AJ Records, the brainchild of 31-year-old Adrian Johnson, has recently been receiving much hype for producing the widely-talked-about Blaze Anthonio “Blow” song.
The song, which started off with words “Hey, AJ” thus highlighting where it was produced, is the talk of the town and if you have never heard it, then you have to be living under a rock.
The catchy tune is a clear indication that Guyanese are finally going somewhere with their music.
However, the independent recording studio has been around for over 10 years and has produced many other popular tunes.
To channel his love for music, Johnson started the studio wanting to provide an outlet where Guyanese could be given a chance to record music even those who were not well-known.
He is looking, however, to carve his name not only in Guyana or the Caribbean but the world. He told Guyana Times Entertainment: “I am looking to not settle for producing music in the Caribbean but internationally as well, that is where I’m headed. I currently already mixing beat for artistes from the US, but I am looking to expand more and get bigger in this music industry. I want to become a legend in the game, not just somebody that records music because of the love of it, but to leave a mark.”
Starting as a drummer at age nine, Johnson received a break when he migrated with his mother to Trinidad and Tobago and was introduced to a band called “Home Grown”.
A talented singer as well, he moved back to Guyana with the hope of recording his own music, but was disappointed when he was given the royal run-around. It was then that he decided to start his very own recording company.
“I had an idea on recording and I started off using Adobe which is a normal recording software and then I started to progress and I moved on to using better quality recording tools,” he revealed.
Setting up his instruments in a section of his kitchen, Johnson started off working with solely gospel artistes such as DC Valan and Mr Daniels.
While making much of what he had, Johnson was having his studio built in the bottom flat of his home. Upon the completion of the studio, his real journey as the head of a label began.
Since then, he has worked with artistes such as Sean English producing songs like “Run Run” and “Temptation”.
Among the artists he is currently working with are Lil Million, Exodus, Bluetooth, Skill Mode Remedy, Esan Benzie, Blaze Anthonio, G-Man, Stiffy, Christopher Lee called Chellavich out of Jamaica, Kush, Kessi and Alvado also out of Jamaica.
Even former Carib Soca Monarch Jumo “Rubber Waist” Primo has paid a visit to the studio and Johnson is hopeful of working with the soca artiste.
An all-round producer who writes music, builds beats and even produces music videos, Johnson is also a DJ that goes by the name of DJ Adrian.
AJ Records is located on the West Coast of Demerara, Lot 106 Meten-Meer-Zorg. Johnson can be followed on Facebook @ DJ Adrian Johnson, and Instagram @DJAdrainJohnson.
