A Nigerian music star, Eric Omoruyi, has spoken about his rise to stardom, which he said was a product of his focus and commitment to developing his talent without wavering.
An Afrobeat singer known popularly by his stage moniker, Eric King, which he said he derived from his name “Eric,” which means “King,” who hails from the popular Benin kingdom in Edo State, in the south-southern part of Nigeria, is also an entrepreneur, a feminist and a philanthropist when he’s not making music.
Childhood
Eric, born July 28, 1997, as the fourth of six children of Mr and Mrs Jonathan Omoruyi, his father, a successful architect in Benin City, said, music for him was innate, which he developed from his parents’ love for music he believed they transferred to him.
Growing up, Eric said he started singing at the young age of five, which necessitated his dad to encourage him to use his sonorous gift to serve in his church choir, where he learnt to play the piano, and honed his skills which transcended into his love to create beats.
Education
Eric attended OBen Primary School in Orhinmwo Local Government Area in Benin City and Computer Group of schools for his Secondary school.
After his Secondary School education, he dedicated most of his time to serving in his local church, he progressed to creating beats for the up-and-coming artistes in Benin City which made him quite popular and highly sought after by many.
Music Career
In 2015, Eric King took the bold step after much nudging from friends and other artists to start singing. His first ever single was titled “Woman” an ode to the African woman’s strength, resilience and beauty which he also produced.
It was much acclamation that the song received from the public, Eric said encouraged him to take his music career seriously.
The following year, he released “Reason” which became an instant hit, as he later went on to feature popular Benin artist “Wizzy Nero.”
In the same 2016 courtesy of how much his single “Reason” had grown, Eric King began performing at shows outside Benin City.
After successfully producing for top artists in his location and garnering a huge fan base, it became clear that it was time to move to the major entertainment scene of Africa to compete internationally and create songs the entire Africa and the world would come to love and vibe to, Eric said, that was another medication that made him rev up his game.
He took a brief interruption from singing to properly hone his talent and finally moved to Lagos in 2020, while the pandemic struck, but Eric King said that did not deter him as he continued to work tirelessly, he did a refix of his acclaimed single “Reason” and uploaded on all major music distribution channels which garnered over 170,000 plays from audio mack, and several plays on Boomplay and other music platforms as well.
Following the online growth of his song “Reason,” still in 2020, he released yet another single titled “Run Am” which he self-produced as well.
“Run Am” was a very spiritual song centred around the cries of the masses and the financial woes which a lot of people suffered in the country as a result of the pandemic, this also garnered massive online air plays as well.
In 2021, Eric King went back to the drawing board to rebrand, focusing squarely on his artiste side, bidding goodbye to music production while recording several singles.
Eric said he is set to release songs that he has recorded working with some great producers in Nigeria like Blaise Beatz popularly known as Obah, and Dalor Beat amongst others, these singles he said will be dropped in the last quarter of 2022, followed by his EP.
Personal Life
Eric King said when he is not in the studio singing sonorously and creating future hits, he is working on his other business as a logistics consultant, while he enjoys swimming, table tennis or taking walks. He is currently taking courses in technology and app development, a field he intends to explore soonest.