Encomium
Fast rising highlife act Humblesmith has released the official variant to the remix of his music, Osinachi. Osinachi remix was released in February 2016, which he featured Davido.
Humblesmith (real name Ekene Ijemba) had a chat with ENCOMIUM Weekly on Friday, April 8, 2016, where he talked about his humble beginning and how his music career started….
What has Osinachi done for you?
Osinachi has done a lot. It has opened a lot of doors for us, for me, for everybody, for my manager, and for the brand, Humblesmith. It has added so much to the brand. It has given me a lot of recognition. In fact, it has done what most of my songs could not do for me.
Why did you decide to do the remix with Davido?
It is business. I think it was all planned by God. I had the original version with Phyno but I had to take the song to another level. So, Davido took the song to another level, internationally and worldwide.
What do we expect from you soon?
Expect new tunes and bigger collaborations very soon.
Don’t you think you were jumping into beef with Davido and Dele Momodu, when he sang about his quarrel in your song?
No. this is music and music is life. I am not Davido. Davido is Davido and I am Humblesmith. I see music as life where you express yourself and carry your fans along. At that moment before we did the Osinachi remix that was what Davido was facing and fans were looking up to him. So, he had to bring it out for them to know that it is real. This is music and music is real. It had nothing to do with his beef or Humble Smith jumping into his beef.
What record label are you signed to?
Entise Entertainment.
How did you venture into music?
It started for the love of music. I love music so much and I love entertainment and I have had this love since when I was a kid. Growing up, my dad was more like a DJ. He’s usually playing music all the time and I always wanted to dance each time he plays the music and my mom was a good singer. She sings in the church. So, growing up for me was more like music around me. At a point, I set up a group and we were called American Boys. What we did was singing, dancing and acting, but it was more like a child’s play. So, I started developing this love for music and I have always listened to Bright Chimeze while growing. I love his music so much and I have always had it in mind that someday, I am going to take music serious. So, after my secondary school, I decided to venture into music fully.
What inspired Osinachi?
Osinachi was inspired by things I have been through. Things around me, things I have faced, the challenges I have been through. Putting them together, I realized that life is not all about what you have been through, but if God wants to bless you, He will bless you. Osinachi was inspired by the spirit of God. I wrote Osinachi in church after facing some funny challenges. I went to church to complain to God and something came to my mind that I should stop complaining because I am better than many people. I need to thank God and inspire people. Let people learn from it. That is how Osinachi came about.
I wrote the song in church, then gave it to my producer, Mixta Dimz, we recorded the song. After the recordings, we needed someone to feature on the song and we concluded to work with Phyno. We called Phyno, we recorded the song and came out. We thank God for that and everybody liked the song. All thanks to God.
How much did you pay Davido to feature in the remix?
I did not pay Davido any money. Davido is such a good person. He is a good youth that wants every other youth to come up. Starting the new year, I was planning big for myself not knowing God has a bigger plan for me. The whole thing was planned by God, that is why the song still remains from God which is Osinachi.
Davido called for us to do the remix and to my surprise, since December 2015, he has been posting lots of things to support the brand. He posted things on Snapchat, Twitter, writing a lot of things. He loved the song and he wanted the song to be bigger. I will say a big thanks to Davido, big thanks to HKN gang. I will always appreciate them.
How did you come about the brand name, Humblesmith?
It’s been a long time I had the name. People started calling me Humble. They say I am humble and quiet and for me humble is a good name and since people chose to call me Humble, I decided to go with the name. But then, as an artiste, I had to add something to the name. It was Humble Smart before until I went for a show. The MC wanted to introduce me and he called me Humblesmith instead of Humble Smart. After the show, I changed the whole thing to Humblesmith. I like the Smith attached to the Humble.
Are you married or in a relationship?
I am not married neither am I in a relationship.
Why?
Relationship is something that demands lot of attention and focus, same with music. My profession demands much focus and much time, attention and money. I cannot serve two masters at once. For now that I am still building the brand, I want to get a solid ground before all that.
Aside music, are you into any other businesses?
For now, it is music. But I love doing business.
When are you releasing another song?
Very soon. My next single will be out soon and it is a collaboration.
What are you working on presently?
I am working on my new single but I won’t disclose the title yet. You will see it when it is out. It’s very dope. Fans should look out for it and expect good things from Humblesmith and they should keep supporting the brand.
When are you planning to release an album?
I will release an album in 2017.
What are the challenges you face in the music industry?
There are many of us in the industry and everybody wants to be the first. So, it’s like a competition. You need to work hard and if you have been working hard before, you need to work harder now, especially when a lot of people are looking up to you. Fans won’t understand that the artistes sometimes do not have strength or money. They do not want to hear side stories. The artiste has to be perfect with everything. We have chosen to do this, so we will always need to work harder to meet up to that standard.
What are your plans for your fans this year?
To bring out the best of me, make good music, make fans happy and entertain them. I intend doing more collaborations.
How was growing up for you?
Growing up was not easy for me. I grew up with my family in Ebonyi state but I am from Imo state. I experienced a whole lot growing up as a young boy. I hawked a lot of things on the street. I used to sell moin moin. I sold different types of snacks and drinks. I also used to have a shop at Asaba where I sold films. I used to work as a labourer at people’s sites. I will help them carry sand and block. It was all part of the hustle.
-GLORY OSIGWE
