NNENNAYA KELLY

Aobola Val (@omobolanleadigun ) had an interesting conversation with the fast rising American Born –Nigerian -UK based singer Nnennaya Kelly Nnennaya discussed her career, family, her superstar son Sammy Smack who is also a singer and instrumentalist and her latest hit project featuring the superstar kid saxophonist; TemilayoAbodunrin.

WhoisNnennaOkoturo?

NnennaOkoturoismylegalnameincludingmyhusband's name.WhileNnennayaisthefullnamewhichmeans'Iam themotherofmyfather.'Mostpeopledropthe'Ya'behind thename'Nnenna'whichistheshortform. Iwasbornand raisedintheUSAanddidmyteenageyearsinhighschool inNigeria. WecurrentlyliveintheUK.

There are many sides to you as you are a corporate entrepreneur,anentertainerandafamilyperson.What isyoureducationalbackground?

As mentioned above, I was born in the USA in Lincoln NebraskaanddidmostofmyPrimaryschooleducationin the USA. My parents decided to return to the motherland Nigeria and so I attended my primary 6 and all my high school in Nigeria. I returned to the United States where I attended a Montgomery College & Catholic University and bagged my Bachelor's degree By the way, I studied MusicfortwoyearsatuniversitywhereIstudiedoperaand sang mezzo soprano, singing in European languages. It was during this period that I suffered stage fright due to criticisms of my European intonations. So I changed my course to Human Resources and Management. Following my BA, I went on to obtain an MSc at London School of EconomicsinEngland IobtainedanMScinInformation Systems Development. Since then, I've been working in HR/Payroll Information Systems arena. I've worked with major banks and brandslike; Citi Bank, Bank of America, Accentureandahostofothers.Now,Iamanindependent ConsultantasIconsultforseveralbluechiporganizations.

You are an Academic because you studied technical courses like; Information Systems Development, HumanResourcesandsoon.AndI'msureyouexcelled at all. How were you able to merge music with all of these?

Through my corporate life I managed to continually involvemyselfinmusicevents.Ijoinedmychurchchoirin London, and I continue to take lessons with my vocal coach.Mylifeisbusywithjugglingfamilyandwork,sofor yearsI put full-time music on hold. After the birth of my second child and with the 100% support of my entire family I decided to deep dive into this rebirth venture of music. SinceIdecidedtodothisIhavemadeaconsciouseffortto makingitwork. Ijuggleitall!

Whatinspiredyourloveformusic?

My grandfather and dad are musicians. We grew up in Michiganandwewerealsopartofthecathedralchoir My older brothers were young choir boys’ solo singers and classical pianists. The Cathedral choir master / organist kept telling my parent that I've got a beautiful soprano operatic voice and encouraged them to put me in the spotlight. I personally notice my beautiful voice when I had a strange encounter at my primary school in Michigan, Detroit. This was an international school, however, there was a thing in the US about Africans and blackAmericansthatjustdidnotsitrightatthetimeandas young as I was (7 years old) I felt it. On one occasion, we were called to audition for a song 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' which is a song I released last 2021 with my son,IattendedtheauditionandasIsangwithmybeautiful softandin-tunedvoice,andmyprimaryschoolteacheron hearing me, said 'wow!' I knew at that point I had a very soothing beautiful voice However, she decided to ignore me and I feel it's because I was African, she was black American. The teacher made comments in class that I'm African so I wasn't picked. I told my parent and they told menottogetbothered,thatIwillhaveotheropportunities, but this incident formed part of that rejection feeling that only developed further during my university days and I changed my course from music to HR as describe previously.Butwithallthat,IkeptsingingasoftenasIcan andnow,I'mbackwithfullforce.

Despite your love for music, you had to put it on hold for a while because of family, rejection from the past, stagefrightandotherimportantthings.Didn'tyoufear thatyoumightendupabandoningyourdreamsorwhat gave you that conviction that you were going to come backintomusic?

In life if you've got determination, you'll always continue whatyoustarted.Withmusic,it'salwaysbeenthere.When I started music as a young lady, my dad was really supportive and actually disappointed that I didn't get a degree in Music. When I transferred my credits back in college and started the Human Resources studies, they took all my music credits and when I asked why all my creditsweretaken,theysaidtheywerehopingthatIwould consider minor in Music. At that point, I should have embracedtheMusicdegreebutIwasenjoyingtheHuman resource studies too I appreciate Catholic University of America for encouraging me and this is part of why I am backtotakemymusiccareerbystorm.

