Jesus Muhammad interviews Marince Omario
This guy’s name is making heavy waves on the underground and if that’s
something to go by, it means only one thing. Possessing an incredible knack for
storytelling and a sound heavy with infectious vibes, it’s not hard to see why
his name is on the lips of many people. And it’s not even just about the music.
Understanding the strength of numbers, he’s managed to bring his friends and
fellow creatives together as a crew as they set out to navigate the rocky paths
to the top of the game. Jesus Muhammad was honoured to be let into the
otherwise locked off Waves Bakery to have a sit down with the man on the rise,
Marince Omario, and also see what tasty sonic pastries he and his team are
about to serve the world.
Shlaim, today we’re in your yard. Thanks for allowing
us into the Waves Bakery.
Oh Mantsɛ. Yeah, this is
the yard. I’m really happy you’re here because this is my home and it’s where
my heart is. A lot of the magic you’ve heard happened here. You are welcome,
always. Not everyone likes to get close to us or even appreciates the kind of
stuff we do, so this is really an honour. You’re welcome, once again.
Thanks chale. So you’re an artist whose name is really making waves on the underground music scene…
Oh yeah? Haha…
Yeah forreal. Your name has popped up in a
number of conversations I’ve had with some folks. And it’s been nothing but
respect for you and the stuff you’re doing. I also read this article where
Ameyaw Debrah interviewed EL, and he also mentioned your name. If you ask me
what that means, it means you’re on the come up, a rising star.
Oh mantsɛ! Forreal?!
Hahaha… I don’t even know about any of these things you’ve mentioned. But it’s
honestly great to hear. That surely means I’m doing something right.
Yeah, I really believe you are. And that’s why
I’m here. So let’s dive straight into it. What’s your full name?
Prince Oblitey Omario Tetteh Jnr; that’s my
name. That’s what I write on the papers.
Ohok. So why or how the name Marince?
Marince is a fusion of two of my names; Omario
and Prince. The ‘ma’ from Omario and ‘rince’ from Prince. My dad is Muslim, so
I was named Prince Musa Omario Ibrahim at birth. I was named after him; so at
home, a lot of people call me ‘Junior’. He used to be a boxer, but is now a
king in Kwabenya. However, due to family issues, when I started school, I was
asked to use the name Prince Oblitey Tetteh instead. Oblitey Tetteh was my
maternal grandfather’s name, so I’m also his junior. Haha.
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
Oh, that’s actually Interesting. Haha. So when and where were you born?
I share the same birthdate with Bob Marley.
Haha. I was born on 6th February, 1995 in Odorkor Official Town. We
call it Off Town for short.
Haha… Nice. So is that where you grew up?
Yes, that’s where I was born and that’s where I
grew up. This is besides the question but the story of my family starts in Sakumotsoshishi,
an area in Jamestown, where my [maternal] grandparents hail from. My maternal
great grandmother, Aafio Kodee bought a house in Bubiashie and that’s where my
grandfather and my grandmother started life as a couple. That’s where my mum,
Naa Afie Oblitey Tetteh, was born. Later, my grandfather bought a piece of land
in Odorkor Official Town with plans to build a house but he passed away, so my
grandma built the house and moved there with her kids. The house is known as
Oblitey We. So yeah, Odorkor Off Town is where I was born, that’s where I was
raised, I did some schooling there, and that’s where my family currently
resides.
Ohok. Do you have any siblings tho?
Yeah, on my mother’s side, I’ve got a younger
brother called Nii Antiaye Dodoo. We don’t share the same father; his dad, is a
fisherman in Chorkor. But we’re really tight tho. On my father’s side tho, I
think I’ve got three (3) siblings. I’m telling you all this just so you have an
idea of my roots and also to give you a context for certain things I do or say.
I really appreciate that.
Yeah. So on my mum’s side, we’re two boys. On
my father’s side, I’m the first son, but the second child. I’ve got an older
sis. And it’s just a month’s difference between our birthdates.
How about your education? Where did you school?
For nursery and kindergarten, I attended a
school in Odorkor Official Town called Jack and Jill. Then from class one (1)
to JHS three (3), I attended North Darkuman Presby School, at Nyamekye. It was
a walking distance from home. There were kids from Odorkor Official Town, Kwashieman,
Darkuman, Lapaz, and Fadama. Then from 2012 to 2015, I attended St. Thomas
Aquinas Secondary School in Cantonments, where I was a business student. I then
proceeded to study psychology, information studies and adult education at the
University of Ghana, Legon. I majored in adult education and minored in
psychology.
