Jeff Slaugh (Jeriqo)
Philadelphia, USA
Behind the Music
Jeff Slaugh (Jeriqo)While reading the book, it was eye-opening for me to learn about the kind of unimaginable horror experienced by those who are taken into sea slavery. It makes me want to make a difference in the small ways I can, especially after also realizing the connection between water contamination (dumping of plastic, oil, nuclear goods) and sea slavery (fishermen needing to go further out to sea due to coastal pollution, and needing cheap or free labor in order to make a profit after fuel expenses). It's a huge problem that obviously cannot be solved by one person. However, I took Ian's advice that he gave in one of his interviews and didn't let the large scale of the problem demoralize me into giving up hope. I see now that I can help in very little but effective ways by raising awareness of the issues through the music on this EP, supporting organizations, properly recycling, reducing my use of single-use plastics, and participating in beach or river cleanups. Of course, other problems like illegal fishing, overfishing and arms trafficking also hold a massive amount of weight in the issue of sea slavery, but in my life, I see that I can make a difference on the environmental aspect.
I want the music in this EP to share emotions of sadness about the horrible things that happen to our oceans and the people and animals within them. However, I want the takeaway for listeners to be a feeling of empowerment that they can make a difference and that there's hope for the future. I anticipate people will have their eyes opened just as mine were.
About Jeff Slaugh (Jeriqo)
Jeff Slaugh, formerly known by the stage name Jeriqo, is an American DJ and record producer from the Philadelphia area. He currently DJs events at the Philadelphia Phillies ballpark and has performed at music venues across the U.S., opening for international touring acts such as Justin Bieber, Steve Aoki, Tory Lanez, and Ansel Elgort (Ansolo), among many others. Jeff's musical talents took shape throughout his childhood, from playing piano and drums to taking years of hip-hop and Irish dance lessons. He first became interested in music production at age 11, inspired by his two older brothers, who were performing in rock bands at the time. Since then, he's released numerous original tracks, most notably "I Miss You," featuring gold-selling singer/songwriter Johnning on vocals.