We were lucky to catch up with OGONNA recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi OGONNA, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Pursuing music and becoming an artist was one of the biggest risk I’ve taken. The risk pushed me to go against cultural standards. The risk forced me to go within myself and answer tough questions that challenged my growth. The risk had me drop out of college, just to prove to myself how serious I took my craft and the way I wanted to mold it. Coming from a Nigerian family, it was taboo to pursue such a thing. Everyone I knew in my community was either becoming doctors or lawyers, or doing something that required many years of schooling. I had no issue with the idea of becoming a doctor. The biggest issue I had was the internal conflict I had when I reached a fork in the road. Do I go after what I truly want to make myself happy? Or do I become something just to make my parents happy? I chose me. I took a chance on me and my dreams. I can say that it has been one of the most rewarding decisions I ever made.

OGONNA, 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 took an interest in music very young. I declared my want to be a rapper at the age of 11 years old. My first rap name was “Bad Boy J”. Since then, I’ve written countless songs just trying to perfect my delivery of emotions when it comes time to record. None of my family members took an interest in music the way I did. I literally was building my entire career from the ground up with no true support. When I didn’t have a music teacher, radio was there to teach me what a hit was. I studied that very intently for years. I took note of how different artist had different sounds to offer. I observed melodies, different lyrics, and rhyme schemes. Years and years of excitement and disappointments. I’ve experienced so many different emotions to get to this point. “The Prophet Najee” was my next step of self discovery. That identity helped more with my self discovery and musical journey. I treated it like my Superman cape. The name has served me so much over the years. Now that I’m maturing, I believe it’s time to transition into my next phase. I’m introducing the world to OGONNA. I’ve created a safe space for my supporters to feel that it’s ok to remold yourself. I’m especially excited for my Nigerian supporters to know that they can relate to a Nigerian kid, born in America, who still proudly represents the diaspora.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission is simple: trust God to bring all your visions to life. “OGONNA” literally means “God’s favor” in Igbo. I’ve always had an optimistic perspective of how my life will unfold. My trust hasn’t changed.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Honestly, everyone is a creative is some shape form or fashion. Doctors are creative in the hospital when it comes time to treat a patient. Lawyers are creative in the courtroom when they need to find a way to win a case. Basketball players are creative when it comes to finding ways to outwit their opponents. Even people who take care of our trash have to be creative when running routes to make sure they are efficient in their task. The only difference is the field of creativity. The struggle to perfect a song, melodies, lyrics is something people in those other fields wouldn’t understand. How to be a perfect communicator is literally one of the most challenging task because you want to make sure your message gets across effectively. Each line in any of my songs are very intentional. My job is to invoke an emotional response at a very high level. That’s always going to be a difficult task. Song writing is a very serious career.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Ogonna.Wrld

Image Credits

@5k.Frank
@OgonnaCreations