Why that decision?
Well, I’ve realised that I’m naturally a
teacher. And I believe that the essence of attending uni is to go, now as an
adult, to confirm things you may have had a hunch about from your younger years.
So you need to be precise on what it is you’re in uni for. That’s why I went
for adult education. I also saw the need for psychology in life in general. And that’s why I chose those two.
I get you. That’s interesting.
After completion of my tertiary education, I
did my national service at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at
the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly, which is situated right behind Accra
Girls Secondary School.
Mmm… That’s really impressive Marince. In terms
of education, I think you’ve ticked off all the tasks from the to-do list. You
know, for parents with kids who want to pursue their artistic dreams so bad,
you could serve as a reference or inspiration that they could take their education
seriously and still pursue their artistic dreams. Honestly, well done.
Haha… Bless mantsɛ! Education is
really important to me. So I just did what I had to do.
So when did the music come in?
Music? It’s been in me since my childhood. I
grew up around music. I grew up in a very strict home; there were no walls and
there was no gate, but you wouldn’t dare try to go out. As soon as you tried
something, my grandma would immediately quiz ‘Where are you going?’…
Hahaha… You’re saying there was no wall and no
gate, but you still couldn’t go out and wouldn’t dare to go out?
Yeah chale. Hahaha. It was a very strict home. My
grandma was a disciplinarian to the core. So the disciplining wasn’t even done
with physical things. It was purely mental. Haha. The discipline was instilled
in you chale. Heavy morals. So I was forced to entertain myself with the things
I was surrounded by at home. The only time I could have any fun outside of that
was when I went to school. Also, when I entered my teens, I decided to push the
buttons and check the outcome. I’d go out and come home hoping that I wouldn’t
receive a beating…
I guess we all tried that. Hahaha
Hahaha. Yeah, we all chale! Back to the
question about how I got into music; first of all, I belonged to the choir at
church. And that’s where I started singing or doing anything musical. But
that’s really not what got me into pursuing a music career. I had three uncles at
home; or lemme say two, because one of them spent most of his life in Adabraka.
So all what I knew about him was largely based on hearsay and the little I saw
whenever he came home. When I’d reached the point where I was beginning to
become cognisant of things, these were the people who were influencing me. One
of them was heavily into Reggae, Hiplife, and Highlife. So I got those from
him. My other uncle was really ‘yo-yo’; big on Hip-Hop. He was the one who
introduced me to the likes of 50 Cent and Ja Rule. All in all, through these
uncles, I was introduced to the works of people like Bob Marley, Tinny, Tuface
Idibia, Reggie Rockstone, Adane Best, and Shaggy. And it was by hearing these
guys that I began to feel that I could also do music. I used to string words
together in a bid to mimic Tinny. There also used to be a rapper in our hood
called Dem Tins. Anyone [from my age group] who grew up in Off Town knows of
Dem Tins; he’s a hood legend. He made us see what we heard on radio or saw on
telly in real life. And that also contributed to the self-belief that I could
also do it. I remember tho, when I was in class three (3), I had this flow
where I was rhyming things like pawpaw and door, with the name of my cousin
Anorkor. Haha. Hearing guys like Yaa Pono and Sarkodie on Dr. Duncan’s Kasahare
Level also inspired me. Also, at school, friends used to bring mp3 players and
we’d listen to guys like Yaa Pono, Castro, Chymny Crane and Sarkodie. The
eureka moment for me tho was hearing the Sarkodie and Mugeez song ‘Goodbye’. That
song taught me a thing or two about how to structure a song, and made me
realise I could pursue music and blow. So I moved from rapping just for my
friends in school to rapping for the guys in the hood. I went seeking the guys in
the hood whom I knew were in the music biz; that’s where I learnt that there’s
a big difference between rapping for your friends and rapping for strangers. I
eventually registered to participate in Talented Kidz with the help of one of
these guys. My school teachers, learning later that I could rap, pushed me to
join the school choir because they believed I was a good boy and a smart
student. To them, the choir was the perfect place for me to utilize my musical
ability, instead of rapping. I sang tenor there, and it also helped shape my
music. Funny enough, I still don’t know what G or F is. I finesse my way
through. Haha. Lemme say this tho: In the school choir, there were many of us
and the whole choir thing wasn’t that serious so you could sing off-key and
still get away with it. Haha. In the church tho, it was different. It was
intense. I was really scared of the choir director yelling at me for singing
the wrong note during rehearsals so I always made sure I wasn’t making
mistakes. It’s by no mistake that the best singers in the world are usually
from the church.
