By Akintayo Abodunrin
ATLANTA, Georgia-based Afrobeat/Afropop artist Princess Ella (Onor Alofoje) has released her latest single ‘Rora’ from her forthcoming ‘Inception’ album.
The chill Afropop love song combining pop and RnB rendered in English and Yoruba was dropped on different streaming platforms on Friday, March 24.
The main EP, ‘Inception,’ containing five songs that reflect her life and versatility, will be released in April.
In an online chat with the producer and certified songwriter who released her first album, ‘Wonder Woman’ in 2021, she disclosed that music had always been in her blood.
“I was born into a musically inclined family. My dad and brothers were music lovers, and it was natural to love it. I started music around 10. I wrote choruses for my elder brother because he used to rap at the University of Lagos. One time he took me to a studio in Yaba called Veritas. I think I was 15 and saw Shasha, DJ Jimmy Jatt and others. That was when it became professional for me because that was my first time recording in a studio. I stopped for many years and reactivated in 2021,” she said.
The artist who released singles including ‘Your Love’ and ‘Trust in You’ in 2022 added about how it has been as a professional musician. “Music has been my go-to when I’m down and going through life. It doesn’t pay my bills and is not the only thing I do. I’m a professional IT consultant and analyst.
I also own a small business for women in the United States. I just started a talk show titled ‘Opinions’ on YouTube.”
Though she started music early, Princess Ella succeeded in getting a formal education. It was in school that she got her professional name.
“I graduated from the University of Benin in 2011. I studied International Studies and Diplomacy. Back in UNIBEN, everyone called me Princess. Some did because they knew I was from royalty, and others for believing I was pretty. Ella was a name I always thought was cute and planned to give to my girl child in the future. That’s how I came about the name Princess Ella.”
Though ‘Wonder Woman’ her first album, did well by her reckoning, she expects the forthcoming one to fare better.
“My first Ep was me coming back to music after 11 years. I’m an independent artist, and it did well, but I thought it could have done better. There’s a lot I’ve learned from then till now, and there is a lot of growth too.”
The artist whose influences are “everyone making it big in Afrobeats” at the moment hopes “To touch the lives of people positively using my voice to be the best and successful in all my endeavours.”
Though living in the US, she is open to performing in Nigeria, admitting she hopes to be home soonest once she gets an invite.
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