VIDEO: Meet Gospel singer, Anthony Ishola Oloko ‘Onise nla’ who dances like King Sunny Ade
Legendary jùjú singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye MFR, known professionally as King Sunny Adé, may have unknowingly impacted his style in another music vessel, Anthony Ishola Oloko popularly called ‘Onise Nla’ particularly as relates to his quality stage performance.
With a professional music career that dates back to 2010, Onise Nla’s knack for quality and energetic stage performance despite been in the Gospel music genre was what endeared him to late world renowned American songwriter, singer and dancer Michael Jackson in his early days and subsequently, King Sunny Ade whom he also acknowledges as a mentor.
During his recent visit to the NewsClick Nigeria office, Onise Nla explained his music journey so far, hopes and aspirations. He also displayed his dancing prowess while vibing to one of the tracks in his albums
Onise Nla who identifies as a dancer, Gospel, Alujo and Ariya musician said music was inbuilt for him having joined cultural groups in primary and secondary schools and the university.
“Music for me is an inbuilt thing, I started when I was in cultural group in primary school and secondary school including in the University before venturing into the art professionally in 2010.”
So far Onise Nla has produced three studio albums released in 2010, 2015 and 2019.
“I have three albums, the first one is Onise Nla released in 2010. I was sleeping when I got inspiration for the song and quickly wrote down to fine tune it into the album.
“The second album titled “Ipo Olori” (Leadership position) was released in 2015 and it’s a power song with messages to our leaders about the position they occupy and also to encourage them to do better.
“The Third and last one for now titled Iwo kisagan (You’re not barren) is a message of hope to people (not just the barren) going through certain tough times that God has not forgotten and would soon open a book of remembrance for them. All the three albums are available on all music streaming platforms.”
On how he came about the choice of King Sunny Ade as a mentor, Onise Nla said: “Before I went into Alujo Gospel Music I used to be a fan of Michael Jackson because of his dance moves but later on I had to change my style into King Sunny Ade’s style. We are both from Ondo State before Ekiti was carved out and we bear the same name (Ishola) maybe that’s where the connection came from, even though I’ve never met him before.”
Onise Nla also explained that people who have witnessed his live performance often likens his style to the legendary musician’s.
“There’s hardly any event we performed that people will not say I delivered exactly like King Sunny Ade. In fact, the decision to pick him as a mentor was partly from people’s judgement about my style of performance.”
He also expressed his desire to meet the legend soon, praying that God grants him long life good health.
Speaking on his high and low moments, the Gospel artiste said: “My low moment in my career I will say was when I took the bold decision to venture into Gospel music professionally and full time. It was really hard as there was no helping hand and the album didn’t get the desired reception. But we have moved past that stage now and God has been faithful. My high moment was when I was invited to perform at Covenant University and during an event when I performed in from of notable musicians. My Big moment will be when I have the opportunity to perform or meet King Sunny Ade.”
Like his mentor, Onise Nla plays several musical instruments including guitar and drums.
“All my albums are very dear to me because they are inspirational music and they are all available on all music streaming platforms. I play musical instruments like guitar, konga and other drums.
On how much he charges per average for shows, the versatile dancer responded thus: “It depends on the location, we charge differently for Lagos and outside Lagos events. The event also matters too. Our prices are also negotiable,” he said.