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
Yeah, I hear that a lot and I think there’s
some truth to it. Your story tho… The story about how you got into music is an
interesting one. So you said the Sarkodie and Mugeez song gave you an idea
about how to structure songs? When did you start putting this knowledge to use?
When did you start recording?
A freestyle rap show used to take place every
Friday evening at this joint called Washington, located at Nyamekye. A
lot of the guys from the areas around Nyamekye used to converge there on such
nights, and that’s where the streets got to know of anyone from around who was
a rapper. That’s where you earned your street cred. At a point, on my way home
from choir rehearsals at Bubiashie on Fridays, I started dropping off at the
Washington junction to go check out the freestyle show and also to measure my
skills to see if I was ready to take that stage. One Friday night, I decided to
go do my thing and I was happy with the response I received. This was all before
I completed JHS.
At this point, your folks at home had no idea
this was what you were up to?
Naaah. Hahaha. My mum found out about it only after
this photographer who also sold shoes in the hood came to our school one ‘Our Day’
to take photos and saw me rapping. This was when Bradez had dropped their hit
‘Simple’ and everyone was jumping on the instru. Opanka’s was the most popular
one, I think. Yeah, so I rapped over that instru that day and killed it. This
was the performance which helped me kill my anxiety and all the other worries
about my rapping ability; it was when I received confirmation that my skills
were tight. This photographer came home one day and happily told my mum how
good of a rapper I was. I don’t think he had any ill-intentions. My mum, as
expected, wasn’t enthused about it at all tho.
Haha. Mum’s reaction, just as expected. Yeah,
so you were telling us about how you started recording.
After I left JHS, I began yearning to hear my
voice on a song. So a friend of mine called BK, who lived at Nyamekye, linked
me to an older guy in his hood called Singapore who invited me to come over. At
this point, I’d already performed at the freestyle show at Washington and this
made my friend’s confidence in me shoot up several notches, so much so that he
was bragging about me around his hood. His hood is where I went to buy firewood
for my mum; she was a kenkey seller. So I planned with BK, and on one of those
trips to go buy firewood for her, I parked my truck in his house, and he took
me to meet these older guys he’d bragged about me to. I used a lot of the
tricks I’d learnt from watching Yaa Pono’s rap freestyle videos on YouTube and
rehearsing in the mirror. At the time, Sarkodie had popularized the
tongue-twisting style, but I had a stammer so it was difficult for me to go
that way. But I fucked heavy with Pono because he slowed it all down, and that
worked perfectly for me. When I was asked to flow, I freestyled with the
registration numbers of cars around and stuff like that. The older guys loved
my energy and one of them called YB, really liked me so he decided to help. He connected
me to another OG called Kweku Billz who after working in music production for
years with some other guys, was just starting his own studio. And that is where
I got my first ever recording experience. I recorded over Asem’s ‘Last Song’
instru. That was 2012, when I had completed JHS. So before I even entered
secondary school, I’d experienced the recording process.
Nice! So you rapped in Aquinas?
Oh yeah. Hahaha.
What was it like?
First of all, I wasn’t even supposed to rap in
Aquinas. Before I went to school, my mum advised me stupid. Like haaard!
Hahaha. She spent hours and hours talking to me about not forgetting where I
was from and concentrating on my studies. Thing is, initially, it wasn’t even
Aquinas I’d wanted to attend. There was this guy in my hood who made Ofori
Panyin look so cool to me so that’s where I’d decided that I wanted to go. But
I got into a fight at school with my friend who’d linked me to Singapore. And
that’s what messed things up. My mum was called to the school and was advised
against allowing me to attend a boarding school; this was just before we had to
choose our secondary schools. So going to Aquinas was actually a punishment for
my misbehaviour. Hahaha. However, the first day at school, after all that
advise, hahaha… I ended up rapping because the seniors had asked all form ones
who knew how to rap or dance to come forward and show their skills; they
threatened that any junior who refused to step forward that day would be
severely punished if they were ever seen performing any day after that. But
that wasn’t even what got me to step forward. It was this guy who’d said he
could rap, only to end up performing a verse from a not-so-known Sarkodie song
as his to overwhelming applause. Back then, I listened to Sarkodie heavy so I
got really infuriated when I realised what he was up to. I couldn’t control
myself. That’s when I stepped up and did my thing. I dunno if it was my ego,
but I had to do it. Safe to say I killed it. Following that, Aquinas was mine
for the taking. I even made this song that later became an anthem the students
used to sing.
