Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo a.k.a. Iyeoka, was born in Boston, United States of America to Esan-speaking Nigerian parents from Edo State. She attended North Eastern University where she studied Pharmacy and practised for over 10 years all along performing as a musician. In 2000, Iyeoka received her degree as a full time registered pharmacist, but in 2005 she found herself wondering whether Pharmacy is what she would be doing all her life.
My spirit was asking me that question while I was working as a pharmacist and my spirit answered, no, you want to be a drummer, a singer, a poet, you want to share your words with the world and that is how I got my start , she said at a welcome ceremony cum press conference put together in her honour by the President of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, PMAN, Ras Murphy Bank-Anthony. I feel welcome , were the very first words the poet, songstress and educationist, who is signed on to the Underground Sun music label based in California, uttered at the gathering.
I feel so excited having Ivie in the house this morning. From our hearts, we welcome our daughter to Nigeria as a performing musician representing Nigeria in the United States of America , Bank-Anthony said, using the opportunity to present Iyeoka with a PMAN membership card. Iyeoka explained at the PMAN secretariat in Anifowoshe, Ikeja, where she became the association's first member in 2012 that in 2005, she started putting Pharmacy aside and decided to make music her ally. That was when she started working on her poems as if someone up there was helping me write them . I'm a true believer in God , she confessed, adding that before 2005, she was involved in a couple of musical performances. After she made that decision, she has been performing all over America and is set to do two shows at the Mobile World Congress: Redefining Mobile in Barcelona, Spain this month. Her first album came out in 2001, the second in 2004 titled Black and Blues, another one came out in 2008 called Hum the Baseline.
Her latest album titled Say Yes came out in 2010. One of the reasons for her trip to Nigeria is to promote Say Yes and to continue to connect with her roots in Edo State . Iyeoka said it has come to a point where she is now able to send a message of healing with her music and knowledge of Pharmacy.
Although I'm capable of being a one-woman show, I have a very strong group of musicians who have supported me for over 10 year. I call them my tribe. So I have a t ribe of musicians based in Boston, Hawaii and in California, world class musicians, the ones that perform with India Arie and Macy Gray , she said, adding that Macy Gray's music director is also her music director.
Ikeoya said she can't wait to do a show here in Nigeria so her label plans to train a tribe of musicians here that she can work with. And yes, Pharmacy is still a part of her life as she now counsels on over-the-counter medication, thereby having the best of two worlds. Iyeoka is inspired by her mum, Dr. Regina Okoawo, who travelled with her to Nigeria and was at the PMAN secretariat. Her father and siblings also inspire her, so do Nigerian musicians, Femi Kuti and Babatunde Olutunji, among others. Iyeoka writes all her songs, the poetry that she performs, and has been writing songs for over 10 years.
I have written songs for other musicians, but for the most part, I write my own songs and sing my own songs, she said. She has also performed with American greats like Jill Scot, while also opening a show for Femi Kuti when he came on one of his tours of the United States. She has the lyrics to all her songs on her album as well as on her web site because she said the youths should not just see what an artist has to offer, but also actually be able to read the significance of what is making those words of consequence. I learnt from Babatunde Olutunji who is a great drummer.
He used to say you have to be of consequence and that really made a big impression on me. From his legacy, I have leant drumming and I have had a really deep inspiration from him , she said. Ikeoya also has a collection of poems coming out this year. It is her first book of poems titled Iyeokan: Esan Names, Proverbs and Poems from an Esan Woman. It is an integral part of her language preservation project.
