The situation of the country has made many talented Nigerian youths to create messages surrounding unity, peace and security through music, drama, paintings and other platforms. Fast-rising Nigerian gospel artiste, Michael Ola‘ Phemmy, christened ‘Man Of Peace‘ (MOP) has just released a single titled ‘National Tears‘, in this regard.
He is one of the few upcoming Nigerian music artistes who believe that words are more powerful than sounds. He is Michael Ola‘ Phemmy popularly called Man of Peace (MOP). This creative young man who hails from Ondo State of Nigeria and studied Statistics at the Abia State Polytechnic is multi-talented in the creative industry with skills in genres like singing, creative writing, acting, cinematography and directing. He is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria. MOP with his vast potential has decided to leave the secular and focus on touching lives through gospel music.
On his sojourn so far in exploring his potential in music, he emphasised that his inspiration has always been from God, reality and nature. According to him, “I started from the choir as an instrumentalist, but I started music professionally like a joke in 2008. I was editing a music video in a studio in Port Harcourt and I overheard a nice tune sounding from the audio studio, so I walked in, ‘freestyled‘ on the beat that the producer was making, everyone became excited, and got grooving. That was how I ended up using the beat for my first single titled Big Things‘. ‘Big Things‘ became a hit which took me to several gospel events, where I performed as guest artiste. After a while, I decided not to attend any programme with the song again because I wanted to trend like the secular artistes. Then I did a song in 2011 (unreleased). During the recording, the producer looked at me and said ‘no matter how you try to mingle, you are still a prophet‘. I smiled and waved it off. It was that period that I did a remix of the P‘Square song, ‘Chop my Money‘ ,which became a hit song.â€
Unlike the conventional styles of music, MOP has created a special genre which he called ‘Centmigos‘. He coined it from the words, ‘Centralized Motivational and Inspirational Gospel‘. The genre comprises motivational, inspirational and songs that are meant to effect a positive change in the society. “Before now, people believed that for a song to be gospel, you have to mention Jesus or God. But you can actually preach the gospel of Christ without mentioning Jesus or God, because “Gospel†means Good News†he emphasized.
When asked why he decided to leave the secular genre for gospel, he said, “I obeyed a divine instruction. It is almost a year after I did ‘Chop my money‘ that God told me to go into ministry and evangelize through musicâ€.
In assessing the Nigeria music industry, he concluded that the industry has been celebrating rhythm ahead of real message. “The music industry in Nigeria is a mere celebration of rhythms and sounds, corrupting and misleading young minds. They need Christ†he lamented.
‘National Tears‘, is his new single which has been released online and it is receiving great attention and downloads. The song addresses issues pertaining to national unity and peace. It is done in a reggae style with mature rendition. According to him, “‘National Tears‘ was like a prophecy. I wrote the song in 2011. It was as if I saw the future. The Idea behind it is the present rigor which Nigeria is battling with now. The message in it is based on the fact that we can only excel as a nation if and only if in unity we face our problems; over-looking our individual, tribal, ethnic, political, personal interests and differences. One of my lines in the song says ‘Shun tribalism, political games and face reality‘. If we trace it down the history lane, you will discover that we all are brothers and sisters†The song was produced by Moneezy. It appealed to a DJ in UK and the song is now on Channel Radio in UK.
In clear terms, he outlined his role models ranging from Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, My Mother, Pst. Donnie Mcclurkin, Don moen and Pst E.A Adeboye.
On releasing an album, Man of Peace is planning a launch later this year. “Album is a capital-intensive project, I‘m working towards releasing my debut album this year. Without sponsorship, it is really not easy as I foot the whole bills myself. But seriously, I‘m working on itâ€
If MOP is not seen in the studio singing, he is either acting, shooting or editing music videos, blogging, or doing caller tunes for artistes and corporate organizations.