Recently, you may have seen the first episode of For the Love of Colour, with Irish pop icon Samantha Mumba as the guest. Created by Human Collective in partnership with Guinness 0.0, the idea was to celebrate Black History Month by speaking to some of the most influential black and Irish talent on these shores.
Hosted by Human Collective Founder Conor Buckley, episode two features none other than up-and-coming Irish rapper Offica. Born in Nigeria and raised in Drogheda, he has since gone on to become one of the biggest names in the Irish rap scene with an ever-growing reputation for putting out well-written and poetic music that celebrates his multifaceted heritage.
If you happened to attend Longitude last year, you may well have seen him rocking the main stage in front of several thousand people. Neither that, nor his hundreds of millions of streams or strong base of loyal fans, really do justice to what this young man is about.
Family is something he mentions quite a lot, with his Yoruba heritage something he clearly puts a lot of stock in. And as talented as he is behind a mic, the fact that he recently graduated with a Degree in International Business from Maynooth University proves, as he says in his recent song Living Proof, “I’ve always been a business man, now I’ve got it written on a fancy sheet.”
When chatting with Conor on the second episode of the podcast, he said that Black History Month is a chance to reflect on the achievements made by people of colour and the barriers they have broken. The two also spoke about what their Nigerian heritage means to them, the power of sport to unite people, and the fact that Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham once nutmegged him in training.
You’ll find the full video below, so be sure to check it out!
Speaking on the podcast, Offica said one of his biggest role models growing up would have been none other than former Drogheda United and Sunderland midfielder, Seán Thornton. Having been a talented footballer himself growing up, it was through the beautiful game that Offica rubbed shoulders with one of the hottest prospects in world sport.
“I was training with Jude [Bellingham], and first training session he actually nutmegged me! It was just after a competition called the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland, and there were scouts there,” he said.
No Hook
While his footballing career went on the back burner, he originally never thought music would end up being his true calling.
“My sister, she was the one always doing music. She would always be singing and stuff like that.
“I never thought that was my lane, so it’s mad how God works,” he said.
Fast forward a few years, and the 23-year-old is working with the likes of KSI and building a strong following both in Ireland and abroad. With his star only set to rise in the coming years, he has clear ambitions about where he wants to take his career.
“I want to be the biggest black male artist to ever come out of Ireland, you know what I mean? I really want to break barriers.
“I feel that since I’ve started music I’ve just been breaking barriers and that’s what I want to continue to do. What I mean by break barriers I mean other countries, to keep pushing, you know, to just see what God has planned for me,” he said.
If his success up to now is anything to go by, you can expect big things. Not only is his music gaining plaudits across the board, but his 2019 collab with KSI has garnered millions of views across social media and shows how many people are paying attention to what he is putting out there.
When asked who else he would love to work with in the future, he said, “Right now, I’m a big fan of Dave, I like Polo G as well… Drake. There are many names I would like to work with.”
To find out more about the Human Collective and Guiness collaboration, or how you can take a stand against racism this Black History Month visit the resources below:
Shane Winckworth