Julius OkoriePrior to his sudden disappearance of the spot light, Nigerian singer and songwriter, Korede Bello who went by stage name African Prince, was a household name.
One of the songs that catapulted him to the top was “I don get alert God win “a semi-gospel and pop song released 28 January 2015, which became a national anthem and topped many music charts across Nigeria.
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The track resonated among his fans and indeed all that heard it irrespective of age and gender because it doubled as a song of appreciation and thanksgiving.
It became a must play at every social event and the infusion of “alert” which has been described in some quarters as healing agent without the use of tablets, further endeared the song to all and sundry.
Aside from his music, the 29 year old who is very generous with smiles was involved in humanitarian works with special interest in cancer awareness campaign and mental health advocacy.
Prominent among his pet projects was Project Pink Blue Walk for Cancer awareness programme in Abuja. He did not hide his mental health advocacy underscoring his aim to end mental health stigma and support young people living with mental illness.
With about 5 million followers on social media, the “Mungo Park” grandmaster is not one to simply fade into oblivion with no one raising eyebrows.
Pressure:
For most musicians, when a particular album does well, the pressure of having another that will march or even surpass that naturally comes up. The success of ‘God win’ was huge, and naturally the desire would be to release another that will surpass that.
Korede Bello struggled to score a hit in 2017, as his self-titled album, ‘Belloved’ did not receive the expected attention, despite Wizkid posting and promoting it on his social media handles.
Bello thus appeared to be under pressure as he released as many as eight songs in 2018, viz ‘Together’, ‘Sote’, ‘Stamina’, ‘Champion’, ‘Work It’, ‘Bless Me’ and ‘Melanin Popping’, all of which failed to measure up the status of “I don get alert, God win”
Expectedly, when Bello who in 2015 was unveiled as Nigerian Police first Youth Ambassador suddenly faded from the limelight, tongues started wagging and there was worry in the camp of his teeming fans over his whereabouts.
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Questions being asked include could he have taken to drugs, owing to the usual pressure mounted by music and the fame that comes with it?
Could he be sick or has he joined the japa league preferring to do so without raising dust? With no answers coming from Bello or anyone speaking on his behalf, the questions over his whereabouts continued to pop up by the day.
Going Philosophical:
But alas the ‘most wanted’ who in 2014 clinched 4th Annual Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards for best song of the year, revealed his whereabouts, which could best be described as spiritual journey of self-discovery.
Taking to the social media to write about mental health and respond to people asking where he has been, Korede Bello wrote saying:
“Whenever I hear or see comments like “Where have you been?” I’m always usually kind of surprised. Why? Because I’ve been here all along, with me, myself and I. I’m grateful that I don’t have to ask myself “Korede, where are you ?” For it is better for the world to ask “Where have you been’ than for you to ask yourself “Who am I… where am I?” Don’t you know that you can be extremely rich and famous but lost inside your mind? I have come to realise that the more you connect with yourself the less the world connects with you. You think different; you act different because you are different. They might even say ‘Who do you think you are?…” But this hero’s journey is so necessary because you cannot truly stand out until you stand out and become outstanding.
When you truly find yourself, you find peace. And even though you may lose some things temporarily, what matters most is that you don’t lose yourself, you’re worth more than things that come and go. You Are and will always BE. So my people, just because you don’t experience the sunlight at night time doesn’t mean it’s not shining where it is. Surely you will experience the light again when gravity spins you in my direction. I am Light. I am Akorede. Be Well 💌 #MentalHealth #SpiritualHealth.”
It was famous Greek philosopher Socrates, that was quoted as saying that “Unexamined life is not worth living” further explained to mean that a life without self-reflection, critical thinking, and questioning one’s beliefs and actions is essentially meaningless and lacks value; it encourages people to actively examine their lives to find purpose and live authentically.
Return To Music:
Korede Bello went off the radar to take stock, for soul searching and for self-discovery and spiritual growth. Perhaps for most of his fans haven been found to be hale and hearty, the question would be, is he done with music planning future return? His philosophical submission is loaded with meaning and points to the fact that a return to music is possible, it may not be immediate, but surely it is in the pipeline, which explains why he says “Surely you will experience the light again when gravity spins you in my direction.”
Never Say Never:
That is not also to rule out the possibility of Korede who studied Mass Communication at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism venturing into something else and multi-tasking in future. Venturing into the vineyard of the Lord can equally not be ruled out.
Recall years back when Korede performed at Harvesters International Christian Centre (HICC) where he sang his smash hit God win.
When he was criticised for his actions, the young singer said that he was going to perform in a church again, adding, “If you are the pastor of a church and you invite me to perform the song, Yes I will perform the song again.
“It’s God’s song and whatever is happening now is predetermined, people are talking about God that’s all that matters.”
“From the inception of Godwin, I knew that it wasn’t my song, I knew that anything that’s for God has the potential of growing bigger than you imagine. It’s not quite a gospel song, it’s an inspirational song, what I mean by it’s for God is the fact that it’s dedicated to God. I don’t see it as my song, I see it as people’s song and I see it as a song for God.”
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
