Mi Casa: Don’t do music for fame’s sake

One of group’s recent achievements was signing a record deal with Germany’s Afroforce1 Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group (UMG) Africa. The new album, which hit the stores after Mi Casa’s signing, is a testimony that the group can successfully fuse their sound with artists from other genres. The album features such artists as rappers AKA, Rouge and Stilo Magolide as well as dance-electronic duo Jay Em. Some of the featured songs on the album include ‘One Day’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘Sober’, ‘Obsessed’, ‘How Could You’ and ‘Sweet Wine’.

Music In Africa caught up with J'Something and spoke about the new album, its production, challenges and some of the group’s achievements.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: What message are you sending with the new album?

J'Something: We Made It is a story of three brothers that fought through hardships, they were patient with one another, sacrificed for one another, and didn’t give up on their shared vision. We Made It is shared between a sense of relief as well as a sense of pride. The message for everybody is that if you fight for the things you love, if you whether the storms, if you hold on tight, the fruits on the other side are really sweet. Don’t give up! If you are breathing, then you too have made it. We have made it this far because of so many people and this album is a testament to all of that.

Who wrote and produced the album?

Mi Casa has always worked internally for our music, it’s a personal exercise and an artistic expression. This album was different though, we allowed some very special people into our sacred space and we are so thankful we did. We co-wrote this project with a few friends Jay Em – two talented producers from Port Elizabeth who were integral in the co-production of this album. Then periodically we linked with certain other friends like V the Vowel, Kgabo Legora, Torch Everblazing, Tshepo who worked with Mo-T on the horn arrangements, as well as Ray on guitars for ‘How Could You’. It was a really special team and an incredible experience.

Take us through the writing and production process of the album?

We hid ourselves away in the beautiful mountains in Mpumalanga, in an incredible home, where we set up our studio for roughly three to four months. We just made music nonstop. Matter of fact, for this album we had over 30 songs to choose from. Crazy right? The whole experience was almost unreal to be honest, the creative flow, the freedom for everybody to have a say, and just to be out there with our own private chef, Chef Denzel, was a moment we will never forget.

Take us through some of the challenges you had as a band and how you have managed to overcome them?

Well, it really is issues we can all relate too. The reason why being in a band is hard is because its ultimately a relationship. Now this is a global reality, relationships are hard. We are three guys that really love music, we love performing, we love creating, and we love learning. Being in a band, the three of us are not aggressive people, we believe in love and approaching people with respect, so any issues we had, have been sorted out without real issues. No drama here unfortunately, just a bit of fatigue which is normal, and in order to get out of that comfort zone, one needs to dig really deep. That’s what we did, and that’s why I believe we are where we at, there are blessings in endurance and forgiveness, etc.

What message can you send to young artists and emerging bands on how to remain resolute as a band?

Don’t do music for fame’s sake, do it because you believe it has power to change the world and lift society. All the other rubbish comes and goes and actually adds no value to you as a human being.

What makes Mi Casa tick and what are some of your major achievements so far?

Achievements are many, but in all honesty, in my opinion what I’m proud of as a member of this band, is how we have done it all with grace, with humility, and with love. That for me has to be the biggest achievement. With no hype from our peers and most certainly no negativity, we have managed to stay around because of music and nothing else.

As a band, what is it that you are keen to achieve and are still working on?

Keep trying to create music that can speak to people and hopefully be able to stretch out the message we believe we have in our music to the world.

We Made It is available for download and streaming here.