By Jeremiah Daniel Baba| TwisdicInfo
ThankGod Michael Ajiya, professionally known as the creative force behind Chillsounds Studios, is a music producer, mixing and mastering engineer, and record label executive whose journey reflects determination, self-learning,rning and entrepreneurial ambition.
Born and raised in Appawa, Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State, Ajiya has grown from producing music with a smartphone to establishing his own physical studio in Wukari and being recognised as Taraba State Producer of the Year 2025.
He is also the founder of Chillsounds Music, a registered record label through which he manages independent music distribution, digital marketing and talent scouting across Taraba State’s 16 local government areas.
In this exclusive interview with TwisdicInfo, Ajiya opens up about his journey, the struggles of producing music with a phone, his breakthrough in Jalingo, the inspiration behind Chillsounds, and his advice to young creatives in Taraba.
TwisdicInfo: Tell us about yourself.
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
My legal name is ThankGod Michael Ajiya. I was born and brought up in Appawa, Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State.
I’m a music producer, mixing and mastering engineer, and record label executive operating under the brand Chillsounds Studios, based out of my physical studio in Wukari.
I specialise in crafting multiple genres of music. My dedication to the craft led to me being named Taraba State Producer of the Year 2025.
My approach combines raw creative drive with technical precision. I run my production workflow through different Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs).
My work and growth in the industry also earned recognition from the MTN Foundation, which supported my journey through advanced ICT training.
Beyond the mixing desk, I founded and registered my record label, Chillsounds Music, with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Abuja.
Through the label, I handle independent distribution through distribution companies, execute digital marketing strategies, and run a regional talent-scouting initiative across all 16 local government areas of Taraba State to discover and elevate undiscovered artists.
Alongside building my music empire, I’m pursuing a degree in Computer Science, constantly bridging the gap between software logic and creative sound design.
Driven by strong personal values, real mentorship, and an entrepreneurial mindset, I’m focused on shaping the future of independent music and building a lasting legacy from the ground up.
TwisdicInfo: How long have you been involved in music, and how did your journey start as an instrumentalist before becoming a producer?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I’ve been a lover of music since I was a kid. Whenever songs were played on the radio cassette, I was always interested.
I had a passion to become an artist, not knowing that my fate actually lay in music production.
On 24 December 2020, I visited a studio for the first time to record a single song. I had saved money for months just to be able to pay for the recording session.
During the session, however, my attention was drawn more to what the producer was doing than to what had actually brought me to the studio.
I watched closely and grabbed everything he was doing.
When I went back home, I started researching how to produce music using a phone.
Literally, it took me more than one month to figure out how to start producing with my phone, and that was in 2021. I also released the music in 2021.
So, I started production about a month later using the school fees I had been given to buy a phone.
Nobody believed in what I was doing from day one, but I just loved producing.
I started calling my friends and asking them to come so I could produce their songs using my phone.
What made me scale through so fast was that while producing with my phone, I was literally trying to match my production with that of A-list producers.
TwisdicInfo: How did your production journey begin to gain recognition?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
My production started gaining recognition through Zing and Jalingo.
I used to post my beats on Facebook, and many artists thought I had a studio and would ask to come to my studio to record.
I would simply tell them to pull up.
Some artists were even coming from Jalingo to Appawa, and from Zing to Appawa, just to record.
When they found out that I was using a phone, they would be surprised. But I used my professional production skills to surprise them.
That made them keep referring me to other people, especially in Jalingo.
TwisdicInfo: Can you vividly recall the year when all of this started?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
It was in 2022 that things really started taking shape.
I started selling beats by 2023.
Initially, I was just recording my friends and charging about ₦5,000 per production. Sometimes, my friends would give me ₦1,000 or ₦2,000 to produce for them.
By 2023, I used to come to Jalingo to produce for some artists using my phone.
There was even a funny story that spread around Jalingo that there was one boy who produced music with a phone.
TwisdicInfo: What happened in 2024?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
In 2024, I was invited by someone to come and record his songs in Jalingo, in his studio.
That was my first time using a laptop to produce music in a main studio.
I was really happy then.
TwisdicInfo: Where did you learn music production, and which school were you attending when you used your school fees to buy the phone?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I learnt mainly through FL Studio Mobile.
Due to some business issues, I left the studio two weeks later and returned to my village, Appawa.
But I never lost hope. I kept striving.
TwisdicInfo: What became your major breakthrough in 2025?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
Early in 2025, around March, I won an online contest and received about ₦300,000.
I used the money to buy my keyboard and laptop.
At the same time, I kept dreaming and working with OPay.
