We recently connected with Jedidiah U. Peters and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jedidiah U., so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
My life journey first as Tito Da Fire the Rapper (that’s what I did in “Seun Rere” the first single ever”, then the singer, the Radio, TV host, the copy writer, the screen-writer for a BBC produced TV series, the voice over on global advert campaigns, writing music for myself and others, all of these are parts of being the only one in the room, because looking back at having released my first single with Gent2Men in 2002, and consistently releasing music almost every year, that fans and listeners from all spheres of life describe as relevant”, is such an honor, although I wish more artistes who were popping at that time were still doing same with similar energy today. I’ve heard all types of reactions, I’ve heard people say I should quit, friends have said stop wasting your money, all sorts of negative energy, but since the vision was given to me, it is my responsibility to bring the vision to life at the appointed time.
Remembering my father’s diligence as a Minister of the Gospel as. Jehovah’s Witness was one of the earliest trainings to be effective, because you had to do bible readings, prepare talks and go present your talks from 10year old in front of the congregation, and leading my primary and Sango Ota High school to National Debates and winning debates, all grounded me to be effective.
Most importantly, I was born into a home where my father had enough wealth to make us live a good life, but just like he warned us, that we were being wasteful with things in general, the Liberian war brought us huge losses and the family hit rock bottom and had to start life all over in Nigeria. Despite the humble new beginning, I still saw myself as elite, from childhood till date, even when my school uniform was faded and transparent thin, from over-washing, I and my siblings always talked big, and believed in a big bright future.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am Tito Da Fire, a singer /song writer who envisions a world where my music transcends cultural boundaries, heals the broken, gives hope to millions who have hit the ageism rock bottom, where “society” and loved ones tell them that their careers, or dreams are invalid and over, due to physical circumstances, age or some form of inadequacy, I am bearing that torch for a generation with my right fist up and saying, rise up, you only fail when you accept failure as final. Pick up your dream journal, dream and make it come true, because only when you lose faith in God that your world crumbles, and my journey is encapsulated in “Carry Go”, it is my new single that tells how in chasing my dreams I came on tour to the United States, got burnt and broken over a 2year period by someone I cared about, hit rock bottom but still have risen, with a mission to foster resilience in multi-generations of talents, and hopefuls across the world and in Africa. “Carry Go” has been submitted for “Best African Music Performance” Category in the 67th Grammy Awards coming up, looking forward to a nomination.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Restless love for creative expression, (I love using my voice, either on a song, on radio or on drama or an advert, that love drove me to find ways to express my heartbeat through my voice) 2. Diligence, I’ve always known where my passion lies, and I did every legit job to build myself to achieve it. 3.Love for learning relevant skills, this pushed me to do Accountancy in Grad school, and a masters in (Communications Studies), I had been practicing Mass Communucations and journalism right out of high school, and I started to gather Certifications in Accounting, Public Relations, Mass Communications, (Broadcasting and Advertising professionally) mostly because I saw that the world holds it as a standard for validation, and practice in certain field, and I always wanted to get a Doctorate degree in my retirement years, so I guessed piling all those certifications would add up when that time came.
The most impactful knowledge in my journey, was what came naturally, singing, it was an audition I did right from out of high school, singing in front of Dr Shoe Wadada, a Reggae DJ, he heard my voice and said “has anyone told you, that you had a sweet voice for radio” from that moment i went home and started practicing in front of the mirror and he introduced me to Kaneng Wrang Pam who put me on AIT Tv, so I’d I’d say singing and later radio and tv brought everything else.
Advice is, regardless your position, know what you’re passionate about, learn skills, preferably skills related to your passion, to earn income, that will sustain you in pursuing your dreams. Pray for directions and go succeed.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I have been collaborating, and would love to collaborate with visionary musicians, song writers, entrepreneurs, movie producers (because I’ve acted in at least four movies (Namely; “Destination Dallas”, “The Delivery Guy”, “The Designer Bag”, “Couples Saga” all shot in Dallas. My Instagram handle is @Tito_grindiin, while my TimTok/X handle is : @Titodafire
Contact Info:
- Website: www.titodafire.com
- Instagram: @Tito_grindiin
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/titodafiremusic
- Linkedin: Tito Da Fire Peters
- Twitter: @Titodafire
- Youtube: @TitoDaFire-vp3es
- SoundCloud: www.SoundCloud.com
- Other: Tik Tok : @Titodafire
Image Credits
Art Photographer: Mary Kate Benitez – MK Mindful Media Art design: Simville photograph: Other photos: Robb Relo Visuals
