THE clapping welcoming him back to his seat after his performance was great. Both the students and teachers at the Kids Can Read event, an annual competition organised to showcase the reading culture in children between the ages of three and seven, were thrilled beyond words. Indeed, they lauded the ingenuity of 13-year-old Akeem Asamu, a JSS 3 student of Barachel Model School, Iju Ishaga, Lagos on the occasion.
But Asamu, aka Sammy Blaze, is not new to such enthusiastic approval, as he had performed alongside many notable acts in the past. He had started to display his talent as a budding musician shortly after he turned three. His parents, who believed that his love for singing was a temporary passion, however, found out that he was not willing to give up his God-given talent.
Asamu, who recently released his single track, entitled “Showkey”, disclosed that he is well-equipped to combine his musical career with his education. The wonder boy, whose best subject in school is Computer, also revealed that the credit for the success of his career should be given to God and his grandmother, popularly known as Alhaja, a food merchant at Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos.
“My grandmother, a food merchant, once told me that all her cooking spoons were turned to drumming sticks by me and the pots turned to drums. In fact, they needed to take away the Chinaware from me in order not to break them,” he recalled.
Akeem, whose described Oritsafemi as his mentor, further said majority of his grandmother’s customers always urged his parents to support him.
“And this is how I started appearing at gigs. Luckily, I live in Mushin, a haven of musical starts. It enables me to really be vocal. It was a surprise to many people that I adore Hip-hop as my medium. You know that Fuji music is the major thing in Mushin.”
Initially, he was singing Fuji music infused with rap at school events. But as he grew older, he found a strong footing in Hip-hop and rap music. “I can rap from morning till night. For now, I am not singing because of money and fame, but to create an avenue for therapy and healing and to douse tension in our society. I also want to encourage other kids to come out and display their talents. When I am not singing, I act as a DJ at my colleagues’ events,” he said with glee.
Talking about his single track, he said: “I would have done this when I turned eight, but a musical giant told me not to rush things. He wanted to be sure the flair is in-depth in me. And when I clocked 12, I released the track, “Showkey”. That is to say, the key to the showbiz is around and that is me!
“But what really encouraged me was that the period my producer was ready to take me to the studio was when my grandmother was having some problems with her business. Rather than close her eyes to my development, she gave me all her remaining bank savings to make my dream a reality.”
