Ogi Ifediora, better known by her stage name Ogi, is an American musician of Nigerian descent.

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

singer. She is most noted for covering

PJ Morton P.J. Morton (born Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been the keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring mem ...

's song ''Alright,'' and her 2021 single ''I Got It'' which was produced by American Grammy award-winning producer No I.D.

Personal history

Ogi Ifediora was born in 1997 just outside of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and raised in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. From a young age, she loved music. Her grandmother often sang traditional Nigerian hymns to wake her up. She also regularly attended family prayer meetings, which incorporated hymns as well. This marked the beginning of Ogi's interest in dynamic and complex harmonies. In high school, she was a member of the jazz

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

in addition to playing the

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

. She then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

where she majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and minored in

legal studies Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. While there, she was a member of an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group, THUNK a cappella. During her senior year, she created an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account where she posted covers of various songs, including

’s song ''Alright''. Once PJ Morton reposted her cover, she was then contacted by producer No I.D., who collaborated with her to create her first single, ''I Got It''. In 2022, Ogi released her first EP, ''Monologues''. As a performer, she has supported and opened for artists such as The Marias, Mahalia,

Snoh Aalegra Snoh Sheri Nowrozi (born Shahrzad Fooladi, 13 September 1987), better known by her stage name Snoh Aalegra (), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''Feels (Snoh Aalegra album), Feels,'' was released in 2017, followed by ''Ugh, Those ...

, and

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...

. In June of 2022, she also performed at Pharell's Something in the Water festival. In 2022, Ogi made her debut

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

performance with "I Got It", her lead single from the ''Monologues'' EP.

Artistry

Her music has mostly been described as R&B, with influences from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. She also says

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

has had an impact on her rhythmic cadences.

Discography

EPs

References

21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers African-American women singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-singer-stub