(RNS) He was born and raised in Nigeria and works in London, and both experiences — oh, and he’s a Roman Catholic priest — have inspired the Rev. Albert Owie Ofere’s fascinating singing career, one that fuses Afro-pop and gospel music.
“I love singing and listening to music,” Ofere told The Vanguard, a Nigerian media outlet. “I like to sing, music is part of the family, it’s always been in the genes.”
He said that his father was a choirmaster and his brother, a priest in the Wests African nation of Benin, loves to sing, too. But Ofere said that since working in the United Kingdom “my love for music developed even more.”
As Greg Kandra at Aleteia noted in flagging this story, the Italian nun Sister Cristina shot to fame as winner of Italy’s version of “The Voice” doing songs by the likes of Alicia Keys and later Madonna.
But Ofere is doing original songs in an original way.
So why Afro-pop? “It’s because many people like to dance to Afro pop music and using it to glorify God would help to win more souls for Him.”
It seems to be working. His debut album, “Every Day of My Life,” has six tracks and is available on iTunes and Amazon. And this highly-produced music video is trending on YouTube.
Not too shabby:
(David Gibson is a national reporter for RNS)