On the Musical Side of Wale Ojo

The pulsating beat from his studio was quite consuming. This reporter sat raptly listening and watched him and his band dish out some raw tunes as they rehearsed. A few persons walking by within the premises could feel the sound filtering through as observed shortly before meeting him during the session. It was on a recent Friday. Forty-eight hours after, Wale Ojo would be performing at the upscale Hard Rock Café Lagos.

The gig tagged “Afrobeat Live with Wale Ojo and the Milagros” was a text-run show of some sort. He had performed at the same venue some years back. With the tryout session over, the acclaimed actor settles down. “My head is full right now”, he said, looking weary. The multi-talented skills of this award-winning thespian cut across singing, dancing and writing.

He plans to showcase his band widely. According to him, after the performance at the Hard Rock Café, the proper show itself will follow. Though his piece and style of music appeals to matured audience, Ojo’badan, as he is fondly called, declared it’s a very expensive venture self-sponsoring the band. He wished brands would come in and take-up sponsorship.

He describes his performace thus, “I have a solid product. We have 10 original songs, all afrobeat, one like R&B,” Hardly would you see in this clime, live band performances without remix of popular songs to connect and excite audience.

Asked if there’s remix of any of the songs contained on his set, he said, “We are remixing a little bit of ‘Ojuelegba’ by Wizkid and we are doing a cover of ‘Suffering and Smiling’, which original rendition was made by the legendary Fela Kuti. He then adds, “I want to do a real live concert experience you know.”

He also revealed that he intends touring abroad with his 10-man band, which used to be 16. “These ones are committed members of the band”, he enthused. “We may have to fly to Los Angeles,” he said, optimistic that “If I take this… what I’m playing here to any venue, or concert abroad they will love it. That’s why I need to get them out there. This band needs to be making money touring the world and then come back”.

Wale Ojo’s face is mostly prominent in movies. Little wonder that not many of his fans know about his musical side. Before returning to Nigeria, he played with several bands across the years in UK while acting. Weeks after it release, EbonyLife’s Netflix thriller, ‘Blood Sisters’ is still making waves within the entertainment circles and beyond.

The project features several movie stars including the UK trained Nigerian actor who played the role of Officer Joe Obasanjo a.k.a Officer Chicago. An interesting cameo role, its impact is largely felt, and it’s getting huge comments on social media posts relating to the four part limited series. Such that Twitter fans think there is an uncanny resemblance between the actor and former presidential aide Reno Omokri.

The resemblance had in recent weeks controlled conversations about Ojo’s Officer Chicago character. On Officer Chicago, the actor further disclosed that two major directors abroad have now approached him for a spin-off series titled ‘Officer Chicago in Lagos’. On the likely success of such spin-off, Ojo said “I know it’s possible”.