Chinedu Okoli, also known as Flavour N’abania, a Nigerian high-life musician, has told a story about his rise to success, describing how he was once asked to leave the stage during a performance by PSquare, a prominent Nigerian music duet.
In an interview with the In My Opinion podcast on Sunday, Flavour described how he began his music career as a church choir conductor and percussionist.
“They saw how dedicated I was and introduced me to a man who owned a music company and trained young boys,” he told me.
“Fortunately for me, they were doing rehearsals when I arrived. It was the first time I saw a complete music setup. I joined the band and served for 13 years. I grew more with the band and eventually became the band leader.
“At the time, I was not thinking about being Flavour or being on the spot. I never considered all of it. My dream was merely to play at events and things like that,” Flavour explained.
He added that he eventually quit the band and began playing at shows and events, where he developed his skills and gained a following.
Flavour added, “Things began to change when I started seeing some artists. I left the band and headed into the streets. That was when the game became difficult. “I was in a good place; the music had procedures, but now I’m on the streets.”Like a street musician hustling, I travelled to several venues to perform. I could sing a lot of songs; I had about 5,000 that I could sing and play to entertain people.
“We perform from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., but then I see these artist3s. They play for about 30 minutes, and everyone is pleased, clapping and hailing them. And I’m wondering, ‘What’s going on? “Are we not the same artists?”
However, he noted that his experience with PSquare marked a watershed moment in his career.
He said, “I remember one day with Psqaure, when they just came out with “Temptation.” They were promoting a show, and the promoters led them to the City Centre in Enugu.
“With that location, I had already created a fan base; everyone came every weekend. No matter what was going on in Enugu, my place was always full.
“So the promoters brought Psquare while I was playing, and Psquare came right away; the manager simply said, ‘Hello, get 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.”