Joy Odiete,
popularly known as J’odie, wrote her break-in single ‘Kuchi Kuchi’
after heartbreak. The viral hit, which has been on the airwaves for a
while, has set Jodie’s foot in musical stardom’s door; the rest, it
seems, is up to her. After participating as a top ten contestant in the
2007 musical talent hunt show, ‘Idols West Africa’, her dream of
sealing a record deal disappeared as quickly as it came.
“I believed that I
would get a record deal after ‘Idols’; that didn’t happen,” she
confessed. ‘Idols’ helped J’odie improve her craft as a musician, but
what should have been a springboard for a blossoming career spiraled
into an unconscious hibernation from the thing she loved the most. “I
never believed that there will be a time I won’t be able to do music,
and it was not easy utilising the platform from ‘Idols’ as nothing is
easy or straight. Everything is a journey.”
Growing into the notes
Music has always
been in her family. Her father John Odiete has waxed four gospel
albums. “Almost everybody in my family sings and I am presently in a
choir. While growing up, I was taking in good music and that has
affected my life in many ways,” she said.
As a child, she
performed in her father’s church choir and she also directed her
secondary school choir. She scored her first professional hit as an
undergraduate of mass communication at the University of Lagos, when
she sang the jingle “Life Is A Beautiful Dance” for the GSM network MTN
in 2004.
“The jingle I did
was the first music job I got paid for. Before then, I made beads to
make more money to help my music career, while in the university
singing was more like a recreational thing for me. Every day I dreamt
of singing on the big stage with all the lights, so when I saw the
advertisement for Idols West Africa, I applied,” she said with a smile.
Back to the present
After ‘Idols’,
J’odie went into a three-year musical hiatus but returned to recording
at Kingsley Ogoro studio in Surulere with the intention of spurring a
rebirth. Doing something different from her earlier songs was top
priority. She decided to explore a theme that has not been worn out
from so much use, and thus picked love songs dedicated to babies, a
rarity she believes will be classic.
“Love at that
point in time of my life made my heart sour; I needed some love therapy
to get out of it. If I had written anything about love at that time it
would not have come naturally. I love babies. I told myself that one
day I would have a baby so I started to write a song for a baby,” she
said.
Looking into the
distance dreamily, she added, “I pray inspiration always comes like
this so that I can write more hits. I am just grateful.”
Laced atop a mash
between afrobeat and soukouss, the hit that has gotten fans singing “Oh
baby, oh baby,” along to the song’s hook, played repeatedly on radio.
The video, which was shot in 2010 by an Abuja-based video and movie
producer, Toka, was released earlier this year. When asked if the video
was done to correct the misdirection of the song, since it also comes
across as a wooing track, she kept an open mind. “The song could be
used for anything, it could be sung to a loved one, it would not be out
of place in a wedding ceremony too,” she said.
She describes her
music as soulful, as she insists her songs are good for the soul. In
experimenting with different genres of music she tries to create a rich
blend to reach a wider audience. Though her music is pretty much
inspirational and soulful, one wonders why J’odie isn’t toeing gospel
lane, as she was raised by a father who oversees the congregation of
the Christ Peculiar Church were she cut her musical teeth at the age of
5.
“I did a couple of
gospel tracks when I got back to music, but I realised that it was not
the kind of music I wanted to do, it was too expected. I do not want my
life to be determined by what people think. ‘Idols’ changed everything
for me. During the show, they teach you how to understand the stage and
hold the audience, and over time I have learnt not to live a life where
I am expected to live up to an expectation,” she explained.
“I do not have to
fit into one channel all the time. I am not trying to fit in. I sing to
my soul, that is why my songs are soulful, human beings are deep so
they can relate to what I sing.” The singer cum songwriter, who always
dreams of the big stage with all the big lights, says she wants to
create a style that will not only keep its African elements but also
compete on the world stage for all the big awards. She draws an
illustration with the famous musician Enya whose songs entwine with
sounds from her traditional roots in the United Kingdom.
The album
J’odie has a
collection of songs, and she is still deciding what songs to put on the
album. She hopes she will be able to work with Angelique kidjo, Tuface
or rap sensation MI as the album falls into place.
“I like the way MI
raps, because he brings confidence to whatever he does. I never seen
anyone spit bars on a completely native beat, but MI did it with
‘Number One’,” she said with a tinge of surprise in her voice.
She hopes to get a record label to release her album; she tries to explain the situation better using an analogy.
“A record label is
like a man, when you sign to a record label you are married to that
man. So it is best to marry the best that you can work with so that you
do no not have problems. I want to sign to a very good label. If you
chase a man he will treat you anyhow, so you have to do things that
will make you a good prospect for the man to notice you. So I am trying
to do my part,” she said.
She looks forward
to achieving her musical dream with hard work and conscious
improvement, taking cues from past musical legends.
“I have always dreamt of leaving my mark on the big stage like Bob
Marley, Tupac, and Fela. They are not living but people still study
their music; there is even a Broadway show about Fela. I am sure that
there is something that they did that makes people want to imitate
them,” J’odie concludes, with a tone of finality.
