Angela Okorie: I Have Been Doing Music  Before I Started Acting

Angela Okorie aka Legit Queen is not new in the art of movie and music. For starters, who have doubts of her status in Nollywood and entertainment, can ‘ask Google’. A household name, Angela has seen it all, done it all and has weathered the storm having had her fair share of controversy in the industry. She speaks to Ferdinand Ekechukwu about her music, acting which brought her fame, difficult moments and more. . . 

You appear to be doing more in music now than in movies?

Yes, for like the past four years plus now I have been doing music.

Is it something you have always wanted to do or something you just veered into being that you can sing? Or has it been part of you?

Yea music has been part of me for a long time. In fact, or let me say as a matter of fact, I have been doing music before I started acting. I was singing in church for so many years. I started from singing when I was seven years old. And I have been singing in church for a long time before I started acting. And then I got admission into the university to study Public Admin. From there I started modeling for about ten years. From then I started acting when I followed a friend to a movie set. They needed a fine girl to play a particular role. They asked me and I said I can. I was instructed properly. That was how I started acting. So music for me has always been there. But I have always known that music is bigger than movie somehow because in music you need some kind of fund and fame to push your career. So if I had started music before acting, probably people wouldn’t have heard me. So but yeah after my acting and then I’m famous and all that days I said okay it’s time for me to do music. And that’s why I slowed down on acting. Yes, because I wanted my music to be heard.

Do you think your music has really been heard and getting the acceptance you so much wanted?

Yes, I am accepted in music, if not some of my songs that you know wouldn’t be trending because people have already accepted me.

What label are you signed to?

I’m signed to my own record label Moving Train Entertainment. It’s my company and has been there for like over 12 years now. It covers also my acting and movie production. And I just started doing music for like four years now. I knew I was going to sing because I love music so much. People who live around me, people who know me very well know I love music.

Your song Legit happens to be one of your hit songs and I have heard you talk about it and how you put in it can you share with us some of your other songs?

Yeah Legit, I have some other songs like, E Pain Dem, Ije Life, Vibes, Lift Me Up, Give Me Love, Because of Money… but Legit actually went far. I put in over a 120 million naira in it… So far it has got over a million streams.

With social media your claim to spend such amount on a song could be argued. Because you could have used social media to push the song alongside your popularity

Yea social media but how about people on the streets? Not everybody is on social media. The street is where the credibility is. What social media can do for you is different from the streets.

What’s your relationship with Naira Marley?

He’s just a friend, a cool guy. We have done a song together titled ‘Gain’.

What other projects are you working on?

I’m working on an EP which I will be dropping soon. I already got an album  Burst Everywhere – which was put out 2-3 years ago. I’m also working on a movie. People still want to see my face in movies. I’m coming back to acting. The title of the movie I don’t want to put out yet.

Do you write your songs?

Yeah I write my songs, all my songs I have written. But right now, I’m tired of writing. My song Legit I wrote that song many years ago.  

Would you pay for a song written by some other person?

It has to be on some form of agreement if someone should write a song for me. I will get my lawyer involved and we sign and do it not after writing the song and I invest in it and the person comes out and starts dragging me and claiming owing him/her for the song. There should be some kind of agreement before taking up a song someone wrote. I have about over a hundred songs written but not released. So there are still more songs…

Has it been what you expected doing music? Or are there any surprises?

The truth is some of my friends in music weren’t really open to working with me. I mean friends that I knew when I started acting o! But that’s it. I kept on doing my thing and I’m cool getting paid for it. Now if you come to me for collaboration and its fine we do. My popularity from acting has helped me. My movie fans automatically turned into my music fans. I’m legendary. I’m the highest paid actress at the moment… The last time I featured in a movie some three years ago I got paid 3million naira. Now if you want to have me on a movie set for weeks is 10million naira. Same amount I get paid to perform at shows here in Nigeria.

You have faced some challenges on your journey to fame and all, how did you overcome them?

It’s God… If not it wouldn’t have been easy. The movie I’m working on will tell the story; like action movie you will see it. Like when I was shot. It’s my true life story. Some people said so many things about that attack. But it was armed robbers. They attacked me somewhere at Orile on my way back from a show. They opened fire. You saw some of my pictures I posted pictures when I was been treated in hospital. My skin cut open and bullets were been removed. I will tell everything in the movie.

Who or what do you consider the greatest influence in your life?

Me myself, I’m my greatest influence above any other person… That’s why people look up to me because they want to be like me. And they say it to me.

You often show and talk about your son, how’s he doing?

He is fine, he’s 12 years now. He’s doing fine…playing football. He’s in a football academy.

Fans are often interested to know the main in the life of their favourite celebs. Who is the man in your life?

I prefer to keep my relationship private. I am a very private person. I tell fans what they wish to know but not my relationship. That’s why I keep it personal to me and that’s how it should be – private.