By Vivian Onyebukwa
US-based Nigerian Professor of Mathematics, Lawrence Udeigwe has positioned his new single, Today, for a full entertainment blast.
Speaking recently via zoom from his base in New York, Udeigwe described music as his first love despite being a Mathematics teacher. “I released my first album in 2006 and formed my first band in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2007. So, it’s being at least 16 years worth of slow but steady work. Aside being a musician, I am also a university professor, so I am not able to devote 100% of my time to music but my grind has been steady.”
Udeigwe further explained that his new single has a rich flavour of Jazz and Afrobeats, as he described the Nigerian music industry as flourishing, with the sound coming as more diverse.
But then, the Mathematics professor said his music takes on a wider range of issues that the contemporary African deals with. “In terms of danceable tunes, Nigerian music occupies a good piece of space.
But I think there is still a huge unoccupied space that Nigerian music could be filling. We’re yet to tap into our potentials when it comes to listener-friendly music and purely instrumental music, even though, we had those kinds of music across all the ethnic groups of the country,” he stated.
The varsity don looks forward to collaborating with some established Nigerian musicians. “I hear Ladipoe on a song I’m currently working on. I hear The Cavemen on another song I’m working on. Others include Tiwa Savage, Flavour and Niniola. But to be honest, I’d be honoured to work with any of the established folks,” he stated.
A native of Enugu State, Udeigwe and his six siblings were born and raised in Makurdi, Benue State. He left Nigeria for the United States in 2000 for his university education and has remained there ever since. However, his love for music started as a chorister while he was in junior high school. The love blossomed when he got to the United Sates where he decided to pursue a career in music.