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Monicazation

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Monicazation
File:Monica-1.jpg
Background information
Birth nameMonica Omorodion Swaida
OriginEdo,
Nigeria
GenresPop, R&B, Hip hop Soul, soul, blues, Rock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2007 –present

Monica Omorodion Swaida (born September 1), known as Monicazation is a Nigerian/American singer, actress, movie producer and CEO of an insurance company. She is the producer of the movie, ‘Esohe’, featuring both Hollywood and Nollywood stars, she was one of Majek Fashek's backup singers .[1]

Early life

Monicazation was born in England and was raised in Warri Nigeria. She started her professional career at the age of 12. She won a song writing competition with Punch Newspapers, which took her to Lagos where her musical career started at the age of 14.[2]

Monicazation attended Nana Primary school, Warri, and secondary school at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner Massachusetts,she started singing right as a teen. While at the university of Massachusetts Lowell, Monica was the dance leader at Alumni association. She lead her group and did live shows at the university and she wrote poetry in the drama club that was published.[3] She then moved to Nsukka to receive a degree in social work at University of Nigeria. During her school years, Waje focused on her musical works such as school concerts and fellowships. She listened and learned from her mentors such as Majek Fashek to improve her music.[4]

Career

Singer

Omrorodion started singing as a teenager and was introduced to the music studio by Sam Morris of Otto records and this led her to Aibtonia studio, where she met her first band members Sound on Sound and was signed by Poligram records. She also met Majek Fashek and many other crews and used to be in studios during her school breaks. She opened for Majek Fashek, Onyenka, Christie Essien and many other artists, and went on tours as a teen with Majek Fashek. Monicazation released her full album titled Monicazation in September 2014 and went on tours with many artists.[5]

As a teenager, she met Majek Fashek at Aibitonia Studios at Anthony in Lagos. At that time, she was part of a group called ‘Sound on Sound’ with an American called Scratch and three other singers who released their first album with Poligram Records. Majek Fashek taught her a lot about song writing and eliminated her stage fears. She met Sunny Okosun during the ‘MAMSER’ tour with Majek and became friends with his backup singers. When Majek was taking breaks from long tours, she decided to go with Sunny Okosun. Anytime she was on a break with Majek, she went with Okosun and also learned from him."[6]

Actress

Omorodion has acted in various feature films including, Affairs of the Heart with Joseph Benjamin, Stella Damasus in 2014, and then played the lead in a film written by director Obed Joe titled Burning Love in 2014. She later produced her award winning film titled Faces of Love with Robert Peters starring Razaaq Adoti, Syr Law, John Dumelo among many others. Swaida, an insurance business owner, returned to her entertainment roots after four years. Faces of Love is only the second movie she produced and her first to receive an award.She also served as a co-executive producer and wrote the soundtrack. She decided to take on the responsibility to promote art that can convey the "true" images of African people.[7]

Personal life

Monica started writing poems and music while she was a teenager. While in Nana Primary school Warri, Monica was writing songs with her younger sister. They used to sing and rap even before she knew anything about rapping! She first fell in love with drama while in Hussey College Warri. She joined a theater group Called Silver Line Productions with Felix Okwelum as the theatre director in Warri. She acted on stage doing dramatic poetry like Abiku etc. She also acted in plays like The Gods Are Not To Blame, House Asunder and many more. She toured with Silver Line Production for years before focusing more on music. She did background singing for stars including: Majek Fashek, Sunny Okosun and Evi Edna. She also did lots of jingles and voice over work. She toured extensively with Majek Fashek’s band all over Nigeria and Africa and her fondest experience was when they played at the Oba Palace in Benin.[8] Monica Omorodion Swaida was best known in the 1990s, along with the likes of Evi Edna, Majek Fashek and the late Sunny Okosun.[9]

Discography

Selected singles

  • "Under Your Influence" (2016)
  • "Jesus" (2015)
  • "Mambo"(2015)
  • "Moved On" (2015)
  • "Na You" (2015)
  • "Palava Dey" (2015)
  • "My Baby Is Gone" (2015)

Awards and nominations

Awards

  • ACADEMIA MUSIC AWARD CALIFORNIA 2015,

Nominations

  • GOLDEN ICONS ACADEMY MOVIE AWARDS
  • LANFA MOVIE AND MUSIC AWARD
  • PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WITH NAFCA, 2015 (FACES OF LOVE)
  • [10]

References

  1. ^ "Music is my first love –Monicazation". Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ^ "If I didn't help Majek Fashek and he died, I would not have forgiven myself'-Monica Omorodion Swaida". Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Monica Swaida Biography". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. ^ "I am a complete entertainer' – America based Actress cum singer, MONICA OMORODION". Encomium. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  5. ^ "US-Based Monica Omorodion Recounts How Majek Fashek Greatly Inspired Her". Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Actress talks difference between filming in Nigeria and America". pulse.ng. Chidumga Izuzu. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  7. ^ Egole, Anozie (24 August 2013). "Her Own Story to Tell". Hiroko Sato. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  8. ^ "U.S. based music act, Monica, returns with a bang". Funsho Akinwale. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. ^ "My Album Is Like A Box Of Chocolate, Says Waida". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Her Own Story to Tell". University of Massachussets. Hiroko Sato. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
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