Nigerian actor and singer, James Ogbobe, better known as Ify Black China, will no doubt agree that no matter how far you travel, home is still the best.
The China-based rising entertainer is returning to the country to carve out a place for himself in the music business with the release of his debut single track, “DuoDuo.”
“I want to be myself, I don’t want to be like every other person out there,” Ify Black China who has featured in many Nollywood epic movies, says.
Adding that he’s not back home to compete with anybody in the industry, but rather, that he wants to be himself, while doing things like never done before.
“I don’t want to imitate any singer. That’s why I am coming out with my own unique sound style which is an infusion of Chinese with the English language. I have some Igbo tracks in my songs too. I will be releasing them one after the other,” he enthused.
Also into Afrobeat, hip-hop and amapiano, for him, music remains a tool through which he relives memories of his journey through life.
“My message is to tell the world that everybody should be fighting to survive. You can’t fold your arms and expect manna to fall down from heaven for you,” the rising singer added, reiterating that the message of his music is to encourage people never to give up their dreams.
According to him, he did a yet to be released traditional Igbo song containing about four tracks before he relocated to China, where he finally honed his music skills.
“After releasing the song, I had the opportunity to travel to China and I grabbed it, while abandoning my passion. But I’m back now to do something differently, ” Ify Black China further said.
The Nsukka- Enugu State-born singer said he’s into music to share his true life experience with the world to see if it will have a positive impact on some other people’s lifestyle.
“My kind of music is inspired by my feeling of loneliness in the early days of my sojourn in China.
“it was as if my world was crumbling. I was working as well as schooling. It wasn’t easy for me to survive in China,” he added.
Ify Black China, however, described his brand of music as a fusion of English and Chinese language, stressing that his mission is to speak to the world through his music.
On how he is combining music with acting, 28-year-old said it was not a problem for him to combine two professions. “I love standing in front of the camera as well as being on stage. Whenever I’m invited to star in a movie, I make myself available. If I am asked to perform on stage, I try to honour the invitation . it’s never an issue for me to be an actor and a singer,’ he stated.
Speaking further, the rising star said the essence of his music is to use it to tell the true story of his life, adding “by doing so, I would have touched somebody’s life positively. ‘
He recalled how he struggled to make ends meet back home before the grace of God located him while he was in China. He took part in various movies back in China, which gave him the popularity he enjoys today among the Chinese audience. Qian Duo Duo as he is popularly called by his numerous Chinese fans is a household name in China and among Chinese in diaspora who follow him online. It is basically because of this affinity to the Chinese fans that he decided to create a style of Afro Pop music where he will sing to both the Nigerian and Chinese audience. He now speaks fluent Chinese even better than his mother tongue.
