C-Jay NGN matures his sound

By Rinelda Mouton

Artist and producer C-Jay NGN, real name Reinhold Frans, says his music has matured since his debut with Gentleman in 2023.

His recently released songs include “Closer”, “Tae Xu E” and “I Do”.

“‘I Do’ has connected strongly with listeners, especially because of its romantic and wedding theme. The song is about love, commitment and choosing someone you want to share your life with. ‘Closer’ focuses on emotional connection and wanting to become closer to someone you care about. ‘Tae Xu E’ is a collaboration with O Taee, and it represents my continued effort to create music that connects different artists, sounds and audiences,” he said.

The creative’s music is strongly influenced by where he comes from, the people around him and his own experiences.

C-Jay NGN sees himself as an artist who wants to create music that people can enjoy, while carrying something real behind it.

The artist said his newest work shows different sides of him.

“I do value my starting period because I was beginning to understand the direction I wanted to take as an artist and how I wanted people to experience my music. My recent music shows how much I have grown as an artist. I have been exploring different sounds while still keeping my own identity,” he said.

C-Jay NGN said through his music he often touches on love, emotions and the experiences people go through.

“I focus on these things because they are universal. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, everybody understands love, heartbreak, happiness, hope and wanting something better in life,” he said.

C-Jay NGN said he became an artist because music gives him a way to express things that are sometimes difficult to say.

Through his music, he said he has a platform to take an experience, an emotion or an idea and turn it into something other people can listen to and relate to.

“Making music means creating something that can live beyond me. A song can reach somebody in a completely different place and at a completely different time, and they can still connect with what I was feeling when I made it. That is powerful to me,” he said.

C-Jay NGN is known in music circles for not trying to sound like somebody else.

He said he is comfortable experimenting with different sounds, but still wants the music to carry his identity.

“I like combining modern sounds with elements that people can recognise from our own Namibian environment and culture. When I make music, I want people to feel something. It doesn’t always have to be a deep message. Sometimes I want somebody to dance, fall in love, remember somebody and simply have a better day because of one of my songs.”

C-Jay NGN said he started making music because of his genuine love for music.

At first, it was about experimenting and learning, but over time he became more serious about songwriting, recording and production.

“The more I learned, the more I realised that music was something I wanted to build my life around. My first release came from simply taking the step from making music privately to actually putting it out for people to hear. That step can be intimidating because once the song is public, people can judge it. But I realised that an artist cannot grow if the music stays on the computer or in the studio. You have to release it, learn from the response and keep improving,” he said.

The artist said he is not planning to slow down anytime soon.

“More music is coming. The public can expect more collaborations and more work on developing my sound. I also want to continue growing NGN Records and creating opportunities through this platform. For me, the goal is not just to release songs. I want to build something that can last and represent Namibian creativity beyond our borders,” C-Jay NGN said.

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