Entertainment
Uduak Daniel Still Unleashing Her Roar
Six years after she staged a come back to first love-music, Afrocolours pioneer, Uduak Daniel is not reneging on her desire to have her voice heard around the world.
The phenomenal singer and medical geneticist, whose musical output is a unique fusion of jazz, folk, gospel and African music/sounds is indeed actualising this big dream with a new expression she called, “Sessions with Uduak Daniel.”
A session where she performs live renditions of her songs. The sessions already have raked in over 900,000 views in the past two months.
She also released her first single in 2021 titled, “No Remain.” The song was produced by Wale Adeoye and released exclusively on Boomplay Music before hitting other streaming platforms and is said to be attracting positive reviews from around the world.
Recall that the spontaneous singer last year released a single “Your Sister” despite the pandemic, which paralysed economic activities across the world. The song, which addressed gender-based and domestic violence, premiered on hot tracks on Apple Music in over 12 countries in Africa.
For the medical geneticist-turned- singer said, the aim of every creative project she does is to reach the point called exceptional and phenomenal. This drive, she said got her into doing something different from the popular at the time she launched out in 2001.
Talking about her music, Uduak, who returned in 2015,” with a single “Arise Nigeria, after a five-year haitus over the years has demonstrated her creative ingenuity in all her works. Till date, Uduak makes timeless music that will communicate and resonate with the marketplace, especially intellectuals and the elites. Her debut album,”Hold On” released in 2002, announced the emergence of an extraordinary creative in music.
The album impacted the music industry especially in southern Nigeria, opening doors for other young artistes to be innovative in their creative process. It was considered a new season in the music space in the south. The album was enabled with lyrics she usually terms “spiritual, inspirational and prophetic”. Her music for the most part is positively affirmative, prophetic for Christians and “speaking into existence typa” if you are a twitter/social media active user.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.