…Warns, ‘Don’t sell your family land or your property or resign from your job in Nigeria. Plan very well and make sure you secure a verified job in the United States before coming over so as not to suffer.
‘Music is spiritual and comes to me in the form of feelings; I can’t live without song; Music is my life’
The last album, titled ‘Undying Dreams’, is still trending on Echo Vibe FM, Dallas, Texas, other Diaspora radio/television stations in Nigeria, the UK, and South Africa
A graduate of marketing, I earlier worked in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, and recall memories of working in warehouses in the United States.
PLUS, how he migrated Overseas, plans to return to Nigeria in a big way
A Nigerian-born Certified Information Technology Analyst in Texas, United States, Olalekan Olaleye, famously known as ‘ENUOPE’, is making waves as the protégé of Nigeria’s Juju music legend, King Sunny Ade, in North America. His style of music and stage performances made music fans call him ‘The Prince of Nigeria’s Juju Music.
This naturalised American, who is a familiar face in most homes in North America, is seen as an intelligent entertainer, and his gigs’ schedules are lined up on his iPad and iPhone diary. This man, whose stage name means ‘a grateful heart unto Go,d’, works round the clock, while his regular shows in Dallas, Fort Worth, attract a huge crowd of Africans, Black communities, and even among the Latino populace. And when it is time for him to unwind, this graduate of Marketing, who has successfully worked in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, does not hold back time to rest.
On how his adventure into music was from childhood, ENUOPE explained he started music at the young age of 5years as an active choir member, his words: “I started doing music at a very young age of 5 and was an active choir member at my church, Seventh-day Adventist church, Ikolaba, Ibadan, Oyo State. Music was just a fun thing for me, and I developed so much passion for it, being a kid from a music-loving family. In 1999, I started a band called ‘The Charriot’ with some of my music-loving friends.”
Regarding the impact of Nigerian legendary musicians on his art, this outspoken musician narrated how every icon in Africa’s most populous black nation impacted him, “I have so many icons that have inspired me. I can never forget the likes of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Chief Orlando Owoh, Ebenezer Obey, Oliver de Coque, Evi Edna Ogholi, Junior and pretty, Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and many more…King Sunny Ade’s music mostly impacted my career. I am just a fan of good music, and as a young kid, I loved analysing music and using music to motivate my inner self.”
Several musicians derive their inspirations in various ways: some will easily claim that their immediate environment or dreams are vehicles through which they get inspired. EUROPE believes music is an inspiration, “Music itself is an inspiration on its own. I was gonna say music is a spirit cuz it’s spiritual. I mean, unseen spirit works with songs, but can be in the form of feelings.
Yeah, I get a lot of inspiration writing music from anywhere, any situation or state of mind. As for me, music is just me and has always been part of my life. I can categorically say I eat, sleep, dream and drink music all the time… It’s just a fun thing for me…. Music keeps me going.”
On the remarkable success of ENUOPE’S sold-out album titled ‘UNDYING DREAM’ released last year, “I released an album last year titled “UNDYING DREAM” which is still playing on Nigerian airwaves and TVs. The hot album is playing on a lot of Diaspora radio stations like Echo Vibe FM in Dallas, Texas, and clubs both in the USA, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and South Africa. I am also working on some singles and in the process of dropping some of them before the year runs out.”
On the significance of how he got the stage name ‘ENUOPE’, he went philosophically. “ENUOPE is not just a name I coined out for myself. The name is very special and very spiritual to me. The name means a lot to me. ‘Enuope’ means ‘My mouth is full of gratitude’. I am so grateful to Almighty God for always giving me the life to see the light of every day.”
When confronted on why American fans regularly call him ‘Prince of Nigerian Juju Music’ during and after his shows, he went down memory lane by saying, “I got that moniker from one of my good friends that caught me at a club performing my music with a live band, and it was a ‘WOW’ moment. The entire club lit up. But to tell you the truth, I have been getting a lot of calls to keep doing it every now and then with the live band. To set the record straight, ht I am not the King, Prince or president of juju music. I am just a talented artistEUROPEOPE brands himself as a musician who “lives, eats, drinks and sings music all day long.. Like I was saying earlier, that music lives in me and I in music. Let me confess that music is my hobby.
As a graduate of Marketing, he revealed that while he worked in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria before relocating to the United States, at no time did he allow anything to come between him and his natural passion for music. “I studied Marketing in college, and after graduation, I worked in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. I never let anything come between my first love (music) and me. And I was still performing with my band all over Ibadan and Lagos in the late 90’s till early 2000’s”.
It takes some immigrants almost a lifetime or a long time to adjust to changes in weather, environment and other challenges Overseas. So how did ENUOPE triumph after his migration to the United States from Lagos State? “Life is full of ups and downs. There is nothing in this life that is guaranteed or permanent except the grace of our Father {GOD}. He brought me here and has been taking care of me since then. I cannot fight his battle for him. I am good. I will still go to Nigeria. It’s like I never left. I never left Nigeria, I still go back and forth”, he did not hide his feelings.
Regarding his urgent message for other Nigerians back home who throng the American Embassy daily in search of visas or sell their family’s landed properties or resign from their well-paying, good jobs, wanting to come to the United States, he adds: “My advice for them is to follow their instinct and be very honest with themselves before making such a decision. Again, please do not sell your family land or your property or resign from your job. Plan very well and make sure you secure a job in the United States before coming over.”
