In an interview with Apple Music Africa Now Radio with Nandi Madiba, ODUMODUBLVCK talks about his latest Mixtape ‘Eziokwu’. According to the rapper, he wanted to make a project that’s unprecedented in the history of African music.
“In as much as it’s a hip-hop album, it has a lot of Afrobeats elements to it, afro-fusion elements, it even has Ghanaian highlife. I try to make a project that has never been made before, or created before, in the history of African music. The sound has this, this, this, and that, but it still sounds like one body of work.”
ODUMODUBLVCK’s music is popular for its fusion of indigenous music with different strains of Hip Hop and this style was on full display on his mixtape. The rapper shared that he intended to spotlight his culture through his music and this informs his use of street lingo.
“I was just trying to communicate myself and my environment, you know? That’s the easiest way to do it as an artist. When I was recording it I wanted people to know from the get-go that first of all, this guy is an African, and this guy is a Nigerian.
I didn’t want anybody second-guessing, even down to the lingo – deep-rooted Nigerian street lingo – that when you listen… let’s say Drake listens and he loves it, any Nigerian he sees he’ll be like ‘yo, what’s the meaning of this?’ Automatically it’s dragging people towards our culture, which is the best way to sell your market, I guess. I just wanted to put myself and my community out there without second-guessing it, and that makes the music authentic.”
Since gaining mainstream success, ODUMODUBLVCK has enjoyed huge success. He won two awards at the 2023 Headies while also getting co-signs for Davido, Wizkid, Olamide, and Burna Boy. The rapper believes his talent is a gift from God and this divine inspiration is what motivates him to keep blazing the trail.
“Music, I tell people it’s not about who has the best sound. I’m a big believer, I understand that music is from God, and God just feels like ‘ok you, let me bless you with this, let me see how much you can go into the world and multiply this talent’, you get what I’m saying.
In my case I believe everything is divine. If this or that did not stop me, then I believe nothing can stop me, so I take that energy from surviving all those traumatic experiences and use it as a shield towards any spirit of doubt or uncertainty. I’ve already been shown that omo, this p is gonna work and there is nothing that is going to stop it. The worst that could have stopped it has already happened so nothing more than this can happen anymore. That’s the spirit.”
