Biography
Born in Nigeria, Educated in South
Africa and fulfilling his calling in
Ghana, JaySmoke is a S.O.T.K (Son of
the King) and ain't ashamed to show
it. Growing up in a community deeply
rooted in Hip-hop Music, it was only
a matter of time before JaySmoke’s
mind was brainwashed and he began
chasing after the American Dream.
His love for the genre began when he
was growing up in Nigeria. Folks
weren't around, and he was living
with his big brother, who was part of
a college gang. This led to him being
introduced to artists from the East
and West Coasts of America. Artists
such as DAS FX, Big Daddy Kane, LL
Cool J, Will Smith, Kriss Kross, Dr
Dre, Snoop Dogg, Dog Pound,
Kurrupt, Warren G & Nate Dogg, Bone
Thugs and Harmony, Ice Cube, Mister
P, Ice T, 2Pac, WuTang Clan,
Notorious BIG, played a major role in
his taste of music and negative
perspective of life as a whole. This
love continued and became stronger
when he left Nigeria, at the tender
age of 11, to be with his mum in
South Africa. At the time, South
Africa was going through the
Apartheid and there was a lot of
racism and rebelliousness in the
community. As such, JaySmoke found
himself caught up in many immoral
activities that led him to many
problems both at home and away. He
rebelled against authorities, slept
around, was addicted to pornography
and was so uncontrollable that his
mum had to send him to his granny
back in Ghana. "Looking back at
those days now, it's no doubt that
God had a plan and was truly with
me, says JaySmoke."
But even after he was sent to Ghana,
JaySmoke was still rebellious. "The
whole idea of the "deportation" was
so that I could learn some manners. I
was supposed to stay with ma granny
and hopefully learn some good
stuff..., I remember my mum saying 'I
will send you back to Ghana where
you will learn how to treat women
right...' It was a valid point, because
being a rebel; growing up listening to
the junk that I did, I had no respect
for women. But I wasn't cool with the
idea that I had to stay with my granny
in the VILLAGE. So as soon as I hit
Osei Tutu Secondary School, I was
making plans on where to stay during
vacation..."
The deportation made JaySmoke hate
his mum and he was at loggerheads
with her for years {Thankfully, they
are at peace once again}. He refused
to take any aid from her and stopped
all forms of communication. During
vacations, JaySmoke would either
stay on campus or go stay with a
friend; moving from place to place
was part of his life, since the only
place he could call home was the
family house in the village and that
was a no-no. Whilst on campus, he
had very little visits from outside and
lived a very secluded life. This made
him a very independent person,
learning to make a way for himself
and relying on no one. But even
though he was living a wayward
lifestyle, he still knew in the recesses
of his mind that God existed; Jesus
was King and that he was on the
wrong path.
JaySmoke hated the fact that he left
the beautiful country of South Africa,
but it was whilst he was in Ghana
that he came to realize that he really
needed God. During a special
entertainment night in his last term in
boarding school, he had an
opportunity to dedicate his life to
Christ and decided to live a Godly
life. However, after taking that step,
he still listened to Hiphop music,
went clubbing, fornicated and was
still struggling with porn addiction.
But this was the beginning of a
struggle. A struggle that many newly
born-again Christians face in their
journey towards manifesting their
new nature in Christ. The Bible tells
us that, as Christians we ought to die
to our flesh daily. Every day was a
battle for JaySmoke. There were so
many things in his life: music,
friends, girls, social life, his negative
outlook on life. He had to RENEW his
MIND. It took time for him to realize
how much damage his lifestyle was
causing his SPIRIT MAN, and if he
wanted to draw closer to God and
have a meaningful relationship with
Him, he had to put a stop to it all.
This awareness, backed by a
conscious effort to change, pushed
him to seek after something different.
So he got rid of all his hiphop
cassettes, all the porn materials
including videos, pictures,
magazines, changed the type of
friends he walked with and started
attending church regularly. But just
like any drug addict, once that void
was created, He needed to fill his
with something. He started listening
to christian radio stations that played
lots of gospel songs and even though
it wasn't like what he was used to, it
was a decision he had made and so
he forced himself to enjoy songs by
Kirk Franklin, Andrae Crouch, Cece
Winans, Fred Hammond, etc. "Those
were hard days... I remember after
church service, I would dash straight
to the bookshop glancing through the
shelves looking for something
"hippish". The closest I got was Kirk
Franklin. And I would try to introduce
them to my peeps but they would just
laugh at me and tell me how wack the
songs were..." One day, his big
brother came to visit him at home
and he introduced him to a christian
rap group called Gospel Gangstaz. He
instantly fell in love. Their music was
clean, Christ-centric, uplifting, spirit
filled, inspirational and life changing.
He became a fanatic and just like an
addict, he started searching for more
Christian Hiphop music.
Soon work would force him to leave
Kumasi and move to the capital and
there, he believed, was where God
was started putting things in place.
