It’s been a stellar year so far for multi-platinum producer Israel Fowobaje. Famed as Israel (stylized as 1SRAEL), the Nigerian-born producer and cross-genre artist has been transcending music immeasurably. He is currently riding high with one of the most ubiquitous singles of the year, “WAIT FOR U” by rapper Future featuring Drake & Tems which has been certified double platinum in the States, platinum in Australia, silver in the U.K and gold in New Zealand. Fun fact, 1SRAEL is the covert guitar player on the infectious song.
The 3x Grammy-nominated producer has a list of accolades under his belt, including winning a BET Award for Best Collaboration, and an AMA award for Best Hip-Hop Song for his work on Future’s “WAIT FOR U.”
“WAIT FOR U” also received Grammy nods this year for best rap song, best rap album, and best melodic rap performance, and 1SRAEL couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate the end of the year.
“I want to make the kind of record that has a long lasting impact on people’s lives,” 1SRAEL said in a recent interview. “I want to be able to create a sound that lives on beyond me and has a complete life of its own.”
With contributions that span across vibrant acts such as Maryland-hailed R&B soul artist Mannywellz, to playing key roles in artists’ sonic appeal such as Adekunle Gold & Lucky Daye, to being a cornerstone to acts like Tems’ inevitable rise, 1SRAEL is a man deserved of everyone’s attention.
His work on Tems’ “Higher” (Genius Live Version) caught the ear of multi-platinum selling trend-setter Future, and this has gone on to be confirmation of his musical dexterity – as Future and his production team flipped the song into one of the most commercially yet emotionally kaleidoscopic songs.
A quick glance at his musical credits suggest he is a more reticent star in the music industry confines. His contributions traverse across different genres as he cuts brooding records for artists such as R&B golden boy BLEU, fast rising hip hop savant Dee Gatti, among others. 1SRAEL is building his legacy brick by brick, and is definitely space bound at the rate of his meteoric rise. Recently, he has also been signed to Sony Music Publishing by way of Agency 301, an inking worthy of a producer and musician of his caliber. He also has his own music syncing and licensing company.
Besides assisting other artists in their superb quests, he is a man with a savvy mindset primed for success, a broadened skill-set and unmatched energy as we found out in an exclusive interview with the Los Angeles based hyphenate. Besides music, he dabbles in visual arts & brand development sparingly having directed music videos for indie artists such as Che. We managed to unearth some of his influences and how his musical upbringing shaped his career path, as well as multiple things he did before his breakthrough in the music industry.
“I know where I’ve come from, and to go from that – to where I am now … that there’s no such thing as no such thing,” 1SRAEL says.