THE BLIND MAESTRO: SPOTLIGHT ON COBHAMS ASUQUO
When a man walk in the path destined for him, he must certainly succeed in it. If he doesn't succeed, then it was not his calling in the first place. This is the reason for beaming searchlight on Cobhams Asuquo. My first encounter with this legend was with his song I Still Choose to Worship You, that was my first introduction to his brand of music. The second encounter was at the Redemption Camp. He was a guest artist at our Youth programme .
His performance that day wowed all of us. I mean everyone present! The ladies couldn't help hollering and some shed tears of joy and and pity for this visually impaired gifted song master. There was an overwhelming rounds of applause during and after his performance. One thing stood out to me then and that is the fact that Cobhams Asuquo is a maestro. I call him the blind maestro.
Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo was born on the 6th of January, 1981. He is a singer/writer, music producer, musician, public speaker and business. In an interview he spoke of his childhood and how he discovered the gift of music. Despite being born blind, he grew and lived like everyone other 'normal' child. He even participated in games that were the exclusive preserve of those with sight. He recalled using his mother's barrels to make sound with sticks, functioning and making beats with his mouth and organizing concerts with the children in the neighborhood.
Cobhams gained admission to study law at the University of Lagos but he dropped out in his third year to pursue music. There was an irresistible pool towards music and he decided he was going to risk it. He started off by volunteering himself to work in music studios where an opportunity was accorded him. Most times, he spends the night in studios because of his passion for it. Other times, people doubted his abilities owning to the fact that he was visually impaired. Undaunted and determined, his effort will eventually pay off when in 2007 he came into international limelight as a producer and co writer of Asa that won an award that same year. Prior to this period, he was signed to Sony AVT as a song writer. He also worked at Question Mark Entertainment as head of audio productions before setting up his own record label Cobhams Asuquo Music Production (CAMP). Cobham is a self taught music genius. He taught himself how to play the keyboard which he played for his church at a time. Cobhams have been credited with a lot of productions of award winning songs and even co-writing some of the songs. Songs in this category includes: Your smile by Tjan, Love You Baby by Banky W, You Suppose Know by Bez, Wish Me Well by Timi Dakolo to mention but a few.
( Cobhams and wife, Ojuolape. Photo credit:google)December 2, 2010 Cobhams Asuquo tied the knot with his long time friend, Ojuolape Veronica Olukanmi and they have two sons. It was a bit of shock for the wife when months after the birth of their first son, it was discovered that he couldn't see. Like his father, he was born blind. Ojuolape in an interview said the visual impairment in their first son has made her believe more in God. The little is also threading the path of his father. Unargueably, any way you look at, Cobhams is gifted and he is someone that has an ear for music. Recall also that during the era of the defunct Nigeran Idol, he was one of the penalist. Helping to constructively bring out the best in the contestants. If you have listened to his cover on Joeboy's Nobody, featuring Joeboy, Dj Neptune and Mr Eazi, you will agree with me that the different modulations and harmony he adopted into the music makes it look as if the song was originally his. Long live Cobhams Asuquo! Long live Nigerian Music! Till we meet again.
I still remain Yours Truly,
Julius Topohozin.
