wont hurt you. I will respect you. I will listen to your opinion, I will seek a common ground. I will embrace you for who you are. Imagine if we can all do that for each other.

Jamati: It is to my understanding that even though with the guidance of a musician of a father, music was the last thing in your mind. What was that defining moment that brought you closer to your  passion?

Jumbo: Well, like every other kid in the neighborhood, I wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer or a engineer. I had the same inspiration so I didn’t take music seriously even though I grew up around my father who was a jazz musician and a song writer. All that changed soon after I lost my mother. I was so terribly hurt that nothing seemed to provide the comfort that I needed. It was then that I reached into what has been in me (Music). The rest, as they say is history.

Jamati: The passing of your mother and you surrendering to music, explain your out look on that?

Jumbo: It made me realize that its so profoundly true that in life, we all have one shot and everybody has a part to play. Indeed we have a limited time on this planted to do whatever we are put here to do. Music has always been in me and it is the only tool that I have to make an impact. So while music provides an avenue  to channel my pain, I also took some time to reflect on my upbringing. I grew up poor, somewhere in that process I developed this longing feeling to help people. Music is all I have, no matter how little I have, I do intend to use my music to raise social awareness, and shed light on humanitarian issues.

Jamati: Who are the string of artist that inspired your chosen choice of music genre?

Jumbo: Fela Kuti, Huge Masekela, Miles Davis and Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson etc. I could go on and on but my music ear is pinned to all aspects of music, I draw my inspiration from just about every genre of music and most importantly, those musicians and songwriters that are yet to be famous. Just watching them go through the struggle for opportunities to be heard, inspires me.

Jamati: Take us through the makings of your latest album “Brand New Day”. What musical ingredients are found in it? Who did you work with and most importantly are you at peace with the execution of the album?

Jumbo: Whoa:)

I worked on this album for a little over 2 years and with a lot of highly talented people who challenged me every step of the way. I n that period, the album morphed through many stages to what it is now. I recorded over half of this album in Nigeria and the rest here in the States. So naturally, there were different emotions prevalent in the album because I experienced a lot of changes and growth in that time frame. For instance if you listen to “Love Change the World” is is a fusion of hi-hop, Jazz and Afro Soul that talks about interaction between people and how the little love and respect we share amongst ourselves can change the world.

When you listen to “Brand New Day”, the song is about taking advantage of your second chances, each new day begins with a clean slate and a pocket full of dreams. Approach each new day with a positive spirit.

“Ije Were”, which I recorded with Yinka Dabis in Lagos is just a fun filled song. I call that song an organized chaos but the subliminal message is about self pride, confidence and assurance in one self. Most importantly and dearly to me is the song “Ama” of which I performed it with my father and it is dedicated to the memory of my mother. It was an opportunity for me to re-connect with him. It is my way of showing him my gratitude for laying the foundation for my music career.

What I strive to do when composing my songs was to maintain the positive message but the tune of each song had to reflect the mood that I was in at that given point in time. In the end, it was the capable hands of the people around me, from my manager Igo Wordu, to Scott Hedges with his magic touch, and all the featured singers: Monica, Bumi Dada, Ayo, Aisha that my album is a success. I’m grateful at how it all came together.

Jamati: I personally love “Timeless” and “Aye Ole”. Describe your train of thoughts when you were executing these tracks?

Jumbo:  Thank you although I hope you didn’t get my manager to say that, cause he just won a bet we made. He loves those two tracks too. Nonetheless, I am humbled that you love those tracks.

You know the theme of this album is about love and peace. There are two different types of love, there is a companionable, physical or sexual love one shares with a life partner. The other type of love is the one between friends, and people whom you may have a platonic relationship with or a bond driven by mutual respect. So these types of love are reflected in both songs. The song “Timeless”, which I co-wrote with Cobhams Asuquo, is a song that describes a lasting relationship between a man and a women; a kind of love that is renewed with each moment that they spend together. Their love never gets old and it spans a life time. I Wanted to create a song that is soothing. A mellow song you can listen to when you need to get to a tranquil place at the end of a hectic day. There is a vocal version of that song but I prefer the Jazzy version.

Ayele Ole, means Peace and Love and it is a Yoruba version of “Love Change the World”, which is the first track on my album. It simply describes mutual respect for one another and that to love another person must start within. Thomas Merton once said that “if you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.” Muhammad Ali on the other hand said that “I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me, it would be a better world”. It strongly believe that if we can love one another, then the world although may not be a perfect place by will surely be a much better place.

Jamati: Growing forward and into the future what lessons have you learnt in making “Brand New Day” that will be a big benefit for your future albums?

Jumbo: You know my manager once told me that although music may seem evolutionary, it is also a snapshot of time. Those who participate in it must ingrain positive messages at every single time because you never know when the future generations will reach back to your music for inspiration. I strongly affirm in that principle.

Jamati: I sense a lot of spirituality connected with your journey, please share?

Jumbo: God is a big part of my life, in fact he is everything in my life. Everything I do is to the testament of his faithfulness. I have been through a lot in my life, and when all things fail God is the only succor that I can always rely on. He puts people in the right places in my life at any point in time when I needed anything. So it is humanly impossible for me to separate my relatioship with God from anything that I do and that includes my music.

Jamati: Are there any projects you working on right now that you would love to share?

Jumbo: My focus right now is to promote this album and let the fans get to know who I am. I think I bring a very important message with my album which is how love can truly impact the world positively. I’m also a producer and I have been in the studio producing songs for some very promising talents.

I’m currently working with Safy Bello, the Tahila Praise Band, Sierra Leone native Monica and Paul Irabor on they albums and projects. As for the future I don’t know what holds but i know that Ill continue to be involved in the musical stadium be as a performer or a producer.

Jamati: Thank you a ton for sharing with the Jamati family and we pray for balance ahead as you grow forward.

Jumbo: No thank you. It’s been a pleasure and I’m honored. As we grow though the journey in life, we pick up lessons and people that impact us in the most positive way and I think that the Jamati family is now my family. I enjoy reading your articles and I am a big fan. Thank you for the work that you do to put Africa, our, culture, our many milestone and identity on the global stage.

To down load Jumbo Anibiet you can go to iTunes or www.cdbaby.com/jumboanibiet or you can learn more about him at www.jumboanibiet.com