Haha… That’s interesting. So by this time, your
mum had come to know that you were rapping in school?
Yeah, she’d come to know. And she still wasn’t
in support of it. One vacation tho, I participated in a rap battle during
Sprite Ball at the Aviation Social Centre and won. I was awarded a cash prize
and some products from the sponsors. When I got home and explained how I ended
up with them, she was so elated. That’s when she started to ease up. There were
two editions of Sprite Ball that year; I’ve forgotten what the difference was,
but one was held at the Aviation Social Centre and the other at the El-Wak
Stadium. I participated and won in both competitions. I need to big up my
friend Dougie tho because if it wasn’t for him, all that wouldn’t have been
possible. You know what? When we arrived at Aviation [Social Centre], we
realized that my money wasn’t enough to afford us entry into the venue. So my
friend Dougie, who believed in my ability so much, paid for me to gain entry
while he stayed outside, just so I could go participate in the rap competition.
And the rest is history. Hahaha.
Whoa! That’s epic chale! Big up Dougie! So how
did you get on with the music after the success at Sprite Ball?
So like I said, I wasn’t supposed to be rapping
or doing anything in music. My studies were to be paramount. But you know how
it is. When there’s the spirit of music in you, no matter how hard you try to
hide it, it finds its own way of escaping and if you’re not careful, you’ll
find yourself doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Hahaha. In 2017, as a
freshman in Legon, I attended Chale Wote with some friends and while walking
through the crowd checking out the stuff on display we chanced upon the Yoyo
Tinz shrine. Chale, we were in total awe of the whole open mic session set up. Vim
Tinz was on the decks and Moshood was the MC. It was so enticing that I decided
to go write my name down just so I could spit. And that’s how Vim Tinz came to
know of me. Apparently, he got my number from Twitter. He called me and
expressed a sincere interest in working with me. Chale, you have no idea how
elated I felt to have someone like him call me to ask if we could work. Later,
he invited me over, introduced me to NiiMo who was his manager, told me what they
could do to help and put me in NiiMo’s hands. NiiMo really put me on game, and
helped me with a whole lot of other stuff. He was also the one who convinced us
to change the group’s name to ASquad, and made Thomas Rockson create all the
rebranding designs for us.
Tell me about ASquad. Are you all Aquinas boys?
Naah, not all of us attended Aquinas. It’s just
Badax, LastBorn, Wanzam the Classic DJ, and Squs; the guy whom I said rapped
Sark’s song, and me from Aquinas. But Squs is no longer part of the squad. The
ART, Flowerboy YIGA, and Larry Manuel attended Apam Secondary School. The other
guys went to different schools. Initially, it was just me, Badax and Squs in ASquad.
Back then, the name wasn’t even ASquad, it was ASquared; a name given to me by my
school father because of something I did. Haha. An assistant school prefect
who’d always acted like he was down with me seized my phone, and it really hurt
me. I’m a really emotional guy chale. So right after school that day, I went to
Kweku Billz’s studio and recorded a diss song called ‘Bisford’ targeted at the
assistant school p. I sent it to all my
guys on WhatsApp that evening and by the next day, the song was trending all
over the school. No hype chale, I was so famous in school that any track I
dropped easily spread. I still struggle to comprehend how well I handled all
that fame. Well, because of what I did, my school father started calling me Asuɔden Aboɔden which translates literally as
expensive stubbornness, which he shortened to ASquared. Funny enough, there was
something about the name which resonated so much with me that I decided to go
with it. I felt it was a super cool umbrella name for a movement of creatives. This
was in 2014 I think, and I was in form two (2). So it was just me and Squs in
the beginning. Some other guys just used to support me by playing beats on
classroom desks for me to rap and Badax was one of them. He spoke to me about his
desire to start spoken word poetry; he was really into Mutombo da Poet, and I
urged him. Last Born loved my music a lot and he was also heavily into Yung
Pabi; Yung Pabi was our senior [in Aquinas] and Last Born could rap any of his
songs from A to Z. He possessed that hypeman talent so I asked him to start
backing me on stage. So I designed an ASquared logo, we printed some tees and
started wearing them for our performances. That was when I convinced Last Born
to rap because I believed he had the skill; we’d even gone to Temasco for a
performance and it was just me and him on stage. Back then, he was known as Y
Sticky. Last Born was the connection to The ART; they’d been classmates in JHS.
