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Meet Olu Laoye

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Meet Olu Laoye

June 16, 2022
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We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Olu Laoye a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Olu, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful projects that I have worked on were my music albums in 2014 and 2022, and my newly published book.

My first album that was launched in 2014 was titled “Tani t’Oluwa and it was a gateway to success for me in Africa, some parts of Europe, Asia, and the United States. I was a graduate student at the University of North Texas, and I recorded my first musical track on campus because I was called into music ministry after being healed of a long-term illness. I promised to serve God and went to record majority of the other songs in Nigeria during my trip to my best friend’s wedding after that semester in 2013. Most of the songs on that album were published by the award-winning producer, Dr. Wilson Joel who is a very good friend of mine. I launched my debut album in August 2014. As a result of this, I sang at different churches, fundraising events, and Stadium performances in different cities here in the United States.

I also recorded four music videos from that album, and sold thousands of albums in the United States, and I distributed my music on electronic mediums like Spotify, iTunes, Apple music, Amazon, and others.

A few years later in 2021, a great opportunity was opened for me to start working on another album which is now being released in 2022. This album is titled “You Alone” by Micaiah. I call this a great opportunity because it was only ordained by favor of time and chance, during the snowstorm of 2021. I was invited to sing at a fundraising event in Atlanta and my flight back to Texas was delayed for a few days because of the snowstorm in Dallas, so I had to wait in Atlanta. While I was in Atlanta, I was introduced by a friend to the first Yamaha Ambassador from the continent of Africa called Wole Oni. I was so intrigued at the privilege of meeting him because he was also an Ambassador of Peace with the United Nations, and he had produced thousands of songs for successful artistes all over the world.

After a few months, I was invited to his studio in Los Angeles, California where we started recording a few songs for my second album. Though I had to travel a few more times for several months to finish the project, the songs were successfully completed to God’s Glory. Most of the tracks on my new album were produced by Ambassador Wole Oni, except one. Though the ambassador did not produce one of the songs in my album, I am grateful for the privilege of collaborating on an amazing song titled “Thank you”, with the fantastic African gospel artiste called Mike Abdul, in which his talented producer, Tolu Obanro (Tyanx) produced this brilliant piece.

I would say that concerning my second album, “You Alone” has given me beautiful contents like the first album to satisfy my fans and listeners. The album in its totality is exciting because of its various genres of songs; and I am very grateful for the experience of including more contemporary gospel music in my new work. I have recorded some music videos from this album as well, which are available on YouTube. The songs are also available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, and other mediums of electronic distribution.

The third project that marveled me in 2022 is the publication of my self-help memoir, titled “Lessons from My Kitchen”. This experience did not just open doors of opportunities to me, it was a great example of God’s faithfulness when we think we had been forgotten. I had always wanted to write this book since 2007, but I believe that God allowed me to finish and publish it in April 2022. I had procrastinated for fifteen (15) years, but I think this was the perfect time to write the book because I learned many more lessons in these recent years that contributed immensely to the richness of this book.

I usually say that many of the greatest lessons that I learned in life have come from my kitchen. This is because a lot of the times in my kitchen were spent alone, meditating on previous life lessons from my personal experience, and even random thoughts on some philosophies that we may or may not be familiar with. Thus, in my book I share lessons such as the manners we could respond to naysayers and antagonists who try to bring us down; building and maintaining relationships; following mentors while wisely choosing the leadership to submit to; and being mentors to others by helping them find positive directions to reach their own goals. I also narrated my encounters with betrayal, escaping a near-death food poisoning experience, great surprises at the edge of disappointments, and following my dreams after a spiritual awakening.

Though it is not a cookbook, I pointed some insights on cooking some West-African dishes. I must mention that it is not a recipe book, but a self-help motivational memoir that has positively impacted the lives of some readers and influenced their thoughts about certain decisions that they made after reading it.

It is available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble Bookstore’s websites.

Olu, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a recording artist, songwriter, actress, author, business consultant, mentor, and motivational speaker. I am also known in the music industry as Micaiah, with my songs and music videos playing on television, radio, and the internet, and reaching many people in Africa, Asia, the United Kingdom and the United States. I was born in Nigeria, but I am based in the United States. I also serve on advisory boards, in addition to my volunteering activities at nonprofits.

I use my talents in music, acting, and philanthropy to glorify God. I have two music albums with songs on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube and other sources of digital distribution. The albums are titled “Tani t’Oluwa (Who is like our God)” and the second one is “You Alone”. I feel blessed when people tell me that they feel better and even more spiritually enlightened or strengthened when they listen to my songs.

As for my writing, I just published my book titled “Lessons from my kitchen”, and it is a self-help motivational book that many people have read and given testimonials about their positive encounters after reading this book. Some have explained that they used some lessons from the book to make better decisions, while some have claimed to use some highlights from the book to choose their mentors wisely. Some others have used the lessons that they learned from my memoir to direct those that they mentor in positive ways to accomplish goals.

On the other hand, my business consulting company is “Micaiah Consulting”, and is based in Dallas, Texas. We help small to medium-sized companies to increase their profits and returns on investments. I advise my clients on solutions that could increase their clientele and drive more sales and profits to their business. However, I do not stop at advising alone, I help the clients physically by getting the services needed to increase their profits, and drive more sales or expansion.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

Arts and creativity are gifts that I believe are divinely given. I use my gifts with the intention of encouraging people and making them feel happier after listening to my music, or after reading my book. In regards to my business consulting, I hate seeing people struggle, so I try to look for solutions to help them succeed more in their business.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

When I felt incompetent to write my book and also release my second music album this year, the Lord spoke to me through the Bible. I derived a lot of encouragement and a big push from these verses from Exodus 4:11-12 (New International Version)

“11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Every time I read these two verses, I do not look at the limitations that I thought could stop me from doing good things to uplift people with my music or writing. I look beyond whatever the limitations could be and I do what could change my audience or fans’ lives for the better through my work of art.

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