OLUWA TONI' Brings Positivity Through His First Single 'FLY TO L.A.'

OLUWA TONI's debut single (raw version), 'FLY TO L.A' was released on July 1st, 2015 (Canada Day). The song will be available on iTunes, Spotify, TIDAL, Google Play, Soundcloud, the newly launched Apple Music, and other digital platforms. "My first song is my story living the African diaspora life. I was born in Nigeria, educated in London UK, and now a Canadian Resident. It is my love letter to my new home city Vancouver, a city of dreams a truly global metropolis, geographically beautiful, and culturally rich like many other great cities such as Seattle and L.A."

"We all have a powerful voice that needs to be heard," is one of the statements OLUWA TONI would never forget hearing at a Les Brown seminar in London, UK as well as the inspiration he needed after some challenging life circumstances which drove him to express himself in a positive way through music. Toni eventually started reflecting on his blessings during what he describes as a very sad period in his life and he wrote his thoughts on the bus on his way to a job he had at that time. He had no beats at this point. A few weeks later Toni met popular Vancouver based Hip Hop artist, Kai Sky Walker who brought him into the studio where he records his music and the rest is history in the making. OLUWA TONI met Kai's brother, Astor who was playing one of his beats one evening and he took out his i-phone. His already written lyrics were just right for the beat and everything came together seamlessly. Toni describes the recording experience as liberating, encouraging and fulfilling.

"We should learn to appreciate what we have and channel our frustrations, angers into positive and productive efforts. I have found expressing myself through music to be very comforting and uplifting in my most difficult times and I think the joy of creating music makes my financial loss in 2014 a blessing in disguise. I was frankly depressed but I kept believing that everything happens for a reason in our lives and that belief makes all the difference for us", said OLUWA TONI.

Musical Influences:
OLUWA TONI describes his single as an emerging genre of music blending Hip Hop, Pop, Reggae, Afrobeat music altogether. Toni (as he is mostly called), is a great lover of the Piano, African Drums, Saxophone, and Trumpet. His signature instrument is the African 'Djembe' Drums which is prominently featured in both his song and music video. According to the 'Bambara people' in Mali, the word 'Djembe' means 'everyone gather in peace', a cause Toni is passionate about. Toni would admit that he listens to all kinds of music including Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, House, Gospel, and Afrobeat which he considers particularly a key influence of his musical sound and voice. "Being a great music fan, I am particularly listening to where the artist on a track is coming from. And I learn so much from their experiences and thoughts in their music." 'OLUWA TONI' which means 'God is Sufficient' is a one word name as in 'OLUWA TONI', which has been separated into two words for ease of public pronunciation. His long list of favourite artists is incomplete without including older and emerging artists. "Jay-Z, Beyonce, Akon, Neyo, Nas, Keyshia Cole, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Marley, Juanita Bynum, Hillsong, Don Moen, The Weekend, Post Malone, Kanye West, Celine Dion, Chris Brown, Belly, Kai Sky Walker, Wizkid, Dbanj, Davido, Tuface Idibia, Lagbaja, and late Michael Jackson are at the top of my list."

About OLUWA TONI:
OLUWA TONI was born in Lagos, Nigeria to the family of Olatunde and Olubunmi Araoye. Raised in a Christian family full of love and life, OLUWA TONI grew up attending Church where he learnt to sing often and practice 'worship singing' as a daily lifestyle. "In Nigeria we used to have these regular power outages, and the cordless piano became a comfort to me." Toni's parents although average income earners decided to invest greatly in the children's education including piano lessons. "I am forever grateful to my parents. It all began with good parenting which is also very important." OLUWA TONI produced a program in Nigeria in December bringing Jews, Muslims, and Christians together to discuss unity and is passionate about issues related to inter-faith community understanding, Canadian aboriginal community support and at risk youth support/rehabilitation.

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