- Four-track EP features Turn Up, Lau Lau, Trouble and Omokalakuta.
Image: Courtesy
Nigerian singer Okiemute was in the country to serve Kenyans with a dose of her new single Trouble and her EP titled A Star, which is on Songa Music.
The four-track EP features Turn Up, Lau Lau, Trouble and Omokalakuta.
“The EP took us up to eight months working on my sound. The single Trouble wasn’t on the EP but GospelOnDeBeatz sent me four beats and sent me back into the studio,” she told Word Is.
“I loved the beat and heard a sing-along. So this song kicked another song off the EP.”
The Project Fame winner says the EP’s title came from a prophecy made about her when she was a little girl.
“When I was between five and seven years, we had a reverend father that came to our house and after prayer, he was about to leave but he came back and looked at me and said to my father, ‘Your daughter is going to be a star, hold her well’,” she said.
“I just looked up to my dad and he said ‘okay’ Ever since I’ve known that I was going to be on the spotlight but I didn’t know how or when.
“I called it A Star because when I was recording it, I felt comfortable and that was the prophecy of when I was a child. “
Five months ago, she received the news of her mother’s demise and decided to dedicate a song to her
“The song Turn Up was a hip hop vibe and I agreed but if it had an afro-fusion feel in it. Unfortunately the day I was recording it that morning I had a very bad feeling,” she said
“Normally, I put my phone on silent but that day my phone wasn’t. I didn’t feel good. I wasn’t happy, I was scared. GospelOnDeBeatz told me not to worry that things would be alright. I was recording when I got a call that my mum had passed away.
“I decided to call it Turn Up because my mum was a very happy person. She taught us to be happy and to feel good. You only record the days when you live life, when you are happy. I dedicated that song to my mother.”
Her music career is spearheaded by renowned music producer GospelOnDeBeatz. “Gospel is not just a producer, he is a maestro. He doesn’t enforce what he thinks you should do, he lets you guys work together. He puts you and him into the song. He allows you to be yourself and express yourself,” she said.
Okiemute hopes to do more collaborations with East Africans. “I met with Nviiri the Storyteller and I hope to link up with him before I leave Kenya. Expect a lot of collabos here in East Africa, a lot of energy, fun and great music. I don’t want to collabo only on music but also on lifestyle, fashion and many more.”
She is signed to Flux Factory.