Every musical artist or a creative person has a source from which they draw their inspiration and recreate a work of art. For Austin Awele Okocha, popularly known as Austin Boss, his musical growth was shaped by many influences but notably by music legends like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Bob Marley and Lucky Dube.

According to him, while growing up the music of these great late souls played an integral role in moulding him to a musician he has become because these people imbued in him true love for the art and the desire to contribute to the upliftment of the human soul through music.

“My musical journey started from being in a choir in the high school as young eleven year-old. This gravitated to me writing lyrics and going to studios by the age of 13. But my major and most profound musical influences came from different genres and artists like Fela, Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and so much more. They all contributed to grooming me into a more conscious artist,” he recounted.

While he believes he has been forged into a good musician by the influences of these great musical talents Austin Boss gives it all to God who he praises as the driving motive force in his life. He also believes his environment plays an important role in his spontaneous ability to make music coupled with his mood which dictates the direction his music takes at a point in time.

“My number one inspiration is God, then my environment, my mood and also the instrumental. Either I have the idea before the beat or after the beat. My environment and the things I encounter or witness first hand also influence my music more. My fans are also part of the influences but they only make me continue what I’m doing,” he says.

Austin Boss however doesn’t believe there’s such a thing as bad or good music, saying music is all about perception.

“I think it’s based on perception but to me good music is the type of music that speaks to the soul and you don’t really need to understand it to enjoy it. Quality music has little to do with lyrics or the message of the music with the music, as we have seen people and even music professionals enjoy music they literally don’t understand the lyrics or what the artist is saying, but I think the message in this instance should be more about the emotions the artist transmit to his audience through his music, what his audience perceive when they listen to his music and really less about the fixation and use of those words that make up the lyrics,” he opined.

Austin Boss started making music professionally in 2015 with a now defunct group known as SOD based in Tbilisi, Georgia. He relocated back to Nigeria in 2018 to chase a solo career in music. And he has since carved a niche for himself as an artist to watch out for.