Nkenji Keke! Paul Okoye Covers Taylor Live Magazine's Latest Issue

Nkenji Keke! Paul Okoye Covers Taylor Live Magazine’s Latest Issue

The famous Rudeboy showed up rather gallantly; almost immediately getting down to business, yet with a witty sense of humour easing tensions. Giving us an escape from the norm with his peculiar approach to being professional, Paul Okoye revealed a bit about his remarkable voyage in the spotlight. With back to back hits topping charts and hearts, his inspiration steady orbits good old-fashioned love, especially for his current single Nkenji-keke which has, quite naturally, gone through the chart ceilings.

Ever wonder what the secret to such regularity might be; maybe it’s the love of the fans, maybe it’s his ingeniousness in handling his affairs in the music industry which may be likened to his out-of-the-box ideas, one of them being the incorporation of his new all-female band members. Some might imagine it to be a women empowering scheme; not necessarily imprudence. “Well, I won’t call it women empowerment in the direct sense of it,” he said “let’s just say the all women band is just my contribution to diversity in the work place.” No secret ingredient or ulterior motive, he just might have a Midas touch.

The African sound has quite an assortment of genius. With a notable amount of musical talent veiled in Africa in the not too distant past, there are a quite a number of artists who have been working inventively to shine more light, our Rudeboy is, without a doubt, a front runner in this race, fusing highlife and reggae into his genre defying sound; waking up more than just a part of the international music community. “This so-called African sound is the future of music” he stated; and we totally agree with him.

Having been an artist for about two decades, knowing the industry like the back of his hand is rather likely, but having to combine being a father, a producer and a performer may pose a snag to most, but not for Paul, “it’s an everyday job” he says, “there hasn’t really been any negative challenge in being a father and performer, instead I get inspired by my family when it comes to certain aspects of my creative elements.” Although, there might have been a slight transition from the tightly choreographed videos (as P-Square) to the more music-centric videos, he stays pretty confident that that will not affect the followers he has gathered over the years, “we always had a mix of very different types of music, I don’t see any reason why the more music-centric videos should be a factor with my fan base.”

Every artist desires their voice to connect to the people and be the bridgehead with which they can rise and speak through, no matter the circumstances they face. “I see my music as an example to young Nigerians to try exploring their creativity, not necessarily as a musician,” Paul says, “on the other hand, they should realize that sometimes we should not wait until things get better, let us start making things better through our dealings with one another.” Well, we all can attest to his true-to-life approach within and outside the entertainment industry, as well as his Midas touch.