Boniface
Bio
Boniface’s musical career started earlier than most. Hailing from the exotic Seychelles. he was just three years old when he released his debut album in his native land. He instantly became a star, appearing on TV shows and putting on numerous concerts. "I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, my mum says I was even kicking to the rhythm when I was still in my embryonic state!" Boniface laughs.
Boniface’s dad and brother were also famous singer/songwriter’s in the Seychelles, although as Boniface explains, the political coup in the 80’s meant that their music wasn’t heard for a number of years: "The government took over and stopped the elections and everything, and my dad was against the government so they banned our music. They even banned mine even though I was only three years old."
Due to the political climate in the Seychelles, Boniface and his family relocated to England. It was at his secondary school that his interest in music became more focused and serious. “There was a studio there and luckily that kind of kept me out of trouble and allowed me to do what I loved at the same time".
He also started work on his own musical projects at home. With his tastes acquired from a diet of Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, Usher, Babyface and Lionel Ritchie, it came as no surprise that at just 13 he was using his brothers’ recording equipment to write and produce songs hoping to follow in their footsteps.
Needless to say, he soon had a demo worthy of a listen. "It was my brothers equipment that enabled me to get my record deal," he smiles. "My demo was such bad quality, but it got me heard so I will always be grateful".
It was a friendship at school that saw talent meet with talent and a fateful collaboration unfolded. "I went to school with Mr.Shabz (So Solid Crew) and last year he called me up out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to work with him. I gave him a demo, he passed it on to his management and they said they were interested in working with me. Mr.Shabz and I then made a tune together, and last June my managers started shopping my demos to different record companies and things went crazy."
A genuine bidding war followed from record companies desperate to sign Boniface, and he eventually signed to Columbia. He started work on his debut album at the end of 2001, and so far he has worked with the likes of Adam F (Redman, MOP, LL Cool J, De La Soul), Punch (P.Diddy, Ms.Dynamite), Peter Biker (Usher, Toni Braxton) and Mr.Shabz (So Solid Crew).
"I’ve been working with some brilliant people on the album and I’ve learnt so much. I knew that I had so many songs in my head and down on paper that I could probably write the album on my own, but I didn’t want to close my mind. I wanted to see what people had to offer, and I was offered some fantastic stuff." <[? If you want to get up close and personal with Boniface you've got to know his music. The lyrics of his tracks will have girls melting at the knees and for the guys Boniface's rhymes are something they'll not only be down with but also wanna get down to! And there’s no doubting it will. Boniface creatin' a bona fide sound....