By May of that same year, the studio that had previously worked with me called me again for production.
This time, I was strictly on business.
I left home, telling my parents that I was going to Jalingo and would return the next day.
That was how everything changed.
I came to Jalingo in May and designed a music promotion for ₦10,000.
That promotion brought me a lot of big names and major production opportunities.
With ₦10,000, I kept surprising artists with quality production.
I ran the promotion for one month. After the month ended, I increased my production price to ₦35,000.
People were still paying because they had tested me during the promotion.
TwisdicInfo: Were you still working from the same studio?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
Yes. I was still in that same studio, but everything was based on business.
We had an agreement that I would use the studio while still working for the record label that owned the studio.
Like play, I dominated music production in Jalingo throughout 2025 within a space of six months.
I literally produced about 70 percent of the trendy sounds in Jalingo in 2025.
TwisdicInfo: Tell us about your educational background.
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I attended Jehovah Jireh International College in Jalingo.
I started from pre-nursery and continued to SS3 in the same school in Appawa.
I wrote my WAEC in 2022.
Despite the dominance I experienced in Jalingo, I continued receiving work and collaborations from outside Taraba.
I started charging ₦100,000 per production for clients outside Taraba State.
Deals started coming from outside Taraba and even beyond Nigeria, including the United States.
Towards the end of last year, I put more energy into producing songs for people outside Taraba State.
That gave me enough money to open my own studio.
A few months ago, I moved to Wukari and opened my own studio there.
TwisdicInfo: Were you able to play any musical instruments before you started production or while learning production?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I didn’t know anything about music when I started production.
But I knew when something was off.
That alone made me impressive, even without knowing much musical theory.
But now, I play guitar, bass, electric and acoustic guitar, and I also play the piano.
TwisdicInfo: What was your motivation when you started as a beginner in music production?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
My motivation is that I don’t want my kids to live the struggle-filled life I lived.
So, anytime I feel like giving up, I think about my future family and my present family.
In short, the mindset of taking my family out of poverty kept me moving.
TwisdicInfo: What were the major challenges you encountered while starting your music production journey with a smartphone?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
People laughed at me for producing with a phone.
People didn’t even believe in what I was doing, starting from my own family.
Another challenge was not having good gadgets.
But by God’s grace, I now have the necessary gadgets to do whatever I want to produce.
TwisdicInfo: Did you have a role model or mentor you always turned to when you needed solutions to some of your problems?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I didn’t.
TwisdicInfo: So, did you learn mainly through tutorials online?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I don’t watch tutorials that much, but I do watch them sometimes.
Most of the tricks I use, I figured out myself.
TwisdicInfo: How has coming from the northern part of Nigeria, especially Taraba State, affected your journey in music production?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
Taraba State is a talent-killing state, sha. It takes God’s help for you to scale through.
Our state doesn’t really help.
As an independent creative, consistency is not enough. You need the right information.
That’s what set me apart from others: information.
TwisdicInfo: What was the idea behind the name “Chillsounds”?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
I named “Chill” after my beloved brothers, Chilion and Lawore.
Chil came from Chilion, while L came from Lawore.
I then joined them together to form Chillsounds.
Most people say my sounds are unpredictable.
TwisdicInfo: Finally, what is your advice to upcoming music creators in Taraba who are looking ahead to succeeding in the industry?
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
My advice is that they should dream big.
They should research how to upgrade themselves instead of copying celebrities.
TwisdicInfo: Thank you for speaking with us.
ThankGod Michael Ajiya:
Thank you for having me.
TWISDICINFO PROFILE
From producing songs on a smartphone in Appawa to building a professional music studio in Wukari, ThankGod Michael Ajiya’s journey is a story of self-belief, persistence, creativity and entrepreneurial determination.
His experience demonstrates how emerging creatives can leverage technology, social media, information and self-learning to build careers even when resources and professional opportunities are limited.
Through Chillsounds Studios and Chillsounds Music, Ajiya is now looking beyond his personal career, with ambitions to discover, develop and promote emerging artists across Taraba State while contributing to the growth of the state’s independent music ecosystem.
His journey—from learning production on a smartphone, to working with established studios, building a client base in Jalingo, earning recognition as Taraba State Producer of the Year 2025, and eventually establishing his own studio in Wukari—offers an inspiring perspective on what determination and continuous learning can achieve.
Interview: Jeremiah Daniel Baba
Publication: TwisdicInfo
Subject: ThankGod Michael Ajiya — Music Producer, Mixing & Mastering Engineer, and Founder of Chillsounds Studios/Chillsounds Music