Today we’d like to introduce you to Uche “Uchay” Nwagwu.
Hi Uche, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts with my insatiable passion for music. As early as I can remember, I’ve always been conscious of how much joy and energy I got from listening to music. By the age of 9, I had begun transforming my love for consuming music to singing around the house. Not too long after that, I discovered I had a pretty decent singing voice. Fast forward to high school and I wrote and recorded my first rap song. I would spend the next several years honing my skills by tirelessly writing and recording music throughout college and several years after graduating. Most of my music hasn’t seen the light of day, but I still listen to it from time to time.
What’s interesting is, although I originally embodied all of the characteristics of a musician with future aspirations of one day showcasing my talents on a major stage, the truth is – that wasn’t truly me, I was just good at it. I’ve always been more comfortable breaking down music and describing the depths of the music I would listen to. That’s why when I reconnected with a good friend of mine in high school who I was able to have those deep music conversations with, I flourished at my truest form of musical expression – which was commentary. I didn’t know it at the time, but the years of going back and forth about songs and albums would eventually lead to me deciding one day to press record on our conversations – that was the inception of The ILL-Advised Wise Guys Podcast.
These days, we’ve been focused on growing the brand across various media platforms and are consistently releasing episodes filled with interesting music discussions that you will be hard-pressed to find many other platforms covering. I’ve been able to collaborate with a growing list of rising musicians and media personalities thus far in the journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has been far from smooth. The biggest obstacles that I faced early on were: being consistent in my approach to producing content, finding a solid niche, building a solid team, and finding ways to grow the brand to create more exposure for my podcast.
I accepted a long time ago that obstacles come with everything in life, so I strive to take things day by day. That’s probably the most important tactic I’ve used to shape my mentality.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the Creator, Executive Producer, and Host of The ILL-Advised Wise Guys Podcast. I started the podcast in 2017 and since then, the show has seen a steady incline in listenership and viewership since we launched our YouTube channel in 2020.
Some of the main areas that I specialize in consist of researching/developing engaging music topics for the podcast, producing and managing content across all of our social media accounts, managing our content editing team, audio editing, etc. Some would probably classify me as a jack of many trades.
To date, I’m probably most proud of how often our community lets me know how impressed they are at how consistently they are entertained by the content we release while promoting our podcast online. It feels good to know that the dedication and hard work I’ve put into branding and growing the show seems to be translating the way I’ve planned for it too.
What sets me apart from other music commentators is that I am a former musician who approaches discussions from a lot of perspectives when giving my takes. The podcast was established based on my co-host and me delivering takes that on the surface may sound crazy, but if processed correctly, generally end up sounding reasonable and full of depth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.illadvisedwiseguys.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uchayva
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/uchayva
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@illadvisedwiseguys
