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By Rita Okoye
For a teenage girl, it was expected to either find her on the swing with other girls during the break hour, or the play ground, but AGU Oluchi Olivia chose something different. The world now calls the then Teenage girl who joined the “All boys band” to play drums and learn other music instruments, LIVIA.
Livia’s obsession in playing the drums Led her to discovering other instruments she found joy playing too. She didn’t want to just hear songs, sing along and master their lyrics. She wanted to hear each drum line, guitar strings and keyboard parts. Livia, is that musical star.
“At seven, I was confused on why I wasn’t allowed”, Livia told the Sun during a recent chat. “I was not minding the rules. I just showed up at all rehearsal until they all got tired of asking me to leave”. At last, they gave me a spot at the kit, and I ended up becoming the best drummer they had.”
Like most teenagers who hear “No”, feel it meant ‘don’t ever try it’, But for Livia, it wasn’t just a start to a New Dawn for her. It was a moment she realized that “No” was usually a suggestion.
Livia credits her polished effortless sound to the early days of being dogged to joining the “All boys” brand, which has given her the thick skin of perseverance she wears now.
The industry is still a “Male dominated space”, Livia reveals. Women in music were seen as those who were just passionate about it, and not as a career for them, Livia added. But the drums taught me that believing in self has absolutely nothing to do with gender. It is about who stays in the room the longest.”
The lesson I learnt went too deep than just playing on any instrument. “The experience taught me to keep going, do what I love despite the side talks”, she adds. “I am glad my idea of making it easier for the girls coming after me”, is finally coming to a reality.
In the end, her zeal pushed her from the stage into the studio. “A part of me kept pushing to learn the ingredients of music”, she says. “In an industry where so many artist are told to sound the same, you have to be technical to survive. Livia found her voice, a voice that is hers alone, which is what led her to production”.
Today, Livia has become a light above just being a vocalist, she is a multi instrumentalist who Lyrically scripts from the ground up.
Every project she releases is a persoanl choice, a far cry from that seven year old who is trying to keep the beat.
Now, all that Livia does is about being true to that original story.
