Nigerian high-life singer, Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour N’abania, has shared a story of his journey to stardom, recounting how he was once asked to leave the stage during a performance for PSquare, a popular Nigerian music duo.
In an interview released on Sunday by In My Opinion podcast, Flavour narrated how he began his music career as a choir conductor and drummer in the church.
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“They saw how dedicated I was and introduced me to a man who owned a music company and trained young boys,” he said.
“Luckily for me, the day I went there, they were having rehearsals. It was the first time I saw proper music set up. I joined the band and served there for 13 years. I developed more with the band, and I later became the band leader.
“At that point, I wasn’t thinking about being Flavour or being on the spot. I never thought about all that. My dream was just about playing at events and things like that,” Flavour added.
He explained that he later left the band and transitioned to playing at shows and events, where he honed his skills and built a fan base.
Flavour added, “Things started changing when I started seeing some artistes. When I left the band, I went into the streets. That was when the game became hard. All this time, I was in a good place; the music had procedures and all, but now I was in the streets.
“Like a street musician hustling, I went to different joints to play. I could sing so many songs; I had like 5,000 songs I could sing and play to entertain people.
“We play from 8pm until 3am, but then I see these artist3s; they play for like 30 minutes, and everybody is happy, clapping for them and hailing them. And I’m wondering, ‘what is going on? Are we not same artistes?’”
However, he stated that his encounter with PSquare served as a turning point in his career.
He said, “I remember one day with Psqaure, when they just came out with “Temptation.’ They were promoting a show around and the promoters brought them to the spot at City Centre in Enugu.
“With that spot, I already built fans; everybody was there every weekend. No matter what was going on in Enugu, my spot was always packed.
“So the promoters brought Psquare while I was playing, and immediately Psquare came; the manager just said, ‘Hello, off that thing.’
“I switched off, passed the microphone, and went to sit. Then when Paul of Psqaure picked up the microphone and just said, ‘This na temptation’ everywhere scattered.”
According to him, this experience sparked a realisation in him that he needed to create his own unique sound and transition from being a mere musician to an artiste.
Flavour added, “So I was like, It’s the same music these people are doing. I’ve been with you, and you never shouted like this. I was so cold; I was just watching. When they left, the manager just told me to carry on.
“Then it started occurring to me that these guys, the difference is that they create their sound, go to the studio, and record. That’s how it’s done. So you are just a music man.
“So I decided to change from a music man to an artiste, and that was the difficult part of it because I thought it was going to be easy. I could play, I could sing, but to create your own sound, where are you going to start from?
“The best way to go about it was to start afresh.”
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
