Yemytpx, Odeyemi thrill fans with O Canada

To celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of Canada as a land of opportunities, Ayodele Odeyemi and Nigerian songwriter and recording artist, Opeyemi Olatunji, popularly known as YemyTpx, have released ‘O Canada’, a celebratory song filled with lyrics of the nation’s anthem. It is a rich blend and fusion of Afrobeats and western feels.

Produced by veteran music producer, Edward Sunday, the video was shot by award-wining video director, Otega Ododoru, at the scene of the music production.

The song is a collaborative effort of YemyTpx and Odeyemi, alias Ay De’ Senator, a Canadian citizen and Chief Executive Officer of Africanad, alongside other stakeholders in both countries.

Speaking on how it all started, YemyTpx said he got a call from Odeyemi early last year as they had been working together on some other projects. “Right in the middle of our conversation, he told me about a vision he’s been nursing on how to unite people and we both decided that this can only happen either through sports or music because these are two sure ways of bringing people of different tongues and colours together. So we put heads together and came up with a song that can be sung by all Canadians around the globe.

“After I was done with the song writing, the vision and the song were presented to the Africanad team for deliberation, approval and funding so as to progress to the next stage, which is music and video production. We also collaborated with NaijaGoSmile Media Consult, Azusa Productions and GAP Studio to make this project a success.”

YemyTpx said composing such a song was not easy but the experience was worth it. “As an artiste and a song writer, it was a golden opportunity for me to express and explore my gift as a singer with someone who shared the same vision as myself. Writing the song was a very sweet experience for me because we foresaw the impact the song was going to have on the listeners.”

On how he got the idea, Odeyemi said he listened to the anthem and thought of a jazz up with sounds many Africans were already familiar with. “We all know Africans love music, love to groove, to dance and we love our drums and so I decided to infuse all these elements in it.”

He infused the alternative anthem with elements of afrobeats, a music style that combines West African musical elements, along with vocal works by Winnipeg’s Africanad community choir and a range of different drum styles.