Jahcub and The ChosenOnes

From the age of 10, Jahcub rehearsed every day with his father, Major Abraham Emaku and his band, filling his family’s living room with Afemai Highlife music until deep into the night. When Jahcub turned 20 years old, he formed his first sixteen-piece band in Lagos, Nigeria called, ‘The Reggae Magicians,’ which later became known as ‘The Chosenones’. Having learned from by Fela Kuti and Majek Fashek, Jahcub later moved his band to London, England, where he assembled a 13-piece band which happened to be the only African band to play at the Queens Jubilee at the Bacon Festival in Oxford.

As a diplomat with the British council and the British High Commission in Asia, India, Jahcub put together an 8-piece Chosenones band in Mumbai where they were given sole musical coverage of the Anish Kapoor exhibition in 2010, and recorded in Blue Frog studios. Back in Europe he decided to leave his diplomatic status to fully focus on the music, and recorded an album in Abbey Roads with Christian Wright and worked with great producers, such as Saudi in Paris (the producer of Fela and Femi Kuti).

In 2014 Jahcub took his music to Denmark where he formed the Chosenones’ band in Copenhagen. There they were the only West- African band to perform at the Aarhus reggae festival and the One Love Reggae Festival 2016. Last November, Jahcub and his band were invited by the prime minister of Algeria to perform at the Conference International Center to represent Africa as a continent at the opening of the biggest conference centre in Africa, at the capital in Alger.

Having crossed continents, Jahcub’s music has organically elevated reggae music beyond what it was to an entirely new understanding. Remaining true to his vision: refusing to cut down the number of people in his band or compromise in any kind of way that would touch the music’s’ essence, currently Jahcub and the Chosenones form an 18-piece band. They blaze the stage with a horns section, string trio, two keyboards, three guitars, percussion section, drums, bass, and singers. At present, the band is working on their ‘Humanity’ album, which is set to record in July at Media Sound Studios.

As God is the essential inspiration of his music, listening to Jahcub and the Chosenones takes you on a divine musical journey with songs carved out of the trials and triumphs of the everyday man. Jahcub knows there is a problem in this world but believes the solution is out there, and just as the problem is with us, the solution lies there as well. The lust for money has replaced man’s morals, creating division within humanity. Morals, however, are our weapons against that which has misled us from ‘living’ into ‘existing.’ In Jahcub’s music, you therefore hear preaching of love, togetherness, peace, forgiveness, respect for one another, respect for elders, perseverance, determination, and freedom of the mind, equipping you with a positive frame of mind to face the trials of tomorrow.