Music is a tool for motivation to Afrobeats singer, Ojay
With family as his backbone, amazing songwriting skills and a heart willing to motivate as many people as it can, Ojay seems ready for the big stages.
Lyricism is not something that many mainstream music creators pay so much attention to these days. Consumers seem to want more upbeat, groovy music; leaving the art of songwriting without so much patronage.
However, there are some artists who take the risk of damning the odds and staying true to their songwriting game. Ojay, an Afrofusion musician, is one of these "brave" ones.
"If you listen to my music with keen, you'll find elements of motivation in it. It's soul-lifting," he said to me over Zoom.
We talk about his ride through the industry so far, the part his family is playing in his career, and what the future holds for this art.
This piece has been edited for length and language.
How would you introduce yourself?
Well, Ojay is a musical artist that has done so many songs, has traveled to various places and has performed in various places. Ojay's music falls under the Afrobeats/Afropop genre and is a kind of music that helps to motivate people and make them feel good. Once you just listen to it you’ll always feel like listening to it over and over.
You talked about your travelling far and wide to do music. How did this whole process begin for you?
It started from when I was a child just like most other people would say.
Was it in the choir in church too?
(Laughs) I remember I used to live with my grandaunt. Whenever she sent me on any errand, I would sing all through it and she’s like 'this boy, I think you like music' and then she started asking me about my life plans. As for my dad, all he wanted was for me to get educated before anything else. So I picked that and I just didn't tell anyone that I wanted to do music because I knew that if I had told them, it would have been a lot of stress for me. No one would have supported it. They all wanted me to go to school. So I did what they wanted. I went to school and I graduated.
What did you study in school?
I did electrical engineering but after graduation, I told my dad that I wanted to do music and he was like 'yes, I support you'. And the rest is history.
Are you signed to a label at the moment?
It's a family business for now.
How would you describe your sound? What kind of music do you do?
Well, I do Afrobeats. Afro Pop particularly. And sometimes I infuse some soul, R&B and highlife into it.
There are so many other people doing this same kind of music even in Nigeria. How do you plan to make yourself stand out from the rest of the Afrofusion artists that there are in the market?
Well, hard work is going to do that. Plus, if you listen to my music with keen, you'll see some elements of motivation. It's soul-lifting. If you listen to most other Afrofusion artists, they sing mostly about drugs, women and vulgarity.
If you don't make yourself feel good, nobody else would. Make yourself feel good because you're the only one who owns the key to your own happiness.”
There is a trending drug promotion culture in Nigerian music at the moment. What's your view on that?
It's not just Nigerian music. It's like that worldwide. I don't feel it's wrong. If people feel they want to sing about smoking or drinking, it's not wrong. It depends on what gives him [the singer] inspiration. If that is what really gives them their inspiration, then I don't have any problem with it. Still, my stand is, whenever you're doing anything, make sure you don't affect people negatively; whatever you're doing must be positive. It must affect people positively.
Where did the inspiration for your 'Feel Good' EP come from?
It all came from that exact phrase [Feel Good].
So what made you "feel good"? Was it a woman or drug or God? What was it?
Not really that, it was more about COVID-19 last year. Last year was a rough year to so many people. So many people were not happy and that's where the whole "feel good" came from. We can't all be sad because of COVID-19. We still have to find a place in our hearts to keep ourselves happy. Feel good is: even though things are not going well, you have to find a way to keep yourself happy because if you don't make yourself happy, nobody else would. If you don't make yourself feel good, nobody else would. Make yourself feel good because you're the only one who owns the key to your own happiness.
There were a couple of collaborations on the EP. Are we looking forward to any “big” collaboration from you anytime soon?
Yes. We are looking forward to big collaborations. We’re planning, we’re still in the planning phase. That’s for sure. Every musician wants a collaboration they help. They help a lot. Nobody wants to listen to one voice throughout the whole project.
How would it all make sense to you at the end? What would make you feel satisfied?
I always say this; my dream is to perform at the World Cup. I know it's big. I know it is pretty big.
So the audience is what would make you feel fulfilled, a large audience.
Yes, a very large audience.