Because it was in Accra that he was
able to search for more Christian
Hiphop music. This search opened up
a new world to JaySmoke; A world
filled with people using their gifts to
share the gospel through Hiphop, He
was sold out! This insane craze led
JaySmoke to discover many more
Hiphop artistes such as Cross
Movement, BB Jay, Prime Minister,
Antonious, DCP, Papa San, LG Wise,
Lil Raskull etc. These were guys who
were doing Hiphop music but unlike
the old, they were spitting positive
lyrics and saving lives. "I felt like
wow, I have to share these with many
people just like me....," So he started
a distribution system; He would burn
mp3s onto CDs and give them out at
youth churches. This was the birth of
JC (Jesus Christ) Cafe. But obviously
this wasn't going to be enough, there
had to be a much faster and better
way to distribute the songs, he
needed to get on radio. This need led
him to take a short journalism course
at GIJ and then a radio presenting
course at Rabodef. Soon JaySmoke
was equipped with the tools needed
to become a radio presenter.
However, in his quest and passion to
spread the gospel, he became very
active in the entertainment industry
in Ghana and this drew him away
from the Lord very quickly. The Bible
says when you cast out a demon, it
comes back with a legion of demons.
And thats what happened with
JaySmoke. Once back in his wayward
life, his love for Hiphop drew him to
Hiplife, which was at it's early stage
then. He was so passionate about
hiplife that he created a website
called iloveHiplife.com, which got
him to work with Reggie Rockstone
and other hiplife game-changers like
Pangi, Kwame Faakye, PY etc. He
became a very prominent face at
major nightclubs and social hangouts
and was also known by a lot of
people in the industry. He loved the
nightlife and was usually found at
nightclubs; he would spend all night
moving from one club to the next,
and was usually around the DJ booth
chatting with the DJs. It was the
norm for him and his friends, BUT
God being good, He never left him
and every now and then, he was
always reminded of His presence.
"....I truly can't pinpoint when I
became free from sin...but then again
I see it like a drug addiction. It takes
time to kick it out completely, you
don't know exactly when you finally
become free from it 'cause you end
up falling every now and then, but
what you can remember is the day
you made that decision to go into
rehab. And I believe the more you
grow in the Lord, the easier it
becomes for you to say no to your
fleshly desires. Eg. I can stay without
having sex now for years, unlike
before. Now I can sit in a room filled
with porn materials and I wouldn't
touch none. This ability comes from
years of allowing Jesus, through the
Holy Spirit, to mold and shape me
into the person He wants me to be....
"
Today, he is a passionate, young
man, who wants to impart the same
blessings on many people, both
young and old; people who are
yearning for a change in their lives
and have grown weary of the negative
misleading messages that are fed to
them on the airwaves. He believes
that newly born again Christians need
help staying born again. "It's kinda
like a baby lamb in the wild, for it to
survive, it needs it's parents to
protect it from the wolves in sheep
clothes. I believe music is one of the
ways we can help the youth stay
strong in the Lord!" Today, JC Cafe is
aired every Sunday on Xfm 95.1 from
6 - 9pm. The show has a growing
following on Facebook and twitter.
Through JC Cafe, JaySmoke is
fulfilling his ambition, taking the
gospel to the streets and he is also
using it as a medium to unearth a
wave of young, energetic and vibrant
gospel artists. Their website, http://www.ilovejccafe.com, is the biggest
website in Ghana that's creating a
platform for urban GH Gospel Music
both locally and internationally.
JaySmoke is also the founder of many
other innovative Christian ministries
such as;
OneMyke Session: A Christian
talent search event that showcases
believers using their talents to
spread the gospel.
ThaScript: The only Christian
Hiphop lyrical portal.
RepJesus TV: The Television
version of JC Cafe and
RepJesus Apparel: A Christ-
centric clothing line.
He is the Founder of RepJesus
Entertainment and Project One
Interactive, one of Ghana's top
Website Development Company. He is
also the host of The Sunday Show on
GHOneTV. The Sunday Show is a
Christian entertainment show
focusing on interviews, performances
and an interactive game show.
There's no doubt that JaySmoke
loves the Lord and is sold out for
Jesus Christ. His ministry has seen
the rise of urban gospel in Ghana and
also paved the way for many young
christians looking for a way to use
their talents to spread the gospel.
Today, urban gospel can boast top
quality artists/ministers such as
Esaias, Preachers, Kingzkid,
Regardless, Jay Shady, Lil Zig, Muby
Dey, ERock etc and the fun part is
that, there's more to come.
When asked about how he feels about
all thats happened, this is what
JaySmoke had to say "I ain't quitting,
not now or tomorrow. I am sold out
and I am repping Jesus till I die.
Someone once said, the greatest job
is doing what you love and getting
paid to do it. I say the greatest job is
doing what you love and using it to
save lives. I love Jesus and I am
telling the world about it. Watch out
for more crazy stuff...~ JaySmoke."
JaySmoke has a dream and that
dream is to infiltrate every single
sector of the youth with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ through music. He is
determined to bring that change with
unimaginable energy and
enthusiasm....The question now is,
do you have what it takes to embrace
him?
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