So whenever we went on vacation, Last Born would share my songs with his
friends, and that was how The ART heard of me and we connected. He was also in
a four-man group called Dah Deal in Apam Secondary School. Prior to all of
this, I’d formed a group with a friend in hood called Stinchy. The group’s name
was UMG, which stood for Underground Music Group. But the name didn’t sit well
with me so I didn’t really pursue that project. However, I’m someone who
because of the way I was raised has always believed in groups, togetherness and
unity. And that was the idea I carried into the creation of the movement where
we could all call home despite our different skills. Squs and I had planned to
drop a song Kuami Eugene had produced on my birthday and we decided to make it
a party instead. So there’s this house in the hood where we held the event, and
that’s where we even held the party for the drop of the ASquared album Wake Keeping. We created a WhatsApp
group and added friends, and that’s how we spread word about our upcoming drops
and events such as the popular Gbonyo Party series. You can see that we started
carving a niche for ourselves long ago. At that point, I’d started believing in
the weight of my fame and influence, so I told the guys; and by the guys I mean
the Apam boys, the Aquinas boys and my hood boys, that if we could all come
together under one umbrella and share our works, the benefits and impact would
be tenfold. I called The ART specifically to discuss the merger and the
benefits with him so he could also convince his guys. Not everyone was down for
it but The ART was. This was way before I’d had learned of Dreamville and how
it’s home to guys like Bas, Ari Lennox, Cozz and EarthGang.
So are you an independent artist?
Yes, I am now. But I was once signed to a label.
That was back in 2016, after I had left Aquinas. I was signed to King Records
as Lil’ Marince; a name I took as a result of being heavily inspired by Lil’
Wayne at the time. The record label was started by an older brother of one of
my mates in Aquinas. The guy lived outside, but was in town on holidays and
heard his younger brother playing my song ‘The Streets’. After asking whose
song it was and his brother telling him about me, he expressed interest in
signing me because starting a label was already in his plans. Some calls were
made and a studio was built purposefully for my use. However, things didn’t
work out as I’d expected so business with King Records was short-lived. But
like I said, I’m indie now and I’m loving it.
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
Great. Let’s talk about your projects. Kindly
walk me through.
So, after 2017’s Wake Keeping with the [A]Squad, I decided to drop Oblitey in 2020 to show people the
different sides of me and make them see what I am capable of. Prior to that,
I’d also worked with Joker [Nharnah] on Mailbox;
I was the executive producer. During the time I was waiting for the King
Records contract to end, I wasn’t recording any solo stuff but I learnt there
was a loophole; I could work with ASquad. So I decided to use that time to find
myself. We did a lot of experimentation and I also tested my writing ability. I
even realized that I had songwriting skills; as in, I could write songs for
people to perform. On Mailbox for
instance, I wrote some of the hooks and played a major directing role. With The
ART, I collaborated on Press Kit; an EP where we focused on vocal
experimentation. We recorded that in two (2) days, then sent the stuff to Joker
for mixing and mastering. The whole process, from recording to mastering, took
one (1) week. However, we only dropped the tape on Audiomack and Soundcloud due
to technical reasons. If we’re talking solo projects tho, I’ve got four (4)
projects. Oblitey, Tsotsoo, Freaky Friday, and Ju Leebi.
Ju Leebi is my latest project; I
dropped it on 7th March this year.
You’ve really put in work chale. It’s amazing
to know. So which of these projects would you say is your favourite?
