Safe Joe speaks on depression following his mother’s passing

By Maria Nene | 5yrs ago | 4 min read

Joseph ‘Safe Joe’ Mugweru has had his fair share of ups and downs but he took them in stride and made his dreams come true.

“My musical journey has been long and illustrative, but unfortunately no one talks about it. They only remember my personal life,” the proprietor of Safecon Music Studios, which also includes Safecon Management and Live Mystic, says.

“Prior to Safecon, there was Destiny Connection Music. But during the Blaze BYOB (Be Your Own Boss) I realised that the name was not catchy enough. That’s when I changed it,” he said in an interview in his studio.

Safe Joe is also an intern at Safaricom’s Twaweza Live, and he says he is learning a lot about recording sound from renowned music producer Eric Musyoka.

“He has a vast knowledge, which I would like to tap into in order to advance my career. I have a curious mind and I like to learn something new every day,” he says of the veteran producer behind such hits as Just A Band’s Ha-He and Juliani’s Mtaa Mentality.

Before Safecon Joe had two other failed studios. This happened as he dwelt on the loss of his mother, who died in 2009 while at the same time taking the pressure of trying to make it in the music business, which led to depression. It got to a point he worked for others just to make ends meet.

Safe Joe started producing music in 2013 because he was broke. He remembers selling beats for Sh500. The first person to buy the beats was his business partner Salim Bakari.

“At that time it was really frustrated because I could have an idea but I didn’t know how to express it in actual beats. When I finally knew how to play the keyboard, I was over the moon because I could now come up with unique beats,” he says.

Joe is a self-trained music producer. He learnt a lot about sound production and engineering through YouTube. He would like to be a professional sound engineer and do music production as a hobby. Currently, he is working with five artistes.

“We are just recording and making catalogues. I’m just putting my sound out there, giving out a piece of me. I’m not necessarily bowing to the pressure dictated by the industry,” says the producer, who defines his sound as a blend of dance-hall, bongo, and kapuka.

It was while he was honing his skills as a producer that he learned of the Blaze BYOB competition in 2016, during the show’s first season.

“BYOB came at a good time because I had just come out of a depression episode. It gave me a much-needed boost. I think the depression came about because I had not dealt with my previous traumas.

"When my mum passed, I didn’t mourn her because I had to be the man of the house. The doctor recommended that I relax and so I moved back to Eldoret, my home area,” he says, adding that he does not know what would have become of his career had the opportunity not arisen.

“The experience was awesome. I got the exposure. I got contacts, met other brilliant minds and I got the business management training that I didn’t have. I was determined to stay on.

"I’m very good at studying people and even when I was chosen as a leader and told to pick my team, I knew who to pick. In the end, I had everything I needed to bounce back.

"I had the money, exposure and skills. I had spent the last four years building my skills and with this combination, I knew I would make it,” he adds of the competition that saw him emerge first runners-up and pocket Sh1 million, which he says he will invest back into the production business.

Although he has an inclination towards gospel music, he does not mind working with secular artists, so long as they do not churn vulgar content.

“Music is a weapon and I have a responsibility towards shaping the moral fabric of the society,” says Joe.

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