Abidemi Ayodeji Ogunmolu: On a Mission to Making Timeless Music

Abidemi Ayodeji Ogunmolu, also known as Bidemi Olaoba, is a budding Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, and music composer best known for singing gospel high life music in the Fuji style, which was heavily influenced by the environment in which he grew up after a brief stint in the contemporary style that did not thrive. Eight years ago, he began his musical career as a worship leader in the choir at Christ Apostolic Church and later joined the CAC Music Ministry and the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Currently on a musical tour in the United States of America and also billed to release his latest single, Oluwatise, Ogunmolu, in this interview with MARY NNAH, talks about the journey so far, his USA tour, and why he is so grateful to God, as well as his intention to make timeless music with his brand  

Let’s talk about your current USA tour and the motive behind it.

I am currently on a tour of the United States of America. We have been doing a lot within several states. Just last week, we did several events at various locations in churches within Atlanta. The motive is clear- I am doing a tour in America and so we plan on holding major concerts in different states. We have Chicago, Atlanta, Maryland, New York and Dallas on lockdown. Basically, we are here to storm Africa. The tour will culminate in the unveiling of my new song titled, “Oluwatise”.

What is the inspiration behind your soon-to-be-launched song, Oluwatise and what message do you intend to pass across with it? 

When I started, there was no picture of how things were going to turn out. So I never expected that I was going to even come close to this present level that God has put me much more imagining that I was going to be here today. We were just doing it for fun. I never imagined that I was going to come this far and I thank God that I am here today. I am dropping a single this month, titled, “Oluwatise” (God has done it).

I looked at what I have been through in life from where I started; I never knew that I was ever going to come close to where God has put me today. So this is a song that I am dedicating to God. It is a song of thanksgiving, jubilation, and praise to God just to appreciate God for His goodness and mercy over my life.  

Oluwatise means God has done it. It is my song of gratitude. Thanksgiving is not just the first Sunday of the month. Thanksgiving is every day. Praising God is a lifetime commitment. Despite all that happens around you always cultivate the habit of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an attitude. It is not just a praise section. It is a lifestyle. The song, Oluwatise, is going to help you cultivate the attitude of thanksgiving,  

Why did you choose highlife for gospel songs over other genres of music?

I chose this pattern of music because this was what I grew up knowing. As a child, I listened to high life. This is not Fuji, it is highlife. Growing up, I have heard several songs as a child and these are things that make up my music today.

My kind of music is inspired by the scriptures, what I hear, what I see, and trends. I do gospel highlife in a Fuji way. I also have a lot of youths following me and the adults as well.

Are you sure you can reach a tangible audience with this genre of music?

I have been reaching millions of people with my music by the grace of God. My genre of music has never been a limitation to me in any way even in America.

So, my kind of music gives vibes, brings joy, and heals the broken heart; God uses music to bring joy. You could see the joy in the faces of people each time they hear my music.

Tell us about your journey into gospel music

I have been on a journey of grace. Sometimes it seems unreal but the grace of God has brought me thus far. I am what I am by the grace of God. I can only imagine how much more God can do. He has helped me in the past and He is still my hope for years to come.

Over years of doing this, professionally leading thousands of people in worship, bringing hundreds and thousands of people to Christ, the journey has not been smooth but the grace of God has been sufficient.

I started music pretty young. I can but mention our local church; I grew up in Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Iyanu, Mile 12. My sister sings as well, she is in the church choir. I didn’t know I could sing. On one of those days, there was a church right after my house, so I tried to imitate what I was hearing. I heard a song from the church from a distance and I sang the song, I guess someone was passing by and he heard the song I was singing and he was like ‘oh, nice voice!’ And it started like that in my church where I was opportune to be in the children’s choir department. I and two other friends of mine carved out a group from the children’s department choir. The name of our team was Dynamic Voices.

Because of the nature of our church then, we were not allowed to go outside to sing because we were seen as unserious and were advised just to focus on school alone. But our love and passion, even as children, will make us climb fences and escape from church so that the pastor wouldn’t see that we were going out there. We were just doing it then because we were having fun. 

From there, I grew into the youth choir department of the same church.  From there I started going to churches to sing I could clearly remember that one of the first churches that I went to for ministration was the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Covenant Area in Mile 12.

So we sang and God took the glory. We were three and while I did the chants (Oriki), he would do the contemporary and from there to my secondary school, Living Stone Model College, Ketu, Lagos. There, I and people with like minds after the class would go to the back of the classroom during our free periods to sing and play drums with the tables and people would be like these guys are sounding sweet. And those were the pointers to me that I was a good singer.

From there, someone came into the picture, his name is simply Kehinde – like mind, same passion and he lived in the same street with me then.  He is still in my band today. And then Kehinde will go to any length just to tell people that they must invite us to their next programme and so at some points, we would go to like eight churches in one night and we usually trek a long distance to ensure we meet our desire to sing at different churches. 

My tenacity and passion grew and then I went to Yaba College of Technology where I met my pastor, Oluwaseun Afolarin Moses. There was one of these programmes that we went for and I met him there. He liked what he heard and I also loved his spirit and we became very close. He was like an uncle, a father, and a friend to me. I lived in his house and he sings very well also. So, the passion grew from there and I was leading praise in church. From there, the grace kept abounding and to the glory of God, we are still leading people to Christ through worship and praise.

Is music for you a gift or call?

I will say it is both. It is a gift from God and also a calling. I started as a talented musician but along the length by the grace of God and God’s spiritual deposit in me, I grew from just a regular singer to a minister of the gospel. I can’t forget the experience. It was in 2012 that I had a calling to be in this ministry and that was when the dimension of scriptures came in and the prophetic dimension of this ministry came into manifestation. So, it is my ministry, a gift from God and it is also my career.

Music to me is communication; a way of expression. Character and culture are formed through music because people replicate what they hear. Even the Bible said faith cometh by hearing … So music to me is an avenue of expressing our feelings and for me when I am standing in front of thousands of people, to express myself, it’s like a mystery to me. So, for me, music is an avenue of expressing gratitude to God.