Ogechukwu Nwamaka Onwubuya, simply known by her stage name, Oge Kimono, is the daughter of reggae music maestro, Ras Kimono. Like her father, she is also a singer with a bias for reggae music. In this interview with TONY OKUYEME, she talks about her inspiration, Nollywood, the Nigeria music industry, Nollywood and why she prefers reggae to other genres of music.
What kind of music influenced you as a child?
Songs from someone like Lauryn Hill, I listen to her a lot; I also listen to Queen Africa. I listen to, of course, Bob Marley There are others, including the new ones that are coming out. But the major people that really influenced me are Lauryn Hill, Queen Africa, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Luciano, Culture, and others.
For some people, reggae is not just music; it is a philosophy, a way of life… (cuts in)
Yes of course. Reggae is a way of life. We sing about things that happen in the society. We kick against injustice; we kick against inequality, because everyone is created equal. Even though we know that we are humans, and everybody can’t be equal, but the gap shouldn’t be too obvious.
They are few female reggae musicians that we have in Nigeria, very few. It appears not to have as much influence as other genres of music, such as pop, dancehall, R&B, hip hop. What is your opinion about this?
I really can’t say why it is so, but what I know is that reggae music is a major tool that we can use to express the way we feel about things going on in the society. A lot of our youths, I think, are just too eager for success, maybe. But you can’t put a seed on the ground and expect it to germinate immediately. Before you put a seen on the ground you have to till the soil, you have to water it, you have to weed around it, until it germinates, grows and you harvest. This is the process of life. But it looks like they don’t have enough patience so they go on with other styles. You have a special passion for reggae music. Why not pop, R&B, or even highlife? It was just a connection thing. It is not because my father is Ras Kimono. I think it probably must have been in my gene because growing up as a kid, as I have always said, I never liked reggae music, and then I found myself back into reggae music, with a passion. It’s in the blood.
Do you feel challenged to go into other genres of music for commercial success?
What do you call commercial success? Do I have to be profane before it is called commercial? I don’t have to sing profanity before my song is commercialized, but it looks like that is the world system. For your song to be commercially successful, it looks like you have to join the band wagon. But as a matter of fact, that is not the way it should be. You can be a commercially successful musician even with deep lyrics, which is what I intend to do, which is what Bob Marley did. Bob Marley did reggae music – pure reggae music – and he redefined reggae music. That is pure music without being profane about it. A man like Culture, who made millions. He wasn’t singing profane music, and that was commercially successful, because it is good for your consumption.
What about the challenges of being in male dominated genre of music? Do I see that as a challenge?
If I am going to come from feminist point of view, I would see it as a challenge. But I know that nothing good comes easy, so you have to face every challenge that comes your way, and bearing in mind that you choose to call whatever you choose a challenge. You are the one that gives a situation a name. You are the one that tags it and gives it a name. So, if you call that a challenge it is a challenge for you.
What is your advice to the upcoming ones?
My advice to the upcoming ones is that they should stick to originality. Fortunately and unfortunately, we are living in a world moving so fast, and it looks like you are in a rat race, and it looks like you are going to catch up, but you can’t catch up because the thing is moving fast, very fast. But when you remember what the elders say, when you remember what your mummy and daddy told you at tender age, you know that in life everything comes in stages. They should take life one at a time. Don’t rush; don’t move faster than your shadow.
Why have you not considered going into movie industry, Nollywood?
I have not really given it a thought. But if it comes, it is art, isn’t it? That is what Oge Kimono loves – art. So, if it comes I will do it. It is not something I have really looked at.
Have you been following developments in the industry?
I am not much of a television person but from the few movies that I have seen, I believe we are making progress; however, there is room for growth.
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