Talking about family, you had a few challenges before giving birth to your kids. Considering your loveforchildren.Forinstance,you established a charity organization to build a children's hospital in Africa.Howwasthisphaseforyou andhowdidyoudealwithit?

I am married to my husband of 24 years and counting. When we got married, we wanted children immediately,butitdidn'thappenas my first child came after 8 years while my second child came 11 years after. So they have 11 years gap. I got inspired to start this charity during an incident at my son's school, the whole class was sick; throwing up and having fever

At the time my son was sick as well, so we went to the doctors, they refusedtogiveusantibioticsasthey insisted that it was a virus and the body should be able to fight it off They advised that all we could do wasjustgivethempainrelieftokeep the temperature down, Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Low and behold! What the doctor said happened! Mysonandallhisclassgotbetterin about 5 -7 days with no prescribed drugs! Knowledge is key for every parent! Just having gone through this ordeal, I went into a big store called Costco and I gathered all the paracetamolandIbuprofenontheir shelveandsentittomyparentinthe village in Nigeria to give all young mothers so they have pain relief in their homes for anytime their child runs temperature they have medicationtokeepthetemperature down.Uponthisact,mydadoffered to give his 16 bedroom home and acres of land to build a children's hospital. So since then I set up a charityinNigeriaandintheUSand hope that one day I can make this dreamcometrue!

What's your husband's opinion about you being into music and entertainment?

He's always known from the beginning that I love music. He is very supportive In my first video, hefeatureddancinginthevideo.I'm blessed because it's a gift to have a partner who isn't threatened by your dreams because I've always been a high flier andhe'salso doing great. He always says “I'm her manager. Only that they fire me todayandhiremeagaintomorrow” (Laughs). But now I have a great manager so my husband is relieved thatitisallcomingtogether.

How has the acceptance of your 3 singles; My funny Valentine, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and recently launch in April 2023 single-NoWoribeen?

They are doing well on Spotify and other digital platforms. I see the huge number of downloads. For instance, 'My Funny Valentine' has about fifty-six thousanddownloads and thousands of streams on 'No Wori' and our Christmas song. On my YouTube channel, I have 25003000 subscribers and I'm still an amateurintermsofpeopleknowing me but it is growing fast. All very exciting!Mymaingoalistoraise and donate a percentage of my music profit to my charity (Venerable Sydney Children's Wellness Center'). I am bless with working with Landmark Beach executives who allow the use of the beach for free for two of my upcomingsongs.Thesong'Youand you' was co-produced by Burna Boy's drummer and features Temilayo Abodunrin and other Song called 'Oh Ya Ya'. 1'm blessed to be around a lot of talents and associatedwithpeopleofvalourlike Mr Paul Onwuanibe CEO of Landmark and Mr.Onwu a Senior DirectorofLandmarkBeach.

Howdidyoursonbecomeapartof your music career, was he groomed or did it happen naturally?

It happened naturally. He's such a lovely lad because most people won't sing with their mothers. He likesmusicandhe'samusicscholar. He plays the tuba and sax and once he puts his mind to it, he'll do it. He listensandhe'swellbehaved.People say he's almost an exact of me He's neverembarrassedtodomusicwith me. Watch this space Sammmy Smack (his stage name) is releasing his first single debut by the middle of 2023!

What was your husband's reaction to yourson'sparticipationinmusic?

My husband is very supportive He believesin'whatyouwanttodo,doit well.' When my son started playing the tuba and started getting merits andevenascholarship,infacthegota discount of school fees, no parent won't be proud of such child When I'mawayfromhome,hevolunteersto remind our son to practice and he evensendsmevideos.Heisamazing!

DoyouperformatshowsintheUK?

I always tell everyone, I just want to produce music and sell I'm not so keenofliveperformances.IthinkI'm already overwhelmed with my daily work but then again maybe I'm still a bitaffectedbystagefright.However,I amgettingoverthat! Iperformedmy firstlivesessioninMay2023! Mylive performance can be found on my Youtube page (Nnennaya Kelly). I now want to do more and I have a fabulous team that is pushing me towardssuccess! sobringiton!

Are you open to performances and showcasehereinNigeria?

Yes, my live performance was in Lagos,Nigeria! Moretocome!

You mentioned that you'll be shootingyournextvideoshootwith superstar kid sax player 'Temilayo Abodunrin'. What inspired your choice of this featured star and kindly tell us more about this project?

