Without trying to create baseless assertions, I must confess to you that the Nigerian music industry can boast of several hardworking young female musicians that are undoubtedly gifted with unique vocal abilities and an unwavering desire to succeed like Okal who over the years continuously and painstakingly worked her way up the ladder in pursuit of opportunity to be heard not just locally but globally.

Words By Sesan Adeniji

From learning the ropes by acquiring knowledge of playing the guitar and also being part of the music industry conversation with her mouth-watering remix or refix of trendy songs, as well as recording her own original materials, Omobosola Karimat Alaka better known in industry as Okal – the first lady of Royale Records is one talent on the verge of global glory. Her recent single ‘Cost A Thang’ is a testament to that notion.

From the get go, she was almost destined to be a rapper but instead, she switched it up to a Neo-Soul pop artists, and that was the beginning of her journey to self-artistic music discovery. “By 2013, my interest had really grown from rap to singing even though I was really confused and scared at first knowing fully well I was not vocally as powerful as the likes of Adele and the Mary J Blige but still, I wanted to sing so badly. And after discovering the texture of my vocal strength, I became unstoppable.

Download ‘Cost A Thang‘ By Okal

With my knowledge as a guitarist, I recorded my debut single ‘Cold World’ produced by D Guitar in 2014 at a period in my life when I was in a running battle with my parents to get a university admission. Somehow I got lucky – University of Benin granted my wish. At my 200Levels, despite all the frustrations as an indie artist ‘Guitar Girl’ known all around her hostel, I got favored again. I met DJ T Monie via twitter – With his influence in the Benin entertainment scene, I got radio interviews and he also introduced me to Philtown who produced my sophomore single ‘My Feelings’.

Then, with my 15-second music videos I usually drop on social media platform like instagram, my fan base increased despite the fact that I was still in search for a major record label and management platforms to work with. In the midst of that hustle, I released a third single produced by Killertunes titled ‘Without You’. That song was a defining tune in my career. It opened several doors. By the time I jumped on Tekno’s Pana with the release of a ‘refix’, my confidence as an artist was up there. Afterwards, I dropped ‘Million Dollar Something’ Produced By Philtown (2016).

With so much buzz heading my way, I signed a management deal that gave me further headway into the Lagos music scene but when that deal collapsed, I was deeply affected for weeks. Moving forward, in 2017, I jumped on Davido’s “If”. I made a female refix; that brought back attention to my career. I then dropped another of my original song ‘Irin Ajo’ (The Journey). 2018, although that year proved to be a difficult one but somehow I released a refix to Victor AD’s ‘Wetin We Gain’, which to be sincere, came out as another massive success. Then, my Kizz Daniel’s ‘Fvckyoufemalerefix was another triumph that ushered in my latest single ‘Cost A Thang’.

Download Wetin We Gain – Okal Refix

Getting Signed to Royale Records came in very unexpectedly. One of my industry bosses told me to come perform at Club Royale, Oba Akran Ikeja owned by Charles Lawal (C.E.O). After my performance, I was called up again to do another #acapella and was told that the C.E.O wanted to meet with me. We met up we spoke – to cut the long story short; he started Royale Records and then signed me on. He hooked me up with producer Puffy Tee, and we made the hit ‘Cost A Thang’. I will say this is the record deal I have been waiting for my entire career. A deal that supports my sound and is ready to help me excel by sharing my music with the whole globe. I’m heading for my El Dorado.

Socials

Twitter & IG – @iamokal