Agharese Emokpae (born January 13, 1988) known simply as A'rese is a Nigerian actress and singer. She first garnered attention as a stage actress starring in

Bolanle Austen-Peters Bolanle Austen-Peters (born 4 February 1969), is a Nigerian movie director, theater producer and cultural entrepreneur. She is the founder and artistic director of BAP Productions and the arts and culture center Terra Kulture in Lagos. She has be ...

Terra Kulture Terra Kulture is an arts and culture center in Lagos with an attached restaurant. Establishment Nigerian lawyer Bolanle Austen-Peters founded Terra Kulture in 2003. The center is a restaurant, serving Nigerian cuisine, bookstore and cultur ...

production ''Wakaa: The Musical'' which led her to participate in and win the first season of ''

The Voice Nigeria ''The Voice Nigeria'' is the Nigerian franchise of the TV series ''The Voice''. It is a singing competition that features music enthusiasts and professional performers. Since its first edition in 2016 in Nigeria, the show has become the biggest ...

''. In 2017 she gained popularity for her lead role as Senami Minasu in

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and no ...

's hit series ''Jemeji''. In the same year, she released her first single "Uwe No".

Background

A'rese was born into the arts. Her grandfather is the Nigerian painter and sculptor,

Erhabor Emokpae Erhabor Ogieva Emokpae, OON, (9 May 1934 – 16 February 1984) was a renowned Nigerian sculptor, muralist, graphic artist and painter who is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern arts in Nigeria. Some of his notable works include the a bron ...

Education

A'rese attended

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

where she first discovered her love for musical theater and dance. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Visual Art, specializing in Printmaking. After starring as "Velma Kelly" in the school's sold-out production of hit Broadway musical ''Chicago,'' she decided to pursue a career in the performing arts. She has been performing professionally ever since she graduated in 2010.

Career

Emokpae's professional career began in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

where she was a company member at the

Black Ensemble Theater Black Ensemble Theater Company is a theatre company that performs at the Black Ensemble Cultural Center in the Uptown community area of Chicago, Illinois. The company is known for productions related to African-American culture, especially music ...

. Some of her most notable roles at the theater were as The Fairy Godmama in ''The Other Cinderella'' and as Mya in ''One Name Only.'' After working successfully there for 3 years, she decided to move back to Lagos, Nigeria to further pursue her acting career. In 2014, she landed her first notable role in Lagos as Rume in BAP Productions' '' Saro: the Musical 2'' which had a sold-out run both during the Christmas holiday period in December 2014 and again during Easter 2015. She then continued on to star as Kike Johnson in the next hit production out of the BAP/Terra Kulture stable, ''Wakaa: The Musical'.'' In 2016, Emokpae auditioned for the inaugural season of ''

.'' She made it to the televised "Blind Audition" stage where she sang "

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

" turning three of the coaches' chairs. She chose to be part of Team Waje. In the grand final, she faced Chike from Team

Patoranking Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May, 1990), better known by his stage name Patoranking, is a Nigerian reggae-dancehall singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town, Patoranking hails from Onicha, Ebonyi State. He starte ...

. A'rese sang " Hallelujah" finishing as winner with Chike ending up as runner-up. Following her win, Emokpae was signed to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

; with whom she released her first single Uwe No. In 2017, she landed her first non-stage leading role as Senami Minasu in Jemeji, an

series. She then went on to another lead role in a new

EbonyLife TV Ebonylife TV is an entertainment TV channel owned by Mosunmola Abudu popularly called Mo Abudu, It was launched on DSTV on July, 2013 after which the station was later added to DSTV in September 2014. After partnering and satisfying the executive ...

series called "MMM".

Filmography

Television

Theater

Discography

Singles

Collaborations

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A'rese 1988 births Living people 21st-century Nigerian women singers The Voice (franchise) winners