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| Rexy Anonimouz Ewulum, Nigerian Singer |
Benjamin Njoku Ewulum Ifeanyi Anthony,
popularly known as Rexy Anonimouz Ewulum, might not be popular among music
lovers back home, but ask some in India, if they are familiar with his name,
and the response will amaze you.
Vanguard drops this lead to establish the
Anambra born rap artiste, Rexy Ewulum as he finds fame and success in his music
career away from home.
According to the report, Rexy is one of the African musicians making waves in the country that is known for its romantic mausoleums. The singer relocated to India in 2010, after his graduation from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, where he studied Electronics Engineering.
The story states further that Rexy later
returned to the county before finally moving to India in search of greener
pastures in 2013. While in India, Rexy’s driving force was to hustle to make
ends meet. But somehow, he found himself venturing into music through a friend
that he met there. Having had a strong passion for music back home, it was
easier for the Anambra State-born rapper to blend with his friend, Charles. But
singing their way into prominence in a foreign land like India, was something
of a great expectation for them. However, after several attempts to showcase
his talent proved abortive, Rexy and his friend finally broke into the Indian
music space. And today, they are among the most talk about musicians in Delhi.
Recall that in 2015 the media had a piece
on Rexy captioned “Singing
in three different language my selling point – Rexy Brown” where he was
established as Amadu Vincent Chukwubuike, a.k.a Rexy Brown. Also in 2017 the
media likewise had another piece on him titled “Madu steps out
with ‘Kampe’” where he was this time recognised as “Madu” a.k.a Rexy Brown.
Yes, something about the name- change. But then according to the report, Olisa
Adibua, a top rated Nigerian media personality, changing his name was very
important to the brand’s identity.
“Madu is a gifted young guy. His journey so
far has been good but now we are taking it to a whole new level. We believe
that the connection between Young Nation and Heritage Live Entertainment is the
catalyst that will propel Madu to the next level”
However, sharing his thrilling story with
Vangurad’s reporter Benjamin Njoku via WhatssAp conversation, Rexy recalls how
he ventured into music in India, noting that he started performing in the club,
after he was rejected severally by DJs and show promoters there.
According to him, Indian DJs need to trust
and believe in you before they can give you the platform to showcase the stuff
you are made of.
“I travelled to India in 2010, after my
graduation from the university”, Rexy recalled. “Later, I returned to Nigeria,
where I spent some time before returning to India again. While in the country,
I was trying to study the music terrain there. But in 2012, I ventured into
music properly and it was after I ran into a friend who suggested that we
should start producing our own music.
“Before I travelled to India, I tried to
venture into music. During my secondary school days, I had the opportunity to
compose some of my songs and was involved in music as a child. Then, it was
difficult for one’s parents to support his dream. While my mom was supporting
my dream, my dad was opposed to it. I hail from a family that is into business,
it was difficult for my parents to support my ambition to become a musician.
But when I arrived India, I started visiting some clubs alongside one of my
friends.
“At the clubs, I saw some musicians from
Africa, who perform at these clubs. I said to myself, I can do better than
these artistes. From there, I started contacting some of the Indian show
promoters and DJs. I was practically begging them to give me a chance to
showcase my talent. But they kept rejecting me.
“All they wanted was for me to be visiting
the club and spending my money without achieving my goal. Even if you have the
connection, they don’t still trust you because they haven’t seen your music
video and stuffs like that. At a point, they asked me to make songs, put them
in a CD and bring to us, which I did, but to no avail.
“I
realized that they were joking with me, and that was when I stopped visiting
that club. So, I switched to another club, where I met some Djs who immediately
gave me the platform to showcase my talent. That was the first time I visited
the club, and I was given the opportunity to perform on stage. It was
something, I couldn’t achieve after three months of visiting the previous club.
