The dreadlocked Reggae star, Orits Wiliki recently
celebrated his 30 years-on-stage as a musician in Lagos. And in an exclusive
interview he unveiled the secret of his 20-year marriage to popular actress and
singer, Becky, his carrier as a musician and his origin. Enjoy the excerpt
“I married my kid
sister – my mother’s last born. We are as close siblings can be. That is why we
have stayed together for this long.”
He says, “I am actually from Ethiopia. That is where my
grandfather comes from. I don’t know why people can’t believe me. I am a
full-fledged Nigerian, no doubt. I was born and raised here, but my ancestral
roots remain in Ethiopia. I come from Adowa, a province in the Northern part of
Ethiopia. My family naturalised as Nigerians in Warri. My father is Itsekiri,
while my mother is partly Edo and Ondo. That is why I tell people that I have a
complex origin. My real name is Rassam Wiliki. It was my grandfather’s name,
too.”
“At the age of eight, I was already an active member of
the church choir. Before my father died at the age of 49, he had reached out to
many people through evangelism. I wanted to do the same thing. So I made up my
mind that I was going to reach out to people through music. I decided I would
become a gospel musician. That is why everything I have done is inspired by the
Holy Bible,” he says.
“There is hardly any of the older reggae musicians, from
the Mandators, Ras Kimono to Majek Fashek, whose early works do not bear my
imprint. I have produced all of them. Musically, I am older than all of them.
That is why they call me ‘Pupa’,” he boasts.
Source: PUNCH
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