10 things we love about Juls

Whether you know him as ‘Juls Baby’ or to the OG fans as ‘Juls On It’, GRAMMY-nominated producer/DJ Juls is known for lighting up any setting, with hits such as ‘So Mi So’, ‘Soweto Blues’, ‘True Love’, ‘Skin Tight’ and many more. Juls has a fresh and vibrant sound like no other, his distinctive style is evident everywhere, it’s hard to believe that the British-Ghanaian talent will be celebrating an impressive 10 years in the business.

Over the last decade, Juls has worked with a host of outstanding musicians including Wizkid, Burna Boy, Wande Coal and homegrown talents such as Ms Banks, Jaz Karis, Kojo Funds and most recently rising stars Jay O and Odeal. The producer/DJ has an extensive catalogue spanning from his breakthrough 2017 LP ‘Leap Of Faith’ to his debut album ‘Sounds of My World’ which features the likes of George the Poet, Knucks, Tay Iwar and many more. Over the years, Juls has always stayed true to himself and his sound, earning him a solid fan base and global recognition.

Juls travels all over the world to find inspiration for his next song or to set the mood for his next event. The music he created will be treasured forever and should be studied for years to come as he has continued to soundtrack our summer with records that further highlight Juls’ importance within the culture.

Log in Here for the headline show ‘The Juls Baby’ at the Outernet in London, where he celebrates ten years in music. In the meantime, here are ten things we love about Juls…

We love the variety of artists you’ve worked with including Wizkid, Tay Iwar, Jaz Karis, Odell and JayO. How do you make it all possible?

I think I’ve always had an open ear for new talent. I’m constantly listening to music, whether it’s on Spotify or Apple Music. The algorithm always brings me to new artists and I’m always looking for specific sounds or people. Most of the time I reach out to them. Chances are they were already really interested in working with me, which makes things easier. Some of the collaborations have also come about as recommendations, most recently tracks with Odeal and Jay O from Tomi, who is on my team. As for other artists, for example Jaz Karis, it happened quite organically, we both reached out to each other, funnily enough, so relationships have built up over the years. I’m ultimately open to collaborating with new artists or the artists I already have a relationship with, as long as we can make new music and explore different sounds.

We are happy that you are still with us after 10 years. Have you always wanted to be a DJ/producer?

I don’t know if I wanted it, but I would say I fell into it. I’ve always loved music growing up, but my whole background is finance. I was supposed to be trading stocks in a bank now, but for some reason my passion for music just took over. Music makes me happy and I can’t imagine doing anything else. It also feels like a blessing because working in the music industry isn’t easy, you have to put in the effort and fight, but I’ve always stayed true to my mind and been so consistent with my sound. I’m proud of myself in the sense that I’m able to provide for myself and my family.

We love how you always manage to make tracks that provide the soundtrack to summer, with tracks like ‘Hold You Down’ ft. Odeal and ‘Best Interest’ ft. JayO which perfectly describes a summer pool party – Do you agree that your tracks sound like summer?

It’s not intentional, but I’ve noticed that my music sounds like summer and sunshine. Maybe it’s because I’m African or because I love the sun, but those factors are a big inspiration for the music. A lot of the music I can make, I can make at home, on the beach, at my parents’ house, or just anywhere in the world. All of that contributes to my music.

We love how you include the diaspora through your music. Is that important to you?

This isn’t something I do on purpose, it’s just how I am. Growing up, being African was never cool and I admit I felt like I had a bit of an identity crisis. I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone was predominantly white but I have a Caribbean nanny, my grandmother was Jamaican and our Ghanaian culture was always upheld at home, my parents raised me to be respectful of people of all races and religions. My parents did a good job of making sure I was properly integrated into my culture, it all just happened seamlessly and seeped into my music, especially listening to music like Highlife while growing up. I am currently working on a film that tells the story of how music is made, talks about the history of music and shows where I get my inspiration to create. The focus will be on storytelling of the places we visited to inspire the music.

We love the way you tap into so many different sounds and genres while still maintaining your signature sound – who has inspired you?

Kanye West is the reason I started making beats. When I first started I tried to imitate his sound. When I need inspiration I usually go to a producer called Knxwledge who works very closely with Anderson. Paak, I also listen to a lot of Kaytranada and Black Coffee, that’s my inspiration before, during and after music.

We love your consistency – what drives you?

I don’t know what drives me yet because I’m trying to figure it out. I know I have a goal, I have dreams and goals, my music has this summery, sexy vibe to it, but yeah, I’m just trying to figure it out.

We love your DJ tag “Juls Baby” – where does it come from?

So in 2016, I sent a voice message to a group of women saying my name in a sensual way. Some of the responses I received were pretty crazy, and some of them to this day are voice messages that I would never play to anyone. However, there was one that stood out, from a lady named Amarae, so I used her voice, changed her pitch, played around with it and started putting it on tracks. I’ve known Ama for over ten years and always knew she would be as big as she is today. She stuck to her guns and I’m proud.

We love how you switch between the roles of DJ and producer. Are there any DJs, producers or artists you’d love to collaborate with?

There are no DJs I’d like to work with at the moment but I like to do a lot of gigs with my buddy Larizzle. As a producer I’d love to work with Black Coffee, Kaytranada or Kanye, as far as artists go I’d 100% love to work with Joey Bada$$ and Kendrick Lamar, he’s one of my favorite artists.

We love Juls but it’s so hard to pick a favorite song. What do you think is your favorite song you’ve been involved in?

Hmm, that’s quite difficult, you know, I can’t just pick one so I’ll name a few; I worked on ‘U Say’ by GoldLink featuring Tyler, the Creator and Jay Prince, producing ‘True Love’ with Wizkid was important to me because that’s Wizkid’s best album to me and ‘So Mi So’ by Wande Coal is in my opinion one of the most incredible Afrobeat records of all time, it’s a cornerstone and statement within the culture, those are the three records I’m most proud of right now but I know there’s a lot more to come.

We love your innovation and creativity. What’s next for you?

I adore Black Coffee, I want to rock the dance floor, I want to be the soundtrack to people’s lives, that’s what I’m focused on. I’m trying to finish a film, finish an album and celebrate my ten-year anniversary and just everything I’ve accomplished in the last decade. For New Year’s Eve, I decided to have a big celebration because if nobody’s celebrating you, you might as well celebrate yourself!