So after a couple of attempt to have a moment with Gwannty from the rising Star Competition, we finally succeeded on this fateful day. It was very early in the morning but hey, we value him and his art so much it was worth the effort. 

Here's how the interview went down...

Rayscorner: Good Morning Gwannty,

I'm not sure I pronounced that right...

We are so privileged to be having this chat with you.

So still on the name bro... Tell us about it , what it means, how it came to be.

Gwanty: well Grant is my real name, but gwanty came from a friend, she used to call me that back in the Uni, there was a time when i went for a gig, and she just kept calling me gwanty gwanty!!  A lot of people started calling me that, you know when you listen to people call you a name for a while, it just becomes a part of you. and also for me, i feel it is kind of cool, you know.

Rayscorner: So what part of the country are you from?

Gwanty: I am proudly from Edo state, Epkoma to be precise.

Rayscorner: So where are you based? London or Nigeria

Gwanty: well I'm currently based in London, i used to be based in Nigeria but at the moment i am in England.

Rayscorner: What is it like doing music in London?

Gwanty: well doing music in London is quite easy, because there are lots of opportunity for you to do what you wanna do, you know in Nigeria, people do music based on the trend,here it is about how you feel, but if i had to choose though, i feel like Nigeria music has a lot of Musical infusion.

Rayscorner: Were you live in O2 for Davido's concert?

Gwanty: No, I wasn't live for Davido , but i was live for Wizkid and Burna-boy. For Davido i was live for his yam festival in London, and i was very motivated being there watching him, and i was like i want that to be me someday.

Rayscorner: Meanwhile you are a Biomedic and an Artist, if you had to pick just one, which would you pick

Gwanty: (laughs out loud) That's a very dicey question. well i grew up in an environment where i felt like i had something to give in the medical profession, my mom was always like you gotta do this. i worked hard to be that and here i am today, but Music is something more deep for me, i do music with a lot of passion and intention, if i had to pick one at this point, though it's hard, i think i will go with being at artist.

Rayscorner: I know from your IG you have roots in gospel...

So do you do both Gospel and Secular Songs?

Gwanty: well, i would say, I'm not stereotyped to any particular music, I've been in a choir since i was a kid. I intentionally do secular music, because i don't want to be stereotyped to a particular type of music, so i just do music because it makes me happy and it makes other people happy.

Rayscorner: Moving on....

From your own POV, compare Christian music with Secular Music in terms of excellence 

Gwanty: (laughs out loud) OK now you are putting me on the spot. I would say this from my point of view, but i feel like most secular artists are doing better than the gospel artists, i feel like, gospel artists don't really support themselves. Everyone just wants to be on top. but for the secular Artists you see a lot of excellence cos you see people support each other. i don't want to mention names, but there are a number of gospel artists doing really well now, and you don't see any of their colleagues post their songs. You see someone like Don jazzy post other young Artist. So i think the excellence we see in the secular scene is cos they support each other. Never the less, there are some Gospel Singers who support others, so i guess it's a two way streak.

Rayscorner: Now let's compare Naija Music with western Music , what's your thoughts on that?

Gwanty: Naija music is Top notch, Naija music has gone far, and it makes me really proud. We are at a point where you can't second guess it.

Rayscorner: So a lot of people felt Wizkid was gonna get a grammy this time but .... Well it didn't happen.

You think it is right ?

Gwanty: for me i'm a wizkid fan, so I'm gonna be sentimental about this, wizkid is an exceptional singer, he quite intentional. From the charts, it shouldn't have been an argument if he was gonna win or not, but it was his first major Nomination so I'm not surprised he lost it, but he deserved it, however we move.

Rayscorner: I've seen you in a Iive band ... I thought you were awesome , you do that thing where you hug the mic and leap a foot, basically saying it was passionate. Which do you prefer singing live or studio recording?

Gwanty: i prefer singing live, live music is originality, I'm not a fan or miming, but studio recording that's when you need to bring out a song or cover,  but live music helps you interact with the audience, whether it is sorrow, joy, love or fun. So i prefer that.

Rayscorner: Meanwhile i'm sure I speak for many when I say , we thought you would have an album by now.

Gwanty: very soon, i plan on bringing out an EP soon, very very soon. so just be expectant.

Rayscorner: Are we seeing the braided hair again anytime soon?

Gwanty: (laughs out loud) I don't know, Maybe. i did that cause i was on a show, so i may just wake up one day and be like, I'm gonna braid my hair again.

Rayscorner: Tell us about your experience on the RISING STAR

Gwanty: It was a very good experience, it was a time of learning, and understanding music, it was a show obviously it was competitive and when you are in a competition you learn to bring your a game. so yea, it was a good one.

Rayscorner: Hmmmm... This one is a compliment, you execute very nice riffs and runs.. So who and who do you listen to?

Gwanty: (Chuckles) thank you very much for that though. So when it comes to riffs and run i try to do as little as i can cos doing so much just ruins the music. I listen to Darrel Walls, you may know him, i also listen to a lot of Sam smith, i listen to Ed Sheeran, also i listen to usher, i listened to him a lot growing up. for now i listen to a lot of country music, cos they tell a story. We have done all the riffs and runs and now we are tired, now we just wanna focus on telling a story with our music

Rayscorner: I know you hear it a lot, people giving you compliments about your voice, does it make you go numb sometimes?

Gwanty: well i'm not so good with compliments, For me compliments just tells you that you are doing something good, and at the same time you should work hard to do better

Rayscorner: Finally let's peep in to your closet, do you have anything cooking, something we should anticipate?

Gwanty:  yea, I have a single coming out really really soon, before the EP drops, something nice with visuals and all.

Rayscorner: So i'm  very sure every single lady wants to know this, this is the moment of hope or heart break.... Drum roll!!! Are you Single?

Gwanty: (laughs out loud) well i try to keep my relationship life off social media. So I'm just gonna keep that at behind the scenes (laughs again) So let's leave it at that.

Rayscorner: Thank you so much Grant, this was fun

Gwanty:  It was nice answering these questions, i really don't talk so much like this, I'm surprised at myself (laughs out loud) but it was nice. Thank you so much.