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Working with Hugh Masekela has been helpful to my music – Femi Ogunkoya – Vanguard News
By Rotimi Agbana
After sojourning in South Africa for many years,working with international stars including, late Hugh Makesela, Angelique Kidjo, Soweto Gospel Choir, Wizkid, Simphiwe Dana, among others, versatile Afro-beat musician, Saxophonist and dynamic vocalist, Femi Ogunkoya, is back in his home country, Nigeria, to have a feel of the music industry.
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Speaking on his musical odysseys in a chat with Showtime, the unique singer explained how late Hugh Masekela helped him define his unique sound.
“My Experience with Hugh Masekela was very helpful, I was a fan before I met him, and I loved his music before I performed with him. He was a great man with principle and loved the African culture. The long lasting influence he has had on me is simply helping me to stay true to the African sound, helping me to believe and reminding me that African music is still the future, the world started here in Africa and will return to Africa. He aligned me as I was drifting, trying to play all styles of music with so much experiments and he listened to music and my live sound and he pointed out to me that my strength lies in the Traditional Afro-beat and highlife and jazz and this makes me unique”, he said.
Femi, who is also the younger brother to renowned ‘Gbedu Master’, Kola Ogunkoya, explained his decision to come back to promote his music in Nigeria.
“I’ve been away for too long, I’ve worked and shared world stages with renowned names in the music industry. I just felt a feeling to come back back and give what foreigners have been enjoying to my own people and I believe that with time they would come to appreciate and love my kind of sound”, he said.
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