The Philosopher's Stone

Recording artist Jabari Man expounds on the alchemical substance behind his music, mythology and life.

Adika Butler

Oct 27, 2023

The bombastic patriarch of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, once insisted that “the rhythm, the sounds, the tonality, the chord sequences, the individual effect of each instrument and each section of the band” on the listener is intenional. “I’m talking about a whole continent in my music.”

Fela fully embraced his music’s capacity to serve as a sonic metaphor for the cultural richness and diversity of the African continent. Jabari Ajao, 27, has heeded the Nigerian icon’s example, which is why he’s making music that serves as a tonal reference point for his internal continent of self.

Jabari Man has sprung from the fertile soil of audacity for this process of soul birthing. He recently opened up to The Indivisible College about his outlook on life, his Dirty Diggs produced Fela Kuti Music album, and what’s to come from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native in 2024.

What does Fela Kuti embody for Jabari Man?

First and foremost I grew up listening to Fela Kuti the person via CDs from my Yoruba step-father. His music was different from Lil Bow Wow, Busta Rhymes, and Michael Jackson, yet held its own weight and musical motifs of call and response, repetition, power, and control.

As my musical work, Fela Kuti Music represents an explicit worship of my musical ancestry, allegiance to the ethos of “no wrong notes” of the blues and jazz, and my courage to start sharing music with consistency of marketing and promotion.

On “Child of the Nile” you say “as long as I’m a nerd I can never really die. Our intelligence makes everything aligned.” That’s a statement that invites curiosity. What does it mean?

That's one of many multilayered rhymes in my music. There’s a hat tip to N.E.R.D the group of Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, and Shay Haley. Then there’s the underlying mantra that alleviates my anxiety, fuels my purpose, and gives me goosebumps when I read scholarship, consume art, think about my ancestors or descendants, or have sex. I was never just this body. And this body was never my only form.

That’s fire. So, what propels you to make music?

My mind moves at a certain pace where I need to find ways to communicate with people. My heart feels at a certain depth where I need to express my emotions. And my body needs to touch and dance. So music and songs are ways I can put messages in a bottle, release my thoughts and feelings, and sometimes create environments for dancing, singing, and sex.

Many are celebrating 50 years of Hip-hop. When you’ve thought about hip-hop over the course of this calendar year, what has been your biggest reoccurring thought and why?

I was born on August 11, 1996. Mic Drop? Ok let me pick it back up. With style. Like Big Daddy Kane. My biggest reoccurring thought this year has been the publishing, master recording ownership, administration, touring, accounting, capital, marketing. The business.

I’m a business man by nature and ancestry, and knowledge and organization is all that’s necessary to own my intellectual property and exploit it in my favor. So, when I reflect on the so called 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, the administrative and business aspects are as necessary as stellar live performances. I’m here to father what I make, meaning nurture and protect its existence. A solid foundation is all I want to stand on.

It seems that we’re in the post-Superstar era where you had a Michael Jackson or Beyoncé that galvanizes human imagination in a way that transcends the music they make. What are your thoughts on art being filtered through a messianic model?

When they say there will never be another, that is true. However, there was a B.B. King and a Jimi Hendrix, a Stevie Wonder and a Michael Jackson, and a Marvin Gaye and an Usher, and a Beyoncè, and a Prince, and a Jay-Z and a Kendrick, and a Ye and a Drake, and a J. Cole. And, referencing the messianic concept, before it meant savior it meant anointed. So it’s all about how our people view things. Save yourself. And there’s plenty of examples.

What mythological figures or stories do you personally identify with and why?

As a kid, I would recite the Justice League members while I closed my eyes to wash my face in the shower. Now I keep a record of my ancestors and friends who've passed on. And in my studies I currently pay attention to African and Vedic characters with an interest in ancient American myths. I was raised from a perspective that everything predating Abraham was pagan and satanic, but upon doing the knowledge with self-love, I now consider ancient myths as peer-reviewed intelligence deserving of consideration. And I always have.

What should we look forward to see and hear from Jabari Man for 2024?

Imagine I release amazing music on traditional digital platforms, blockchain platforms, vinyl, and CD, perform amazing music as social media and NFT content, live in your cities across the world at festivals, in stadiums, in video games, at universities, at award shows, fundraisers, galas, movie theaters, cruises, carnivals, sport events, and parties, worship ancestors and ancestral knowledge, teach those who are willing to learn, look fantastic, eat delicious meals, and participate in my community.