‘I want to be number one in Africa’

Ozoemelam Umah Okorie (a.k.a. Emodee) wants to be the number one artiste in Africa. And he is certain he will get there.
“I have not really relented,” he said of his plans during an interview at TheNiche in Lagos.
“I can remember that some of my friends that we started the music together dropped out and now concentrate on other businesses. Some who also graduated with me in the university found themselves work in companies,” said Emodee who knew he would go into music since he was nine.
He explained that he got so many jobs in Port Harcourt, including a plum bank job, but turned them down “because I decided that I would stay strong and I believe that one day, I would get signed on to a good record label to push me, since I am not that financially strong to push myself”.
The good news is that his dream has started to come true, as he is now signed to Godek Records as the label’s first artiste and has a hit song titled ‘Toriba’ already rocking the airwaves in Port Harcourt.
Although he is yet to complete work on an album, Emodee believes all he needs is a hit song that will reverberate all over the country for him to become a household name. He said one such song is ‘Toriba’ whose video will hit the airwaves this week.
“‘Toriba’ is a hit track. But I am still going to do the one that will hit bigger than this one,” he said.
Asked if he thinks there is a chance for new acts like himself, he confessed that the music industry is tough, “but I don’t see anybody who is better than me in the industry”.
His move from Port Harcourt to Lagos was to stamp himself on the industry since, for him, the best place for music in the country is Lagos.
“I know so many artistes who have ‘blown’ today in Lagos, who are being celebrated and I am 100 per cent better than they are. I believe I am the best and once I step in they will know that someone has arrived,” declared Emodee who has successfully organised three editions of a beauty pageant in his hometown of Obiene, Ututu in Abia State.
It was during the search for sponsorship for the pageant that he met Godwin Ekekalu, the CEO of Godek Records, a label he eventually convinced the man to start. Barely one year down the road, the label has since signed on three more artistes and now has a strong base in Lagos.
“I am like the founder of the record label because the man was never into entertainment. It was because of me that he fell in love with entertainment. So I am the senior artiste,” said Emodee who was signed on in March, this year.
Things are definitely moving fast for the graduate of theatre and media art, University of Port Harcourt but from the look of things, but the African hip-hop and reggae artiste is taking his time to come into his music. After all, you don’t become number one in Africa in a hurry, even if you started out as a nine-year-old.
“I am doing it because there is a difference between someone who loves music and the one just doing music. You feel you want to get famous. There are some artistes that were born for music. When you hear them sing, you will know that these people are for music,” said Emodee, who added that he was born for music.