Honestly, this may come across as a cliché response but I wouldn’t say I have a favourite amongst
them. I love all of them because they all stand out for various reasons. I
consider Oblitey as the connection
between me and my grandfather. I was told that he was a soldier during [Kwame]
Nkrumah’s regime; a trumpeter in the military band. Earlier, I mentioned that I
was named after him so I addressed issues which both of us may have had in
common as young men in Accra; the livity, the struggles. I also spoke about the
struggle I encountered to accept who I am; I was named Oblitey after him and
even tho that should have typically been a good thing, people used to make fun
of me because of the name. Oblitey means uninvited guest or gatecrasher. Eventually,
I stopped writing it in school and only wrote Prince Tetteh because I couldn’t stand
to be ridiculed anymore. I’d had enough. However, once my grandma and mum told
me more about my grandpa and explained the significance of the name to me,
self-acceptance followed. I had nothing but pride for bearing that name. Before
even releasing the project, I did some digging to find out more about myself
and my family. By then, my grandma had passed away so I went to see a close
friend of hers, and some other elders. I felt it necessary. This gave me better
insight and I decided to redefine what Oblitey means. To me, Oblitey means
soldier, warrior; I realized that to be able to survive in Accra as a young
man, one needs to be a warrior. So that’s a bit of context regarding Oblitey, and that’s why I cannot compare
it to Tsotsoo. Tsotsoo was a tribute to my maternal grandma and her influence on
my life. I never got the chance to meet Oblitey because he’d transitioned
before I made it here, but she was the one who told me about him, she
celebrated him chale. She was an uncompromising disciplinarian, and with the
help of my uncle and my mum, she molded me into an upright guy. You wouldn’t
dare mess around when she was around. She’d make me read the Ga bible to her,
hurl certain Ga insults at me which it took me growing up to appreciate. Haha.
She always used to say “solo shia jwɛmɔ ni solo sukuu
jwɛmɔ”, meaning there’s a big difference between knowledge gained at school
and knowledge imparted at home. Chale, at school, my teachers would treat me as
this smart kid but at home, my grandma would make me feel really stupid. There’s
this thing she used to do where she’d send me to go pick something up from her
room while being fully aware that whatever it was she sent me to pick up wasn’t
there. Whenever I’d return to tell her I didn’t find whatever it was she asked
me to pick up, she’ll dress me down with a barrage of insults. Hahaha. She’d
tell me to use my mind and I never got it, till I grew up to realise that she’d
been teaching me to finesse my way out of situations. Hahaha. But because of
her disciplinarian nature, I always had this fear of her. That lady really
taught me a lot of stuff, so I felt that it was only right that I let the world
know about her. For example, she was the first person I saw pouring libation. So
for the album, I made the decision to start it with a pouring of libation in
her memory. I wanted it to sound as authentic as possible but I didn’t know
exactly how to go about it, especially in terms of the wording. So I reached
out to some elders who taught me. What you hear on the album is the result of
days of research and rehearsals. Haha. Revy also complimented the vocals with
his amazing production. My most recent project Ju Leebi, which dropped on Monday 7th March because I’m
a Monday-born, is basically a call for a halt of our current situation and the
commencement of a much needed revolution on a Monday morning; Ju Leebi means
Monday morning in Ga, so it’s the beginning of another week for us to get
things right. I believe this is the time for our leaders to do what must be
done for Ghanaians; we the everyday people also have an important role to play.
It’s long overdue and we’ve been taken for a ride for way too long. On Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, we go to Republic or The Woods for a great time, then on
Monday, we tweet “Chale, I for lef this
country.” Also, my Ga people need to address the issues which we are facing
and be real with ourselves. That’s the only way for us to make any meaningful
progress. Then I also address my life as an adult; I’m my own man now and I no
longer have to make certain compromises which I had to make because I was a
child. I know what I want and I’m in control of my affairs. In the same vein,
I’m asking the youth to also take control of their lives. Do what need be done.
Thanks for the insight. I love the concepts
behind your albums. Do you have any name for your sound?
Yeah, it’s called Fu, pronounced just as the
first syllable of the word ‘fusion’. And it’s not just a sound, it goes beyond
that. You’ll see it in our fashion style, we’ve got our own slang, it’s our way
of life. It’s basically about striking a fine balance while putting several
things which interest you together. In the beginning, people used to call our
sound Alté, but that’s not us. Alté was just too much of a box for us. Before agreeing on that name tho, we
did some researching. I went to see the legend, Panji [Anoff], to tap into his
knowledge, and he also took me to Teshie to see the founder of Kusun Ensemble,
Nii Tettey Tetteh. So their worthy input was factored into the decision-making
process for naming our sound.
Who would you say are your musical influences?
I’ve been influenced heavily by a lot of
people. But to narrow it down, I’ll mention a few. Bob Marley. Fela Kuti. Wulomɛi, Adane Best. There’s also Vybz Kartel and Yaa Pono. I was influenced
by a number of the francophone guys as well, and it took growing up for me to
realise this. Guys such as Magic System and Freddie Meiway. The bardman, Tinny.
