Up-and-comer nowujalo (born Olajuwon Quewezance), a First Nations artist from Regina, SK, has released fresh visuals for his track, “Wake Up.”
“nowujalo is known for his catchy hooks, song after song, and once again delivers the heat, coupled with a smooth melodic flow that keeps his fans heads bobbing.”
Directed by Saskatchewan’s premier videographer royalZ and premiering earlier today on ELEVATOR, “Wake Up” follows nowujalo’s video for “Not the Same” which has pulled in over 16K views since its release in September.
“Wake Up” is available now on SoundCloud. You can find “Not the Same” and other tracks by nowujalo on Spotify and other digital outlets.
About olajuwon
Biography supplied by artist
Right from jump, there’s something different about this kid! First off the name nowujalo—what the hell is a nowujalo? And then, when you look closer you see a ginger haired white kid talking about things that he has no business talking about… that’s where the story gets interesting. Born Olajuwon Quewezance in Regina, SK., nowujalo is off mixed race, his mom is full First Nations and his father is a mixed Irish/First Nation and that’s where nowujalo gets his looks from. But, make no mistake, he reps his First Nation peoples to the fullest.
When nowujalo was young he moved to Claiborne County, Mississippi which was a predominantly African America community. You see, Olajuwon has eight siblings on his moms side and he resembles none of his siblings. His older brother is fully Indigenous and his seven younger siblings are mixed black and First Nations, so he always stood out and has just excepted it. In Mississippi, it was his uncle—a legendary freestyler in Mississippi named Duce Baby—who nurtured and developed his skills to make the artist he is today. nowujalo was brought up in a troubled home surrounded by violence and addiction. He suffers from Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the trauma he’s faced as a young kid. After returning to Canada to live with his grandparents, nowujalo had a difficult time adjusting. By 8th grade, he’d been expelled from six schools and started to get into it with police, and doing short stint in juvenile jail.
Scene from the “Wake Up” video
We don’t say this to glorify his actions, we say it so you can understand who he is and why music is so important in his life. He started getting serious about two years ago and gaining some notoriety locally. He continued to push and push and started to make waves. On Jan 4th, nowujalo’s grandmother, who he was close to his, passed away from assisted death after a battle with cancer. The last thing he said to her was she can’t go until she sees him make it and do right by the family. Four days later the owner of Elevator YT reached out about nowujalo. A relationship was formed and two days after that he’s on a major YT platform with two million subs! Coincidence? nowujalo feels it’s fate and motivation to keep him pushing till that dream is reached.
So, as the old saying goes, “you can’t always judge a book by its cover.” By the way, it’s pronounced “now-you-jah-lo” and your gonna be hearing a lot of soon.
Find out more on nowujalo’s official Facebook profile.
You can follow @nowujalo and @VisualsByroyalZ on Instagram.
