One of the fastest rising musicians and songwriters in Nigeria, Austin Awele Okocha, popularly known as Austin Boss, has revealed the secret of his success on the music scene.
Austin Boss, who has an EP, Against All Odds, to his credit says he could only keep adrift of the rising waves on the music scene by not sticking to a particular genre of music because it would limit his talent.
Hear him : “It’s mixed , musically, I grew up listening to Afrobeats, Reggae and others like RnB but my kind of music is a combination of different genres. I started singing professionally in 2015. But I’ve always been around music growing up. I was highly influenced by the generic sound of my surroundings. My instrumentation and melodies are mostly drawn from and inspired by the kind of music I listened to while growing up. I have blended these sounds with contemporary African roots that dominate my music.”
“ I would say my genre of music is Afro-fusion if I’m allowed to have my way. It’s none like any other. I think I’ll leave the genre part for people to figure out. I don’t think I have a particular genre I’m into. I’d rather call it Afro-fusion because it’s just a blend of my African roots fused with whatever sound I decide is of interest but I have special love for dance-hall,” he added.
Austin Boss would tell anyone who cares to listen that the turning point in his music career was when he signed to Billionaire Mafia Records even though he had been making music long before the musical union with the label. But he recalls life wasn’t kosher as an independent artist as all the burden of making it as a musician rested on his shoulders alone.
“Life as an independent artist is quite difficult especially when it comes to making songs, shooting videos and promoting properly, knowing to get these done you’re going to need a lot of funds and a strong team but since my signing the burden is lesser on me and it gives me room for other ideas knowing I have a team working to make sure Austin Boss is out there and I’m super grateful for that,”
Austin Boss was part of a group known as SOD in Tbilisi Georgia as far back as 2015where he released some hit songs like a mixtape titled :Authority” and a song L.T.M.M (Listen To My Song). He relocated in 2018 to be part of the Nigerian success story in music.
According to him, he started music when he was just 11 in the school choir. By the age of 13 he had started going to the studio to try out his hands on various musical instruments and writing songs.
But professionally, music started for him in 2015. His first cameo was with a group known as SOD back in Tbilisi, Georgia. He relocated back to Nigeria in 2018 to identify with his roots and take his music to the next level.