Fondly compared with international act, John legend, Praiz who although, won’t mind performing alongside his one mentor, proves that he is one of a kind.
Ada Igboanugo
I had fixed an interview with the alternative singer after getting an approval from my editor to carry on
with the assignment of revealing to the world what treasure lies within our bosom. We agreed to meet
on Tuesday but each got delayed with our busy schedules notwithstanding the current removal of fuel
subsidy, causing the hike in purchase price, thereby turning on the conscious nerves; one must indeed
plan their daily movement and wisely too.
So the meeting was adjourned to the next day, three days and counting, my deadline was getting closer
and I still hadn’t met up with him to do the interview. More schedules jamming and we finally agreed to
meet during industry night, a monthly event established to feature different artistes and have audiences
from far and wide come to listen. This month’s edition was a special valentine edition featuring Inyanya,
the project fame winner, titled, ’14 days to Valentine’ being the first day of February and the month of
love, in preparation the Valentine’s Day. I arrived a little early before the show, giving me ample time to
take in my surroundings before the place gets horded with guests. The interior of African bar, Oriental
Hotel, was decorated in the different shades of love to denote the season that is valentine. From the
ceiling to the chairs, you wouldn’t be mistaken with your guess as to what was going on and just as I was
about turning 360 degrees towards the direction of the stage, that was when I saw him. He walked up
to me in a briskly manner, an apologetic expression on his face as he made his way to my direction, “I’m
so sorry for the inconveniences” he uttered almost to tears. I couldn’t help but accept, but I promised to
give him a pay ticket, to pay for inconveniences given. We were even now.
He was here, at the industry night to celebrate and support his long time friend, Inyanya. They had
become bosom friends after having competed to win the coveted prize in the first edition of Project
Fame West Africa, a musical talent show in which Inyanya emerged as winner and he, second runner
up. “I had known Inyanya briefly before we both entered the competition but even though, I didn’t see
it as a competition but as a chance to do my best to reveal myself to the world, whether I had won or
not, and so not winning was not a big deal for me”
But why music in the first place? As cliché as it sounds, it all started from church. But in his case, it was
different. He wasn’t the lead chorister or the one who took the solo sessions. In fact, he was a band boy.
He loved to play the drums and that was where he found his niche. It was the period during his final high
school education and after that he would go to studios to hang out. Later on he found out there was to
be an audition for the position of a drummer and he applied and was taken. Being in the studio full time
gave him the opportunity to sample songs and even went ahead to produce a few. That was when his
musical career was kick-started.
Knowing he possessed a magical voice, a talent too strong to pull him through and confidence,
he set out to try his hands on various musical competitions in which Idols was but to name a few.
Unfortunately his bumper package didn’t secure him a spot in any of the competitions until he tried
again, not relenting and applied for the premier edition of Project Fame west Africa and luck shined on
him. Though he didn’t emerge as winner, this soul crooner has successfully secured a place not only in
the musical industry but also in people’s heart.
Praise Ugbege Adejo, a son of a Kogi state indigene is the second of five kids (four boys and a girl). Spelt
Praiz and used as his stage name, the 28 year old studied computer science at Kaduna Polytechnic and
impressively speaks Hausa fluently, “But I don’t know if I’d b making music in Hausa language just yet.
Maybe in the long run I would. You would have to wait and see.”
Following his big entrée into the music scene thanks to his persistence and Project Fame medium, Praiz
has successfully released two singles. ‘Je ka lo’ meaning ‘let us go’ depicts a typical party song for the hip
and lively and ‘I love you’ a soulful track, rekindles a relationship and reminds the spouse why they fell in
love in the first place. He has also done music collaborations with MI, Bez and a couple of others in the
industry.
Singer and songwriter, Praiz writes his own music and produces it s well. For someone who likes to play
such a noisy musical instrument such as drums, it is ironic to find out that his writing mantra is, “having a
sane mind and a serene environment works for me. Also random happenings”
Signed to Xtreme music, He is currently working on finishing his album which would feature Colbams
and Ty-mix, as co-producers though majority of it would be produced by him. His album, as expected
would revolve around human feelings and emotions; A perfect blend of soul and R n B.
Fondly compared with international act John legend, Praiz admits he is his greatest mentor and he, fan.
He would give anything for an opportunity to work with the award winning soul singer. But the boy
wonder isn’t all about music. He recently got a role to feature in a movie but had to turn it down for a
trip to South Africa and England to shoot his video. But if given another chance, “I would still love to act”
A soccer favourite and a die-hard Barcelona fan which we argued about to be the best football club,
Praiz generally loves having fun, be it making music or producing one. He plays the piano fluently and
would be caught there most times during his spare time but what you would finding him doing with his
friends is playing the Play Station three. But most awkwardly, just sitting and talking about the future,
seeing that he doesn’t drink.
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