Take a Look into Ojikae’s World of Lust, Heartbreak and Vocal Fearlessness

We rate Australian hip-hop website Thank Guard and all that they rep. So when James and the Thank Guard crew started talking about young R&B singer Ojikae we took notice. It turns out that we weren't the only ones and in a short time, 18-year-old Melbourne singer and producer Matt Cicero has made a name for his sultry soul jams.

On the back of his first Soundcloud demo, he generated enough interest to play the recent ABRA and Manu Crooks gig and if internet buzz is any indication, there will be bigger gigs soon. But Cicero is not new to the game having started taking music seriously when he was around 10 years old. With talent, ambition and smarts, Ojikae is definitely on the rise.

We caught up with Cicero to find out where he's been and where he plans to go.

Noisey: What did you learn from the ABRA and Manu Crooks show?

Matt Cicero: They both have incredible stage presence, and really know how to work a crowd. I find that's probably one of my biggest weaknesses so to see how artists around me work the stage is a great help in building my own stage presence.

Did you get nervous?

I always get nervous as I have crippling anxiety lol, but it helps that pretty much since I was 12 I've performed in front of crowds. Also playing with my band from 2013-2016 helped as we played a heap of gigs. The experience is incredibly helpful, but doesn't do much to ease the nerves.

Is it tough playing early when people are still filtering into the venue?

Of course, but it's all part of the process. Whether I'm playing the first slot or the last slot, I'm not focused on how much crowd there is. I'm just focusing on making my performance as good as it can be for the people that are actually there, whether it's 3 or 300.

How did Thank Guard come across you?

James Ruklis heard my demo on Soundcloud and decided to hit me up, it all unfolded from there.

Your sound is pretty unique in Melbourne. Do you find you have many contemporaries?

I don't think anyone is really doing what I'm doing the way that I'm doing it. I write and produce mostly everything, but there are a few people doing soul music around me that I love such as Nasty Mars.

You seem pretty ambitious. Do you find ambition is stymied in Australia? Do you need to head to the US to make it?

Either way whether I head to the US, making Australia love our art and the scene is still one of the goals. I do believe I eventually want to work in the US, but having Australia behind us is one of our goals.

I like that you are described as Italian-Australian.

My managers insisted, I probably would have preferred just Australian as I am half Macedonian also.

You used to go to rock gigs with your Dad. What got you into R&B? Was there a defining album or artist?

I grew up listening to a lot of Prince with my Dad, who is probably my biggest inspiration at the moment. I only got into r&b in high school, artists such as Frank Ocean, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, The Weeknd and D'angelo really made me fall in love with the genre. I think Frank Ocean was really the first modern urban artist I'd listened to.

What is it about Frank that makes him so special?

Frank doesn't stick to conventional writing anymore. When first drew me in was not the music, but the lyrics, which is weird for me because I usually focus on music first, then lyrics. He just spoke about things I felt no one was speaking. And on top of his incredible writing, the music produced mostly by Malay behind it was crazy. I just love his music cause it's real and the emotions are raw, and he uses his voice to convey those emotions better than anybody.

After one single you seem to have a pretty solid plan with a manager and a strategy to get to the next level. Do you think this is typical of an aspiring R&B singer? Do you get any flack from this? Australian style is to build your way up and then wait. You seem to have a more professional approach.

I don't really know what is typical of an aspiring r&b singer, so i'm just trying to pave my own path. I'm just trying to do whatever will take me to the next level as a songwriter, singer and an artist. For me it's not really a professional approach, I think everyone is professional in their own way, i just chose to be very concise with what I want to do as I feel being whimsy doesn't correlate with my personality.