Music and Meta – How KJ Spio is Pushing the Culture Virtually [Interview]

Nurturing talent and ensuring that creative minds get the platforms they deserve is a long-lived line of work we now know as managing. However, with the world’s collective move towards digital content, not all can be considered adaptable enough to appreciate the metrics and layers that go into artist strategy and management. One such person who does however, is A&R/Creative Director KJ Spio. Ghanaian by blood, KJ has elegantly coagulated the logistical, executive facets of management with the forward-thinking, free-spirited creativity that comes with his role as creative director of CEEK. Having managed the late rapper Cadet, building Ghanaian artist Sarkodie’s presence across the globe, and flexing his business-savvy fingers into deals with the likes of Audiomack and Reebok (to name a few), he undoubtably lives up to his Instagram tagline “culturepreneur.”

CEEK’s acclaim and status as being one of the world’s most fascinating online platforms that merges real-life and virtual experiences can partly be attributed to the work and vision of Spio. A Ghanaian born-and-bred company, one of Spio’s most noteable achievements in his role is having Sarkodie’s first virtual concert being hosted at Ghana’s Independent Square, a feat which has not only never been done before, but is also culturally significant.

Juggling between working as an A&R and upholding a big role within CEEK, Spio’s vast understanding of the music industry has allowed him and the artists he administers to reach their arms into skies they’ve never seen before, and it’s nothing short of amazing.

What have you been doing today?

It’s raining, we’ve [Oxlade] just started our day, we had a zoom call we just finished, but we’re about to really start our day.

On your Instagram you’ve called yourself a “culturepreneur.” What does this term really mean to you?

Basically, a culturepreneur is a person who earns their living through the culture. That means everything I do is deeply rooted in culture. If it’s not authentic, or not progressive to the collective culture, a culturepreneur wouldn’t chase that for capital or business.

How have you as a Ghanaian creative director of a Ghanaian company been navigating the boom in popularity of African music?

I love it, I just love it. I think the timing is great, it’s beautiful. Everything I do is based in the motto “For Us By Us” – by curating content that is specific to us, that we can identify with, and is also presented at the highest level and highest quality possible, and I think the surge of African music is a testament to the work put in by creatives like me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So how did you manage being both an artist manager and creative director during COVID?

For me, COVID was an extremely creative time and allowed me and my artists to look at things from a different perspective. Everyone was at home so we were just making music, creating and curating content, coming up with awesome concepts. When I look back at some things I reflect and appreciate that it was done at such a stressful period for a lot of people, it was a product of a struggling time.

I see a lot of confusion surrounding the concept of the “metaverse.” Using CEEK as a focal point, could you break it down?

Everything we have in the physical on earth, exists as the exact same thing in an imaginary space. That’s all it is. You have people selling land in the metaverse, it isn’t tangible in our physical reality, but it exists digitally or virtually. For example, if there was a CEEK virtual concert hosted on a yacht in a different country, you could still be there, experiencing the concert on the yacht through the metaverse. It’s a medium for unlimited imagination and experiences.

CEEK has hosted quite a few big-name celebrities on its platform – are there any plans in the future to start pushing more up-and-coming creatives as well?

Absolutely. We are consistently looking out for amazing creatives in whatever space they may be in. Oxlade and I recently had a conversation about an incredibly talented designer in Nigeria who’s making waves, so hopefully we can work with him. The whole objective of CEEK is to empower, to encourage and to inspire bravery in creatives. We want them to see our platform like a safe space.

What makes CEEK stand out amongst other competitors, some of which have been established for much longer?

I think the main selling point of CEEK is what it offers to both creatives and audiences. We push creatives to be boundless with the content they create, and help them achieve that vision while giving audiences the highest-quality stuff to watch and interact with. It doesn’t matter what it is or where it is, everyone wants to be entertained and served with content that speaks to them on different levels – CEEK’s goal is to do that and leave everyone wanting more.

This New Wave edition’s theme is Resilience. Could you give me one example of a time when you were resilient in the face of an obstacle?

Everyday we’re fighting obstacles and things that are pushing us back, in fact one of these obstacles is us ourselves. Last year we were meant to shoot a music video for Oxlade and Sarkodie’s Non Living Thing. We encountered numerous blockades and things that would hinder us from being able to shoot it, but in the end we prospered and we did it. We still got it done and stayed hopeful, we put our minds to it and it worked out. I’d say that was a notable act of resilience.

Where do you see CEEK in five years KJ?

I see CEEK being an extremely household platform. When creatives have a vision, I see CEEK being the go-to platform they’ll opt for if they want to get that content out to their audience in the best possible way. That being said, I also think the same thing for audiences too – I think CEEK will be the first thing they think of when they want to consume content catered specifically for them.