O is for Onome!
He is most popular as Mr. O. And although he is from the Niger Delta, it is not a nickname for another disgruntled militant. Onome Ovwori is a seasoned artiste with marvelous dexterity on the keyboards. He calls the genre of music he does Contemporary Afro Jazz.
“It is jazz because it gives me the avenue to express myself with what words cannot say. It is afro because of the afrocentric vibe it carries,” he explains. It is a genre that has evolved over the years. The Delta state born musician, who is happily married with three kids, fell in love with music and the keyboard when he was just 7. “Actually, my Dad bought me my first keyboard when I was about 7. A Pastor friend of his showed me how to play just three chords (C, F and G chords). I developed on my own until I met Hezekiah Ezo, who groomed me and introduced me to professional playing. I also learnt from a great musical maestro, Edward Flaubert Tchato.” Onome, who is currently based in the US, also admits that his style of music has been affected by people like Ramsey Lewis, Art Alade, Joe Sample, Hugh Masekela, Wayman Tisdale, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Lagbaja, Bob James, Bobby Benson, Osita Osadebe, Ayo Bankole, Oliver de Coque and Rusell Ferrante.
It is already paying off. Mr. O now does what a lot of musicians only dream of: play music for a living. But not after he broke down barriers his skin colour erected. “The initial challenge I faced was that of my ethnicity (which I think is the same for any other African). But once I proved that I was equally good at what I do, even though I am from a third world country, the hurdle simply dissipated,” he recounts. “I recall a friend of man (Lionel Boone, a prolific bass guitarist) saying the first time he met me he didn’t think I knew anything about music because of course I’m African. But after I played, he was so humbled and impressed that we became very good friends.” He reckons that the reason why Nigerian, and maybe African musicians are not regarded highly, is because of the standard of music they do. “The biggest problem for me is that most of the music coming out these days does not carry enough positive messages. Some of them sound alike and the quality of sound production isn’t the best yet. But I think some artistes, producers and musicians deserve more credit than they get.” To drive home his point, he lists quite a number of Nigerian acts as his favourites and people he would like to work with. Names like Darey, J Martins, M.I., Naeto C, Nosa Omoregie (of the ‘I go pray for you’ fame), etc make up that wish list.
In the meanwhile, Onome’s musical portfolio continues to burgeon impressively. His debut effort, ‘Time’ was released in 2009. It was an eleven track album with tracks like ‘Time Na Money’, ‘Elu Elu’, ‘Just Call’, etc and it’s available on most online digital outlets like iTunes, Amazon, Cdbaby, Napster and Mytruspot. But the single making all the waves now is ‘Mr. Naija’, from his new album, ‘Mon Jadé’. The sophomore which is out very soon also has interesting tracks like ‘Mon Jadé’, ‘Iyawo Mi’, ‘Ogoziri ma gozi’, etc. ‘Mr Naija’ easily lays claims to incessant downloads on 4shared already. What inspired this song? “Living in the States most of the news you hear, or see on the media about (Africa) and Nigeria in particular is very negative. You only see news of war, poverty, corruption, kidnapping, bad roads, no electricity, fraud, crime, frustration and so much more. For Nigeria, it was so bad during and immediately after Mutallab’s failed bomb attempt.” And it is not just about redeeming a soiled image because of patriotism. Onome is more than convinced Nigeria and Nigerians are not that terrible as the international community perceives. “As a Nigerian I know we are hospitable, resilient, determined, productive, accomplishers, religious, hardworking (and much more). The only way I know to tell that story is through music, so I wrote ‘Naija Man’ admitting that yes, we have flaws as a nation but we are a great people. I called on RealEyez and Grace Faturoti to join me tell the true picture and show patriotism.”
When it’s not music time, it is family time. “I love being a family man so when I’m not in the studio, or a concert, or on tour I love being home,” he says. And although he says home is Nigeria, he is not quite sure if he will relocate permanently. Having his family around ensures there is no chance of being ‘homesick’. They mean a lot to him and he recalls one memorable experience. “I think is when I had my first child. I wasn’t there at the delivery because I was away (travelled) for a performance in Kentucky. On my way back my wife called me to tell she had delivered. I didn’t believe because I thought she was kidding (mind you, it’s about 5:30am in the morning). I was so excited but disappointed I wasn’t there at my daughters birth (although to be fair she came two weeks before her due date). He also watches ‘The Office’ or his favourite teams, Barcelona and Chelsea play when he is free.
Mr. O, who holds a diploma from MUSON describes himself as easy to get along with and very determined especially when it has to do with music. “I don’t believe in standards, status quo or limits, they are all meant to be broken. I have a great sense of humor, lover of one woman with three adorable kids, I love Nigeria and I love God.” He has a quick advice for upcoming musicians: “Know your worth and never ever give up. Don’t let anything or anybody tell you that you can’t make it. Make sure you are well grounded at what you do, ask questions when you don’t know, hang around like minded people or people who seem to know where they are going. Know that there is a God who rewards diligence, so be diligent. Then the sky is not your limit. The heavens are!”
Onome Ovwori can be found on facebook (www.facebook.com/onomemusic) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/onomemusic)
Posted by Habeeb "UnderDaRock.com" Lawal
on Aug 27 2010. Filed under Interviews, Music, News.
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