At a time most children of his age are still clinging to their mother’s aprons, little OzzyBosco (real name is Oziomachukwu Mojekwu) is enjoying a lot of attention from music fans across Nigeria.
Currently the toast of the music industry, the kid artiste, who turned seven on Sunday, seems determined to justify his rating as Africa’s youngest kid superstar.
OzzyBosco has never ceased to amaze many music fans who have been following his progress since December, 2012, when a stunning single titled Sweet Mama – the product of a collabo with celebrity singer, Flavour – formally announced his arrival on the music scene.
Ever since releasing Sweet Mama, he has recorded about eight other sizzling singles featuring notable singers, such as Terry G, Olamide, Lamboginny and the charismatic M.I.
Within 25 months of his arrival in the entertainment circuit, he has carved a niche for himself as a very visible kid artiste by consistently performing at major events around the country.
Apart from being the cynosure of all eyes during the wedding of the daughter of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State in January, 2013, he performed at other events, such as the Calabar Carnival, the City People Entertainment Awards, the Nigeria Music Video Awards, Lagos State Countdown event, Dynamix Awards, Zenith Bank Christmas Youth Parade and the Ovation Red Carol, to mention a few.
Little wonder, when OzzyBosco’s handlers, collectively known as Team OzzyBosco, threw a party on Sunday to unveil his corporate office in Ikeja, Lagos, the attendance included some of the best known names in the entertainment industry.
It was a deserving gesture, no doubt, meant to encourage the boy and his handlers. And little OzzyBosco, who was clearly in his elements, gave a good account of himself in a performance that left most of the guests in no doubt about his future as a singer.
After watching the kid artiste thrill the guests alongside Lamboginny, comedian Emmanuel Idowu-Noel, aka Koffi, joked that if anyone truly deserved to be called ‘Wizkid’, it should be OzzyBosco and not the current bearer of that pseudonym, Ayodele Balogun.
OzzyBosco posted such a delightful performance during the event – singing, dancing and jumping – so much that a former president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, Tee-Mac Isueli, was moved to join him on the stage.
However, beyond the fun and excitement, some of the guests could not hide their feelings about the implication of the kid singer’s career on his emotional and psychological development. One of them, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, wondered if OzzyBosco lived a normal life and his parents were giving him the type of upbringing due to a child of his age.
But OzzyBosco’s mum, Chief Nonye Mojekwu, rules out any doubt about her son’s upbringing.
“My son actually sucks breast at home and we allow him to be the child that he is. We are raising him to be a child at home and to do the kind of things that other children of his age do. We want him to excel on all fronts.
“But whenever he is performing on stage, he is a different person. He is no longer a child. He is bold and absorbed in his what he is doing. But, back home, he cries for about six times in a day.
“Different people have different reasons for doing things. Our purpose for allowing OzzyBosco to do what he is doing is because we noticed the signs early enough. Before he was three months old, we noticed that each time he heard the sound of music, he would start dancing. We felt that if we didn’t support and guide him, it would be an injustice to his generation. We are conscious of the implication of what he is doing,” she says.
Also Mojekwu notes that the OzzyBosco Kiddies TV, which is currently in its final stage, will be inaugurated soon. In addition, the kid artiste will embark on a Tourism Charity Adventure trip in company with children from select orphanages across the country.
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