Hear what a rising star in the Afrobeat scene has to say about his music!
Bio: Benson Adelegan, better known as K Buzz is a music artist and poet of Nigerian heritage born in North London in 1987. He has been perfecting his musical talents since early childhood by following the paths of his musical influences by joining his church’s choir throughout his youth. After high school, he earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Kingston University. Throughout his education, he maintained his strong passion for music, and his singing voice strengthened as he practiced. K Buzz, now living in Essex, has become a prolific poet and musician. He is known for creating poems and music with meaning, focusing on expressing values such as family, love, and integrity throughout his art. K Buzz focuses on building relationships with his listeners and other artists, thus creating a community that people can be a part of. K Buzz released his first EP Power Of Love in 2008. In 2019, he teamed up with Zlatan on their song “HennyTing Goes,” and later in 2019, K Buzz released “Gbedu.” K Buzz is working to take his career to the next level and spread his music throughout the world, connecting and making lasting memories with fans.
First off, tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Hey, I’m K Buzz an Afrobeat Fusion artist and poet of Nigerian heritage born in North London in 1987. I’ve been perfecting my musical talents since early childhood by following the paths of my musical influences by joining my church’s choir throughout my youth. After high school, I earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Kingston University. Throughout my education, I maintained my strong passion for music and my singing voice strengthened as I practiced. Now living in Essex, I became a prolific poet and musician. I’m known for creating poems and music with meaning, focusing on expressing values such as family, love, and integrity throughout my art. I focus on building relationships with my listeners and other artists, thus creating a community that people can be a part of.
How would you describe your sound?
My purpose as K Buzz is to be the best UK’s Fusion artist as I can both sing and rap. I want to bring a different element of creativity into all my musical pieces to captivate my listeners into my various flows and melodies.
I believe that what makes my music unique is my choice of sounds. I like to fusion RnB, hip-hop, and pop, and I’m into afro. Topping it off with my unique flow and ascent, making my music, and sound unique to the ear. I would describe my music as an afro-fusion which is why I classify myself as a fusion artist. I feel more related to the following genres: Afrobeats, Hip-Hop, RnB, Afro-Swing, & Dancehall.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
I listen to Nas, Tupac, and Biggie through my old cassette player LOL.
But my major inspirations are those I’ve listened to from an early age, Michael Jackson, Fela Kuti, Jay Z, 2pac, Biggie, and Nas.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Brandy – “Never Say Never.” Still a big fan of my old school RnB and Brandy is still Queen.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
My main source of finding new music within the Afrobeat world is Audiomack.
Who is your dream producer?
Timerland and Pharell Willams combined Due LOL.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
I would love to Collaborate with Burna Boy; I love his style and works. We can definitely create magic together.
How do you feel about the current state of music?
I’ve always been more into R&B, soul, and hip-hop, but I also kept an ear to mainstream pop, rock, and country. It feels like music is slowly heading in the right direction, compared to five-ten years ago, especially the UK music scene. I guess there just wasn’t enough diversity in music back then and exposure. But due to the new streaming age, social media, and the internet, music is more easily accessible.
What is your main goal with music?
My long term career goals would be to do music full time, so once I start making money in music that surpasses the money I make from my day job, I’d know then I’m ready to leave my job and take on the music fully. Also, in the next five years, I would like to have written a top ten Afrobeat song.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
I’ve always been into music from an early age, from writing poems in my early teens to hitting up the recording studio with my friends. I truly believe this is my passion, and I tried for many years to fit it in when I took a break from music, but now back to doing it. I feel myself, and nothing is better than being in your comfort zone in life.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Music for me starts off as a blank canvas, and what’s drawn next is dependent on the feeling, the chemistry that I feel with the sounds I’m working with. Nine times out of ten, if the beat has me from the get-go, I’ll instantly start to vibe and have some type of ideas. Melodies, which for me, is the clearest indication that I’m feeling the sounds. It’s a matter of feel for me, and I have to go through and figure out what that is because if it doesn’t make the hair on my arms stand up, nine times out of 10, I can’t do it.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Through my social media.
Connect with K Buzz via his Instagram, Twitter, FaceBook, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
Did you draw inspiration from your Nigerian heritage in the writing of “Gbedu?” Tell us what influences you used. Did you use traditional sounds from the culture?
Gbedu – A pure Afrobeat’s production led by the Nigerian Gbedu drum. It was inspired by the original King of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti. After listening to the sounds of Fela, I wanted to bring an indigenous sound to Afrobeat, which was deeply rooted in my culture.
“Gbedu” sounds great! What’s the song about? What are your favorite lyrics, and what do they mean to you?
“Gbedu” is a song for celebration, giving thanks for the great achievements one achieved, also singing in my native language Yoruba. In my verses, I speak a bit about my cultural deeds from spraying money in parties to the religious ways of life. My favourite lyrics in “Gbedu” are “Who I be, I’m a champagne popper, gyaldem suga, Big time spender.” Basically, letting the world know who I am, and the way we do things as Nigerian. Nigerians are very proud people and we love to show off our wealth when it comes to family ceremonies by showing love to the celebrant.
It sounds like you’ve made a splash on the scene with “Gbedu,” how does it feel to have “Gbedu” known as a rising Afrobeat single?
It makes me feel happy, proud, and more so excited that my music is travelling far. Music in itself is a language. Many people don’t understand all that’s being said on the track but the beat, the rhythm is carrying them and they love it so they dance. That makes me smile and happy to know that my music can have such an effect.
“HennyTing Goes” featured Zlatan. How did it feel working with someone respected in the Afrobeat scene?
Firstly, getting the collaboration with Zlatan wasn’t easy. At the time, BluBlood and I had finalised “Hennyting Goes,” we looked at the song and thought who would be a good feature for the song, but only one name kept popping up. THE King of Zanku Zlatan. So I literally moved heaven and earth to get the collaboration. Zlatan came with the added flames, the added juice to the track, and he basically added the cherry on the top. In all, we ended up with a smash single that has been shown love worldwide. Overall, working with him had been an amazing experience.
What is “HennyTing Goes” about? What lyrics mean the most to you?
Hennting Goes – Produced by BluBlood, the foundations for “HennyTing Goes,” were laid through K Buzz’s interest in the viral Shaku and Zanku dances that have popped up in the past few years. The finished product aims to breed positivity, encouraging listeners to ‘dance as you like, do as you like, live your life to the fullest.’ K Buzz’s precise, energetic delivery and Zlatan’s signature animated flow blend with great chemistry over a hard-hitting, lively instrumental, a perfect vibe for the dancefloor.
The lyrics that meant the most to me are “If I’m dripped in Fendi, or Gucci, Hennyting Goes, ready had a few Henny shots wit the bro’s” This is the opening line to my verse on the single, and for me, it’s opening with a fire.
How did working with BluBlood shape your song and bring it to life?
Blublood is a beast, he’s creative, he has great vision and ideas, and I respect him greatly. We both worked on the hook together, it was basically long distance calls from the Uk to Nigeria, but the beautiful thing about it all is, we made the impossible possible by creating a smash single. And today “Hennyting Goes” is being appreciated all over the world.
What’s next for you?
Soon to release my EP in the next few months, expect some collaborations from some artists I respect in the music industry, and more shows and tours around the Globe. Currently, I’ve only released two songs but my catalogue is peaking twenty songs, I have much to offer and I’m always working hard to create new music. I’ll also be working on a lot of visuals for my songs, from music videos to animated music videos.
