By Editor
To celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of Canada as a land of opportunities, Africanad,a company based in that country, in collaboration Opeyemi Olatunji popularly known as YemyTpx, a Nigerian songwriter and recording artist, have released a song titled ‘O Canada’, a celebration song filled with lyrics of the nation’s anthem with a blend and fusion of Afrobeats and western feels.
The song was produced by a veteran music producer Edward Sunday, while
the video was shot live by award wining video director Otega Ododoru at the scene of the music production.
The song is a collaborative effort between YemyTpx and a friend, Ayodele Odeyemi, also known as Ay De’ Senator who is a Canadian citizen and the Chief Executive Officer of Africanad with the partnership of some other stakeholders both in Canada and Nigeria.
Speaking on how it all started, YemyTpx said: “It was one beautiful weekend earlier in 2020 that I got a call from Africanad’s Chief Executive, Ayodele Odeyemi, who I have been working together with on some other philanthropic projects. Right in the middle of our conversation, he then talked to me about a vision he’s been nursing for Canada overtime on a content that can serve as a fulcrum of unity for all Canadians. We both reached an agreement that it can only come either through sport or music because those are the two phenomena that can bring people of different tongues and colours together. So we both put heads together and agreed on making a music rendition that can be sang by all Canadians all around the globe, something they are familiar with.
“Then we thought of making a new vibes and music out of the Canadian anthem lyrics fusing it with some other original lyrics of mine with a sweet sensational tone and that’s what birthed ‘O Canada’ celebration song today. After I was done with the song writing, the vision and song was presented officially to the AFRICANAD team for deliberation, approval and funding so as to progress into the next stage, which is music and video production.
“We also had to seek for collaborations with other art and media companies, such as NaijaGoSmile Media Consult,
Azusa Productions and GAP Studio, to make the project a success. This was because it was a tasking project that require the involvement of different stakeholders.”
YemyTpx said composing such a song was not an easy job, but the experience was worth it.
“As an artiste and a song writer, it was an opportunity for me to express and explore my gift as a singer making such a global landmark with Africanad support, most especially the Executive Producer of the project, Ayodele Odeyemi, who shared the vision with me.
“It was a means to foster our continuous philanthropic contributions and adventure towards humanity, especially Canada and the world at large.
“Writing the song was a very sweet experience for me because we could foreseen the impact the song was going to have on the end consumers, which are Canadians.”
On how he got the idea to try something different with Canada’s anthem, Odeyemi said as he listened to the country’s anthem, he thought maybe he could jazz up it up.
“You know, Africans love their music. We love to groove. We love to dance. We love our drums. I’m thought to myself, ‘I can infuse something in here,'” said Odeyemi.
He had the idea to infuse the alternative anthem with elements of afrobeats — a music style that combines West African musical elements — along with vocal work by Winnipeg’s Africanad community choir and a range of different drumming styles.
Odeyemi says he saw Canadians, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, also battling racial injustice, coping with mental health struggles and dealing with the fallout of an ongoing opioid crisis. He thought now was the time to release the song to bring people together.
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