“That was in 2013, and since then, I
started performing regularly alongside my friend in that club. Performing in
that club was like, we were chasing our dreams. We weren’t paid a dine, but we
were happy that we have been giving an opportunity to showcase our talents in
India.
“With time, we started gaining popularity
in that club which was what we wanted. It wasn’t easy breaking into the Indian
music space.”
From the report, Rexy admitted that Indian
DJs initially rejected him as a Nigerian musician. But on the contrary, he
noted that discrimination wasn’t part of the major problems he faced in India,
but that of trust and relationship. He added further that breaking into the
Indian music space, he had to make songs that appealed to the natives.
“Discrimination has been there right from
the first club I visited because they knew where I was coming from. But that
wasn’t why they refused to give me the platform to showcase my talent. The
problem was that they didn’t trust me enough to give me the platform. But when
I switched to another club, where I was not paid a dine, I started making
waves. I didn’t care about the pay, all I wanted was to become popular among
the people. My friend and I, tried to prove ourselves that we could do better
than what other musicians were doing, and it’s not about what they hear or read
about Nigeria.
“Today, we are known all over India. Those
music promoters and Djs who rejected us before are now congratulating us,
saying they didn’t know that we are talented artistes. They were like asking us
to return to where we were initially rejected. But it wasn’t possible again
because we have moved to another stage in our careers. These days, we do our shows
and produce our music. For me, it’s not about racial discrimination, in as much
as you are talented and can deliver on stage. Nobody will stop you if you know
what you are doing.
“When I was making my songs, I was making
them for the India audience. I wasn’t playing for my African brothers in India.
The Indians were even singing my songs. I recall when I was accused of refusing
to entertain my people, after I was invited to perform for an African
community. But then, my African brothers never supported me when I was honing
my craft. Now that I am popular and making waves, they want to identify with my
music”
Rexy, according to the story has over 150
songs and two albums and has added Afro hop to the songs. But then he’s not for
the moment signed to any record label.
“I can release an album any time”, he
submits. “But right now, I’m focusing on
my solos. I do Afro-pop, English songs and above all, I am a rap artiste.”
On appreciation of Nigerian music, Rexy
said Indians love the country’s style of music which is currently gaining
global attention, adding that Indian women are always falling whenever he grabs
the mic.
“As a music loving country, Indians are in love with our style of music”, Rexy confirms the love Indians have for Nigeria’s kind of music. “They like to listen to something different, which our music provides for them. Nigerian music has gone viral, and every country is watching our music on YouTube and other social media platforms. While performing on stage, I have many Indian fans, who will be there cheering me even if they don’t understand what I am singing provided they are enjoying the melody. They are embracing Nigerian music because it’s different from other countries’ music.
“Women are always attracted to music
anywhere in the world. If they don’t like your song, I don’t know how you are
going to move forward in your career. Women love music, and that’s why they are
attracted to people like us. They will throw themselves at us, telling you how
much they love your music. We’d return their love and at same time, remain focused
on what we are chasing.
“Normally, we meet different kinds of women
who are showering love on us. There’s always love, there’s no hatred in music.
I have met many Indian ladies both on and off the stage showing love to me. All
the same, I still remain focused even though I am not married. But when it
comes to Indian women, they are always falling when I grab the mic”
Rexy, who according to the report described
his sojourn in India as a success story, adding that while he was in Nigeria,
he didn’t have the opportunity to actualize his dream of going into music until
he moved to India. At the moment, he said he’s planning to storm the country to
promote his music as well as be part of the ongoing musical revolution in
Nigeria.
“Relocating to Nigeria is something I
planned last year, but because of the COVID-19, I couldn’t execute the plan.
However, before October, I hope to storm the country, to see where my music
will take me to. So, doing my music in India is a massive success, I craved for
something, I worked for it, I killed my shows. That’s what success is all about”,
Rexy concluded.
SNIPPETS from Rexy’s previous media interviews
“Music is
something I cannot do without. I have intense passion for it”
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