IcameacrossherjustasIcomeacross alotoftalentsandIwassoinspiredby herdedication.Isentherabacktrack of my song and she came up with her part and I was amazed She does her craft with her whole heart. I am always excited especially when I see African girls doing great stuff as this. I also like that she's got so much support from her parent, this made mesoexcitedtoworkwithher.

How would you define your kind of music?

I started with Mezzo soprano opera having grown up in areas where there's less ethnic people. Over the years, I becameinterestedinRnBthenlaterIfell in love with Afrobeats soul music. If you look at 'My funny valentine' which is an iconic song, as opposed to versions from Whitney Houston, Beyonce and others, this song is a Jazz genre and ballad but I changed it around and made it a dance song through afrobeats. Ayrra Star and Kelly Rowland did a remix to the Bloody Samaritan song. Others are doing this too Burna boy featured Ed Sheeran, StormzwhosingsmoreofveryBritish

What are the greatest challenges you've faced while trying to establish yourmusiccareer?

For me, entering an industry where the young ones are more loved was a bit of a challenge but then I collaborate with these young ones so it's not really a challenge for me. Also, learning to spend less and achieve whatyouwantisanotherchallengebut as you practice you learn every time This is why some people want to get signedtoalabelbecausethey'llpayfor everything. My major challenge is creating time because of the other activitiesIdointhecorporateworld folk and hard cor Rap / inspirational ballad songs but they were able to combine their voices in a several hit undertheafrobeat genre.Also,Igrewup listening to classical music and folk music.Havingalltheseknowledgemakes me want to stick to Afrobeats because canmixallthesestylesinone

Which musicians would you consider your role models in the musicindustry?

There's a vast range of that; from the olderonestotheyoungerones.People like Sade Adu, Lionel Richie, Seal, Michael Jackson, Bey, Janet Jackson, Madonna,MaryJBlige,NickiMinage, Toni Braxton and many more. I loved 2Pac and Will Smith for the rap, I love Boyz to men. In the world of Afrobeats, I love Yemi Alade, Simi, Ayrra star, Asa, Teni, Tems, Tiwa Savage, Gykie, Kizz Daniel, King Promise, Burna Boy, and so much more! I love all the people that Donjazzy produces, like, Jonny Drille. I love Olamide too and many more But I'm really rooting for the females, weneedmoreofthem.

Whatisthefiveyearsgoalforyourmusicbrand?

I'm doing music because I love music and I want to make money because I'm trying to build a charity The good thing is when you buy you are also giving back. So in five years, I'm hoping that we have a couple of millions to achievethedream. Also, Iliketostartnowtoworktoward building young less privileged talent. I plan to open up musicstudiosintheUKandUSAtoallowyoungtalentto be themselves and showcase their talent! I am already startingwithmysonandourdaughterisnot farbehind!

Judging from your break from musicin thepast, isthere a possibility for another break in case another baby comes alongoranyotherfamilyrelatedissue?

Now, the only challenge is time because I'm an independent so I have my day job Also, we have an organizationinNigeriathattrainspeopleinCPRandfirst aid So there's a lot on my desk but I ensure I schedule everythingin.It'sallhappeninghere!

What's one interesting thing about you that many do notknow?

Well, I think I love to dance and mentor the youth. I love progress in myself and others! I think the greatest thing aboutmethatpeopledonotknowisthatIamagiver.Ilove to give and I think my personality oozes off on why my familyisthewaytheyare.Ialsolovetoencouragepeople.I am a lover not a fighter! I just aim to love people even whentheyseemnottolovemeback. Ialwayssaylifeistoo shortforstress. Idroppeopleorthingsthatstressmeand reach out to things that inspire me I don't envy because everyone has a thing that God has given them. I want to learn from everyone rather than get envious. I try my best to sow good seeds and hope for good harvests. I am not perfectthough,butIstrivetowardsthesevirtues.

What's your advice to individuals who are inspired by yourcareerstoryandhopetobelikeyou?

Never give up! Always be consistent. Consistency might meanyoutakeastepbackbutyouhaveitinmindthatyou wanttodosomething.Doitwithexcellence!WhenIcan't afford or no time to visit my voice training, I look for free internettrainingsandusemynighttimestobeanachiever Don't hold back, don't be stagnant. Change is dynamic. TrustinGod!Reachouttopeopleforhelpandyou'llfind.