I was watching a podcast recently and one of the questions was “what was the first album you ever bought”. It was a question that got me thinking because the first album I ever bought had a funny story behind it.
I went to the market and went music store to music store looking for this album. I did not find it the first time and so I went bak again and when I eventually found it, I was so happy. I did not have money as a kid so to be able to use the little money I had to buy an album instead of food or a book was a significant moment in my life and I was so proud of it. I had watched a clip on TV; it was Nkem Owoh (Osuofia)’s new song, I loved the message in the song so much. It resonated so much that I wanted to hear it again. The song title was Ogbajuo Doro.
Let’s digress a bit for context. There was a time when it was common place for Nollywood stars to delve into music. Everyone was releasing a song, I think they figured that there was more money in selling music CDs than movie CDs or maybe it was just a cultural thing. Every A-List you could think of then had a song, from Genevieve, Omotola to Mr. Ibu, Osuofia and the likes. But, most of the songs were not gospel songs, they were either love songs or songs that fit a typical Nollywood soundtrack. But two people veered off course; Osuofia released a gospel album and then Rita Edochie followed suit. Back then, I was into gospel music wholly so as a result these two resonated with me.
Back to the story. When I heard Osuofia’s song on TV, it was such a catchy tune (check it out and confirm for yourself here) and it was about one of my best Jesus stories in the bible about Blind Bartimaeus. I loved the song so much and always danced to it whenever it was on TV. I also did not understand what “ogbajuo door” meant, it was an Igbo word and my igbo was not impeccable then. When I got the translation, I was all in. The song essentially says something along the lines of “when your cup of struggle is full, call Jesus to help you because humans will not help you”. It was the same story when I saw Rita Edochie on TV singing a song that I liked. I probably heard a variation of the song from my grandmother (not sure) but it’s one of those old catchy igbo tunes that just sticks around. So I decided I was going to get it as well. Till today, the song moves me. The reason why those songs actually moved me was because they were a window into my childhood. I remember long road trips to the village with my dad driving, these were the songs that usually played on radio and thus, when my young mind heard those songs years later, it was a window for me to reconnect with a part of my childhood that had since been lost. It was not until recently that this clicked.
My memory fails me now so I am not sure which CD I bought first; did I buy the Osuofia album same day as I bought the Rita Edochie album? (60% chance), or did I buy the Osuofia one first (30% chance) or then the Rita Edochie one first? (10% chance).
When I bought those CDs, it felt like a watershed moment for me. The first set of CDs I bought with my money. I have a thing with firsts. Pastors often talk about the law of First Mention. It’s the principle that the first time something is mentioned seta the context within which to interpret that thing in further contexts. The first time I was ever paid to preach, I took the entire honorarium and sowed it as a first seed to W.F. Kumuyi’s ministry despite me not being a member of his church. I felt like his church had found a way to remain specific despite not being attractive to the wider world, I like that kind of setting apart even if I did not agree with their doctrine (I was not even 18 when this happened, probably 16 or 17). So when I bought the music CDs, I was trying to set a foundation. Mind you, I was probably 12 or 13 when I bought these albums.
That’s the story. Not sure what the lesson is.
Always True,
Miracle.