Ogi Unveils Debut EP 'Monologues'

Today, rising songstress Ogi has unveiled her debut EP, MONOLOGUES. The project arrives alongside her newest single and visual "Bitter" and is available now at all DSPs and streaming services via ARTium Recordings/Atlantic Records.

The project includes her debut single "I Got It" which was produced by GRAMMY® Award-winner No I.D. (Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West) and featured on Zane Lowe's World First on Apple Music. It also includes her second single "Envy" which was accompanied by an official live performance video shot on location at Seattle, WA's inspirational Chihuly Garden and Glass.

"These songs are my outlet to say what I really felt about something but didn't say because my feelings didn't fit the script," says Ogi. "I was afraid of looking cocky or unruly ('Looker') or being overly resentful ('Bitter') or too apathetic ('Let Me Go') or being too affectionate ('IKYK'). These are performances of songs by a person who feels like she's performed all her life. How meta.

The most relatable thing about my experience is that I tried to be something that I'm not to fall in line with an internalized notion of myself. In other words, I performed the expectations that I was given. And everyone can relate to forgoing the fullest expression of themselves for the sake of the crowd - the audience. But now I'm putting myself display and staging those thoughts I never intended for people to hear. We love radical (maybe too specific) honesty."

Born just outside of Chicago to Nigerian-born parents, Ogi Ifediora grew up in Wisconsin where she manifested an early passion for music. After joining jazz choir and learning viola in high school, she attended Northwestern University and pushed her musical dreams even further, performing in the school's leading acapella group while composing her own original demos in GarageBand.

Just prior to senior year, Ogi began to post covers on Instagram, including a take on PJ Morton's "Alright" that caught fire when PJ posted it on his page and No I.D. took notice. He signed her to ARTium Recordings and she then finished her final year of school before moving to LA.

Working in the studio with No I.D., she cultivated a soulful style of her own equally informed by that lifelong connection to harmony, eclectic resonances, and expressive intonation.

Ernest Dion Wilson (No I.D.) says,"Ogi is a once in a generation talent. She has her own unique perspective, which makes her music and art very quickly stand out as special. Me and my ARTium team are proud and excited to embark on this journey with her."

Ogi - who is currently on the road with Snoh Aalegra for the "Ugh, These Temporary Highs Tour"- has recently been announced as a performer at Pharrell Williams' Something In The Water Festival in Washington, DC. She'll also be joining Polo and Pan and Parcels at the Hollywood Bowl on 8/7 and most recently kicked off the first weekend of Coachella at the Pandora Oasis 90s inspired house takeover hosted in partnership with Atlantic Records with performances alongside Ravyn Lenae and Raiche.

Listen to the new EP here:

Watch the visual for the new single here:

To post a comment, you must register and login.