We had the good fortune of connecting with Echezona and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Echezona, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success and the success of my brand is the remembrance of how impactful my voice is, as an accomplished artist on the rise. I’ve always been reminded of how imperative it is that I utilize my voice for the greater good, simply for the fact there are eyes watching that I may not know of yet, belonging to people who either want to advance me towards or deter me from my dream. By not forgetting that critical factor, I truly live up to my name, which in the Igbo language literally means “don’t forget.”

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am most proud of the fact that I stuck with my passion when others chose to walk away. I come from a city that was once notorious for being unsupportive of its acts coming up in the music scene. I come from a culture that carries a close-minded mentality in terms of what one can become in this lifetime. Both worlds are filled with the people I write these records on behalf of, through having the utmost confidence in my pen and in my ability to transcend cultures through my melodies and concepts. I want the world to know that I want to headline stadiums, while bridging the gap between what keeps the streets moving and what shakes the globe internationally, all while remaining true to who I am, as a Nigerian man from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, MA. I spent school nights from elementary through high school, Monday through Friday for 8 years straight, writing and recording songs…performing them all over the country, gaining national recognition and primetime TV attention. That hustle from as early as age 10 is still present now. As a matter of fact, it has increased. I would go into more depth, but my point is that the 10,000 hours mark has been reached, and yet all I wish to continue to be is equivalent to the student walking up to the microphone in the booth for the first time. Hungry. Determined. Grounded. Consistent. Disciplined.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Similar to my music, I want to show you the different worlds I’ve navigated through. My city of Boston is marketed as the city with the Prudential and the Hancock building and more. But never as the city where the Rainbow Swash is your reminder of the fact that you’re back on familiar soil, or the long strip of the iconic Blue Hill Avenue riddled with the smell of fast food and the commotion of people going through their everyday lives. I would want to take her to visit Downtown to take fly pictures, but she also gotta see Dudley and see a bit of the climate there. And we can always go to Newbury to shop, but Mattapan Square is the other side of the coin that gotta be acknowledged. There’s the legendary Franklin Park Zoo, where I grew up going with my family. And then there’s the Zoo – a nickname for the Blue Hill Club that kept many of my contemporaries and I out of trouble and helped us establish our own family.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, all glory goes to God for bringing me thus far and for putting the pieces together even when I fall short and feel undeserving of his favor on me. I also want to recognize to my parents, my siblings, and my entire family here in the US and abroad in Nigeria – blood related and extended – for laying down the foundation that has shaped me into the man I am today. Much love to my Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club, where my artistry first began and the love for my Boston community fostered, with the support of every mentor, peer, and mentee. Maximum respect goes to my team at Koma Toast LLC, which continues to support me in every way possible to thrive and become the all-time great I will become. Big shoutout to METCO for exposing me to a world I can prosper in regardless of society saying otherwise, and to every teacher and colleague that believed in me. Lastly, to every artist who has ever inspired me and to every individual that has ever pressed play on a record and/or project from me – you all are the reason I’m up all night plotting on how to leave my mark culturally long after I am gone, so thank you.

Website: echezona2000.com

Instagram: instagram.com/echezona2000

Twitter: twitter.com/echezona2000

Facebook: facebook.com/echezonamusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnf244AF35dR66sQmHbpIXA

Image Credits
Cody Tu Kristopher Carter King Shield Photography

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