How did you start your music career? My love for music started when I was just three or four years old. We had this keyboard at home that my dad would play every morning and every night before we went to bed. I would always sit and watch him, completely fascinated, and then try to mimic what he was doing. Gradually, my skills developed from that curiosity. Eventually, my dad enrolled me in music school, which gave me a more structured foundation, and from there, I became fully involved with the church youth choir. I played for every programme, every concert held in the church. I had this mentor back then, Brother Albert, who was the head of the youth choir for the entire Deeper Life ministry. I learnt so much from him — he really shaped me into the musician I am today. So your parents supported you going into music? My parents were always supportive of my music career, as long as it was God-glorifying. They were strongly against my singing worldly songs, as they would put it, but within that, they gave me every encouragement to pursue music. That foundation of faith actually shaped a lot of the kind of music I make today. I would say my biggest song is Grace. It is a very inspiring record about not giving up, no matter how hard things get. I wrote it from a deeply personal place, and I think that is why it resonates with so many people. It was a joy working on it with my music producer Sosick. He understood the vision completely and helped bring the sound to life in a way I could not have imagined on my own. Working with him was smooth and very creatively rewarding. How far do you think Nigeria’s music industry has grown in recent years? The Nigerian music industry has grown drastically. Our sound is now recognised and deeply respected on a global scale in a way that was not always the case. Artists are headlining major festivals abroad, winning international awards, and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the world. We have truly evolved, and what is exciting is that it does not feel like we have reached a ceiling yet. There is still so much more to come from this industry. While growing up in school, what sports did you participate in? I played football, and I was also heavily involved with basketball. Most of our seniors back in school played basketball, so I naturally fell in love with the game from watching them. Before long, I was out on the court as much as I was on the pitch. Were you good at it? I was pretty good in both, honestly. I was very fast and skilful on the football pitch, and on the basketball court I could hold my own as well. I think the competitiveness of the two sports fed into each other and made me better at both. What did you enjoy the most about it? I enjoyed the thrills — the dribbles, the close finishes, the handling of the ball. There is something almost poetic about a well-executed dribble or a perfectly timed pass. Both games gave me that rush, and it was just as exciting to watch as it was to play. Would you have liked to pursue a sports career? Honestly, yes, I would have loved to pursue a career in sport, especially knowing how much the top athletes earn today. But I think I am a little too old for that now — my bones are too stiff! I laugh about it, but in all seriousness, music was always my deeper calling, and I think I ended up exactly where I was meant to be.
