Julien Believes

JULIEN BELIEVES
By Nadine Thomas-Brown


Julien is late. I am agitated. My caramel hot chocolate drink fails to chase the coolness I feel towards him as he saunters into Starbucks. He flashes me a sheepish, apologetic grin as he carefully drops his 6ft 2 frame into the delicate chair I’ve pulled up for our interview. I am seriously conflicted. I don’t know whether to scold him or ask for his autograph. I do neither.

We get right into it, after all this is not a first meeting, so there is none of the nervous preliminaries that a first meeting would bring. His sunny smile soon melts my resolve to be peevish. He vents about the state of the Bahamian music industry in comparison with other countries after being away from it for a while. However he is not constrained by the myopic local scene and after a small sojourn and a soft release of his new Album “Believe” he plans to leave the country again. “I am not going to make the mistake I’ve seen everybody make over the last twenty years,” he says. “Everyone that has made it has had a lot of exposure abroad,” he says citing “T Connection”, “Johnny Kemp” as examples. “Those who stayed are still here consumed by the life of Nassau,” Julien says. He is wiser…

He is in transition and biding his time, “chilling and relaxing” until such time. To say that he has earned this respite is an understatement. Even though his career has taken him from the realms of being “just another local star” trying to make it, by any standard he has gotten away from the pack and is one of the few Bahamians who have managed to ink a record deal in the US. He signed with Hush/ Universal Records in August 2008. However after examining the deal, Julien decided to opt out of it in June 2009 and become an independent artist.. His company “8-80 Music Production Company” now handles his work.
Despite the setback Julien is now positioning himself to take the international stage by storm as a solo artist. A feat that many agree he is ready for after having spent much of his early years honing his craft. His eyes gleam as he relates his journey to the present.




After becoming a member of the local singing group EDJ at 12, the group attained serious local popularity. They were discovered by comedy Queen Monique in 2005 after she heard their music while traveling in their then manager’s limousine while on vacation in the Bahamas.
She whisked them away to California, where she became their manager. They lived with her for almost a year and were given the opportunity to open for mega international stars such as, “Boyz to Men”, “Destiny’s Child”, “and Sean Paul”, “ Mariah Carey”, “Brian McKnight”, “Joe” & “Babyface” to name a few. They also were given the opportunity to appear in movies such as “Soul Plane” and “Beauty Shop”. Granted they were small scenes but to the three island boys it was a huge deal. Though they never attained the heights they wanted to as a group and later broke up. The experience taught Julien a lot, according to him. He still claims Monique as a mentor. “ We are really good friends,” he says. “She is one of those people who have always told me Julien you are a star the world just doesn’t know it yet. You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe that you can be whatever it is you want to be and never mind what people have to say”. If the advice sounds like a song it is because Monique’s words of wisdom are reflected in Julien’s latest project, his 12 track album “Believe”. The first single off of that album is also named Believe and is inspired by her words. The album was released in the Bahamas late 2009 and is currently doing well. “If you can sell your album in the Bahamas you can do well anywhere,” He says of his decision to release the album in his hometown. “They are looking for music that hits at the heart.” He has been hitting at the heart of his people during multiple concerts last year. Talking to school children about their choices and in general making amends as well as giving back before his big move back to the United States.

At 25, Julien is 12 years into his career. He attributes much of his success as a local artist to having the right people around him and to having an understanding of the way the music industry works. It is this support system and knowledge that has guided him throughout his ever ascending career path and has given him the opportunities many local artists are currently seeking and some will never attain. To all those that aspire to become performers, Julien advises that they invest in themselves and embrace the arts rather than belittle it. “Take your time and save your money, learn the business.”


For more on Julien & his music visit him on MySpace, You Tube or on Face Book