Where are you from?
I come from a small town in the southern part of Nigeria, nested in the more popular city of Port Harcourt. Like most artists, I was exposed to music quite early as a kid. My folks generally love music, especially my dad, my fondest memories of him are when we will both listen to a show called “Country Classics” that runs from 10pm into the mid night every saturday. No one in my family could sing to save their lives Lol, it came as a surprise to everyone that I could even hold a note and had such a strong passion for music, their surprise translated into support. As for why I choose to do music full time, I can’t say it’s one thing, it’s a mixture of many things, from it being a gift, an escape and coping mechanism, my family’s undying support, to the fact that I just couldn’t function at a regular job however hard I tried, all lead me down this path.
Describe your sound…
This latest single Fly Away Anthem is a Dance Mix to Eluozo's original RnB/Afro Pop track Fly Away. “The words!” I want people to resonate with the words – Artists, especially in and around the RnB genre are usually judged based on their vocal dexterity, but that doesn’t mean much to me, I think the lyrics of a song are what makes it powerful, not hitting high notes or riffing and running, those are nice, but I want the words in my song to be tweeted, printed on t-shirts, framed etc. long after I’m gone. I describe my sound as “Universal” because every single genre in existence influences my sound.
Who inspires you?
I was really into country music coz of my Dad, so Jim Reeves, Don Williams, Dolly Parton and the likes were my first contact with music, as I grew I started to consume any and everything that sounded pleasing, RnB, HipHop, Afrobeats, all of the greats, past and present in these genres inspire and influence me a great deal.
Eluozo is actually my grandfather’s name, I was told I may have gotten my musical gifts from him coz he was the only one in the lineage that had an artistic bone, he played a weird instrument I don’t even know the name of and sang, but not professionally, just by the fire side to the kids and stuff. So the idea is… I sing, he gets the credit to his name, technically I’m in a band of some sort, a really creepy one LOL.
Tell us something everyone needs to know…
When I lost my Job and told my Father I wasn’t going to bother finding another one, I’d build some type of spiritually and financially rewarding system based off of my music. He was genuinely worried for me but reluctantly supportive. Exactly 6 years since that decision, I have a home, a beautiful wife and a kid on the way. He visited me at my place a short while back just to say he’s proud of me (my dad is African, the Nigerian kind of African, getting him to voluntarily say he’s proud of me is right up there with winning a grammy). I may never be rich and famous, but I already feel fulfilled and immensely blessed.
FLY AWAY ANTHEM