J-Rio
J-Rio, whose real name is Junior Sandza, is a young Gabonese artist based in the city of Houston, Texas. Born in Libreville (Gabonese capital), he spent most of his childhood in the third city of the country (Franceville) where his mother is from. It is in this city that in 2004 he wrote his first text, but the lack of structure worthy of the name in this very underdeveloped city of Gabon will hold his talent in hibernation until 2007. This year it flies away for the USA and meets a group of young Gabonese as music fans as he and together they found the group “High Definition” a year later.
In 2010, the group released its first national hit “Le Bouquet” where we find J-Rio chorus, prod, but also the second verse in Rap mode. 2011 will be a learning year in which he devotes himself to improving his vocal qualities, taking into account the comments made here and there. And to do this, he embarked on coverings of known songs – American songs for the most part – but with lyrics in French, just to compare his vocal qualities to renowned artists but also bring his personal touch. However, during the same year (2011) he released a title “Gaboma SWAG” whose main phrase will become a slogan for the whole Gabonese community around the world: The famous “I am Gaboma and it’s Mal Swag”.
In 2012, for the first time, he took on an African title “Oleku” by rapper Nigerian Ice Prince, and named his cover “Oh Le Gout”. In a totally unexpected way this remix becomes a National hit (at the level of Gabon) and even crosses several borders. The buzz is around the young talent who, unaware of the magnitude of the thing makes another recovery, that of Michel Telo “Ai si eu pego” he calls “Aie Si C’est Ma Go”: Another Hit National. The eyes are now riveted on J-Rio who from that moment inherits the status of National Artist. Critics are beginning to fall, “J-Rio is not a real artist, he can only do covers”. Thus, in September 2012, he released his first personal title as an artist, “Elle Est Accro” which catches his audience even more and makes Gabonese cities vibrate.
The year 2013 is the year of the consecration for J-Rio, because in January it begins with a ballad titled “I love you Oh (True True)”. The melodies are sweet, the lyrics are beautiful, the song and the video ends on TRACE TV. The public expands to Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo etc … Many titles follow to keep his audience spellbound, and J-Rio titles still has. Super productive artist, he releases at least one opus every two months. With the aim of becoming a Continental artist then International, he works tirelessly and the results are noticeable.