Jamati was privileged to catch up with a man who is so busy he is hard to catch. Kaysha travels all over the world sharing his brand of ’sushiraw’ talent with a wiggle of his hips and a flash of his smile. He has been featured on CNN International, and has produced music for some tremendous talent. We asked him what his secret was.

Jamati: You are a seasoned artist with several albums under your belt. You have also produced songs for some incredible musicians in the industry, including, MC Solaar, Passi, Jacob Desvarieux, Soumia, Elizio, Ludo, and others. Do you find that having worked both ends of the industry has helped your music? If so, how has it done it?

Well, to me it’s always a matter of good feelings and visions. Whatever your place is in the industry, at the end, it’s musicians working with musicians, because the talent has nothing to do with the media exposure… For example, “One Love” my video never aired on national tv, but is reaching 1 million views on youtube… What really helped me was working with talented people with a good heart…

Jamati: CNN International profiled you as a very promising entertainer who had great intuition for what the audience wants. Your albums have each had a different and unique flavor. What things guide your music style choices?

I’m guided by my own life and spiritual directions… I’m not really working trying to give the public what they want, I’m just trying to define a sound, one step at a time. My public just grew up musically with me. There’s not really an intuition; it’s more raw music, straight from the heart, and I guess people feel it…

Jamati: Sushiraw is your label that features television, a clothing line, and a music label. You seem to have a great marketing machine that helps all those pieces sell each other. How easy was it for you to manage the business side of music? What advice would you give musicians who are trying to break into the industry as far as the business end goes?

Thank you, I didn’t really do it by purpose–I just used the internet and understood that you cannot break this internet thing so embrace it… My advice (sorry for my words) would be “f**k the industry”… Create your own industry [using] your followers and people that understand the vision, and go for what you know. The common mistake people make is that they want to follow a business model that works for somebody else. Whereas they should go for their own system that works for their music/artwork and then expand it to the infinite…

Jamati: Your label features quite a few artists that are already making a name for themselves. How do you chose the musicians you want to sign to your label? What kind of successes have you seen with them?

Funny, but I think I never chose a musician, they chose me. Sushiraw is more like a family and most new artists are brought by my own artists because they know the level of talent we want to work with. And, octopus style, my artist are now building their labels under the Sushiraw group where they find their own artists and we help them with the foundations that we already have, because we are a family of labels, beatmakers, singers, rappers, graphic designers, etc..Our ultimate goal is to just craft our art and own the different canals of distribution of our art.

Jamati: The fans want to know, are you married? If so, how do you manage to balance the family life with a hectic schedule of tours around the world?

I’m not married, I’m single even right now, such a pity lol…I have the chance to have a wonderful baby-mother that understands and do all she can so my son can be with me in every single spare moment, and boy, he travels too.

Jamati: Are there any new projects in the works in your many business machines?

Sure, we have Loony Johnson 2, Soumia 3, Kaysha 6, Elizio 3; the new signatures: Mika Mendes, Isah, and Thayna are coming. Then we’ve got the signatures of my artists: Shana for Bowzinho and Myriam for Elizio. We have the new t-shirt collections coming, representing Africa. Then we’re venturing into films, distribution, tv shows, publishing, beat makers management, and millions of other things that are just baby projects.

Jamati: Are there any guilty pleasures we should know about, or any favorite things?

No, I’m absolutely innocent… lol

Jamati: You or Fally Ipupa – the question is being tossed around about who is sexier. I think both of you are in your own ways but wanted to hear from you. Do you think you and Fally will ever tour together (and please come to the States)?

Well, the guy is good looking that’s true. And it’s good to see I’m not alone in the Congolese field looooooooooool…Nah bad joke, let’s say that it’s up to the women to decide–we’re just trying to spread love and art…Tour together? Yeah, that would be cool one day.

Jamati: Thank you for granting us the interview.

Big kisses

To see more of his work, visit his website and visit the Sushiraw site to view his artists.