Darko Vibes too; in my eyes, he serves as the bridge between now and the Adane Best
era. Mugeez certainly. And how can I not mention Obrafour?! Haha.
Ok. Nice mix there. And who are some of the
people you work with?
For my productions, it’s spread between Kuvie,
Joker, Koke, MJ, Kwelit, Flower Papi, and Spc.Ghst. Kobby Hype, with Lukas,
usually handles the recording, mixing, and mastering of my stuff. They’re the
guys behind Waves Bakery. Kuvie also does mixing and mastering for me
sometimes. When it comes to photography, I work with Ofoe Amegavie, The Imagist,
NiiMo, The Clicks, and Tuzee. Protoje Visual has been the director behind most
of my videos, but I’m looking forward to working with more guys.
Nice. How about collaborations? Who are some of those you’ve collaborated with?
Errmmm… There’s a number of them. My guy The
ART. Spc.Ghst too; I’m on a Spc.Ghst song with Wanlov called ‘Non3’. I also
featured $pacely on ‘Yehushalem’. That’s a few
of them. ASquad is the home team so a lot of my songs feature my bros from the
Squad. However, I’m looking forward to working with Adane Best and Amakye Dede.
It would be an utmost honour to have songs with these legends who have really
sonically impacted my being. Tinny too!
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
What do you consider your biggest success since getting into music?
Hahaha… That’s a tough one. But let’s say errr…
realizing that I’m still here and green still surprises me. So yeah, I’ll say
my longevity is what I’d call my biggest success. The name Marince is still on
the scene, and we’re just getting started. The dream is to remain evergreen and
to be here as long as possible.
How about failures?
I wouldn’t necessarily call any of those
disappointing moments failures. The thing is, they’re just things which haven’t
yet happened and I don’t think I need to stress over them. They’re more like
‘could haves’ which I still have the chance to correct.
That’s a nice response. Haha… Do you think
radio shows you love?
Oh yeah! Radio shows me love. Or lemme say some
radio. Hahaha
Hahaha… Some radio?
Yeah, some radio.
Haha… Like who?
Shout outs to Guide Radio. Guide Radio yeah,
the whole house shows me crazy love. Shout outs YFM too. With YFM, aside the
whole house showing me love, there’s some key people as well. Amazing people
like DJ Kess, Akosua Hanson, Raven, Mz Orstin, Dorothy, Kojo Manuel, Cornelius,
and Mission, who’s no longer with YFM. I really appreciate the love these guys have
shown me over the years. DJ Sleek at Pluzz FM is another shlaim. Big up Sabog
too, he’s with YFM Kumasi. So you asked of radio, but lemme add Olele Salvador
from Citi TV. He’s also held me down. DGN and Mx24 are two other television
stations who have showed me love.
What’s your YouTube looking like? Are you happy
with your YouTube numbers?
I’d say what you see on my YouTube, in terms of
views and likes, is reflective of the push or effort I’ve made in promoting my
music on there. About being happy, yes I certainly am, because I know what I’ve
had to do to end up with those numbers. Should I push more, the numbers will be
more. Haha
How about interviews? Do you get invited for
interviews?
Yeah, I’ve done some interviews as well. I was
on the Y Lounge with DJ Kess and Akosua Hanson. I was also on Kula’s show,
Lyricist Lounge. Cornelius, Konkonsa Kester and Mz Orstin hosted me on The
Weekend Rush on YFM. Mz Orstin actually first heard of me at $pacely’s MerchMania 2K20, and months later posted stuff online
indicating that she was looking for me. That’s how we connected. Since then,
she’s ensured that my songs are played on all her shows. She was also the one
who linked me to DJ Sleek at Pluzz FM. So to Mz Orstin, nuff love! Kojo Manuel
interviewed me on the Y Dryve. Moor Sound hosted me on his show, Sundown, on
Guide Radio. Shaggy and Eff [the DJ] have also hosted me on their show on Guide
Radio. Come to think of it, I’ve been on Sundown twice; once with Moor Sound
and DJ Perbi, and the other with Moor Sound and Big K DJ.
Did you enjoy doing these interviews?
Yeah, for the most part. I enjoyed all the
interviews on Guide Radio. But for a few of the YFM interviews, I feel the
hosts didn’t really know much about me for us to have in-depth conversations.
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
How about industry drama? Anything of the sort?
