Sef Naqui, RocNation LBE

"Team Work Makes the Dream Work' - Sef Naqui, RocNation LBE.

Sef is a multi-talented artist manager, A&R man, vocalist and producer, to name a few, and has gained immeasurable experience of the music industry both behind and front stage. Sef owns London Boy Records, which is his own music label, alongside his brother whose networking efforts eventually lead to the dealings with the big man himself - Jay Z, therefore getting them to where they are today .

Sef presented hid discussion by giving us a brief encounter of his childhood and influences, dropping some well-known names from the delights of Michael Jackson to Teddy Riley. Sef stated that through the many artists and role models he aspired to, he was able to appreciate and learn the arts of songwriting, music business, expecting failure and onto more technical aspects such as beats, song structures and also developed his singing.

As Sef got older, he became influenced by the likes of KC and Jo-Jo and Jodea, which helped him to excel in his singing. Being from a religious background, Sef had the opportunity to sing in church, where he made the decision that he wanted to be a singer.

Coming from a less-advantaged background than other people his age, meant that he was often surrounded by distractions, drugs and violence, stating a very powerful message to always stay on track, be self-disciplined and also proving that you can come from literally nothing, but beware of the sharks.

Throughout Sef's career as an artist, he met many artists whom he aspired to manage, develop and produce, bringing home the matter that to survive in the industry and go far, it's helpful to be versatile! Sef managed to use what he knew and also what he learned, to push himself to achieve jobs in A&R, management, production, have dealings with big labels and addressed the short-falls and stories, both good and bad, about the industry.

Sef is currently working with some artists whom he hopes are going to follow the dream. Sef has been involved with some spectacular names in the industry and gave the message to stay on track, be cautious, keep fresh, have an open mind and most importantly, which seems to have been the clear message this week - network. And do it BIG!

By April Allwood, Level 3 Music student