Oh yeah, it’s something I’ve dealt with a lot
from the jump. The politics! Quite recently even, I got pissed off and made a
few tweets speaking my mind. In the beginning, I had no idea a lot of this stuff
was all politics. It took me growing up to see it for what it was. It’s one of
the things I’m fighting against in my adulthood.
Which musicians are you currently feeling?
Wulomɛi, Daddy Lumba and R2Bees. That’s
it. I’m taking their sounds in and learning.
Let’s talk about fashion. What’s your style? Is
it also a result of Fu?
Yeah, mos def! Growing up, I had my uncles and
they all had different styles so I picked something from each of them. Recently,
I met this guy who told me what he remembers me for is how I used to sag my
school shorts; this guy was my junior and we didn’t even attend the same
school. Haha. As soon as he said it, I laughed hard and tried remembering which
uncle’s influence that may have been. I had another uncle who was really into
Pan-Africanism; because of him, I developed a love for batakari. Then there’s
also my tastes. So there’s all these influences, and I’ve got to fuse them into
one, which is my style. And that’s Fu. At a point, I realized I had an affinity
for ladies clothing. My whole life, it was my mum I grew up with, so I looked
up to my uncles and some male musicians as my father figures. When I was old
enough to iron clothes, whenever there was a function, I’d be the one to do the
ironing. And as I used to iron kaba, slits, skirts and other women’s clothes, I
developed a love for them. But I used to stress out about the tendency for
people to call me gay. Shout outs to Ofoe [Amegavie]; he was the one who
encouraged me to tap into that aspect freely. What happened was I brought some
women’s clothes from home to a shoot one day and was doubtful so I put them
aside. He noticed it and asked me why. After explaining to him, he gave me a
talk and even gave me a pair of swimming goggles to add to the outfit. When the
picture was released, I saw how excited it made people. People really fucked
with it. That’s when I learnt how fashion allows for expression of thoughts and
gives off energy. There were people who came to feel my soft side because of
that. That experience even inspired a song on Oblitey called ‘Just Because I Am a Boy’.
Oh interesting! Are there any brands you’re
feeling?
I wouldn’t mention any brand name till a brand
reaches out to me for us to work. What I’d say tho is I’m more into creative
designs; brands are just a tag. And this one of the ways by which you can begin
to free yourself mentally. And I’ve also realized that rival brands may provide
particular things which I like and I wouldn’t mind wearing them together. To
not get caught up in their cross fire, I wear whatever it is I want. I even
apply this mindset to bottled water. I don’t care about the label, once the
water is of good quality. I don’t want anyone to go buy any brand of water
because they saw Marince Omario drinking it. If the brand wants us to work,
they can link me.
Hahaha… I feel you. Let’s play a game then.
Just choose your preference between two options. Cool?
Yeah, let’s do it.
Ayy. Let’s go! Waakye or Jollof?
Waakye straight up!
Netflix and Chill or Go Dancing?
Netflix and Chill. At this point in my life,
going dancing isn’t a thing.
Whooa! Buttoned shirt because I can show you my
body while having something on. Haha.
Haha. Ok. Hip-Hop or R&B?
Hahaha… This is tough. What a question! Ok,
I’ll go for Hip-Hop. With Hip-Hop I can express myself better.
Photo by Jesus Muhammad ©2022
Read a Book or Watch a Documentary?
Watch a documentary.
Ok. Drink and Drive or Smoke and Fly?
Hahaha… Smoke and Fly.
Hahaha. Pop Corn or Plantain Chips?
I’ll go for plantain chips.
Shorts or Trousers?
Trousers.
Beach Front or Lake Front?
Beach Front.
Android or iOS?
iOS chale. Haha. As an artist, you need to use
iOS. Android will stress you out. Security and other features are better on
iOS.
Ohok. Haha. Music Video or Audio?
Audio.
All Black or All White?
All Black.
Nice. Have you got any upcoming projects?
I’ve got an album in the works; it’s called Money. With that project, I’m looking to
dissect what currency, artifacts, wealth, and jewellery stand for and what they
mean to us in life.
That’s a great idea. Can’t wait to hear it. Big up yourself Marince, and thanks for allowing me into the Waves Bakery. I’m truly grateful. Congrats on all your achievements and good luck with all your endeavours chale.
Bless up Shlaim. You too, thanks for passing
thru. I really enjoyed doing this. You made my day.
Comments
Post a Comment