Ego Ogbaro Biography: The creativity of Ego Ogbaro knows no bounds as the sonorous voice behind famous singer Lagbaja’s most successful albums continues to blaze the trail in the entertainment circle.
ENigeria Newspaper reports that Ego Ogbaro, famously known as Ego in her youthful days was the most talked about backup singer within the showbiz circle in Nigeria as her impeccable voice was the signature in all of Lagbaja’s most successful body of works including songs like Konko Below and Nothing For You among others.
After she quit her working relationship with Bisade Ologunde (Lagbaja’s real name), Ego Ogabro (Ego) proceeded to launch a solo career in music, a move she said was one of the hardest she ever made.
The sonorous singer upon trying hands in music without requisite success also veered into movies and ENigeria Newspaper reports that the singer this time was among the actresses playing a sub-lead role in the new Showmax telenovela movie, WURA.
Ego Ogbaro Biography
Ego Ogbaro also known as Ego Iheanacho was born in Imo state but attended Central Primary School and the Prestigious Ikeja High School, GRA in Lagos. She graduated as the top student in 1991.
Ego later joined the Lagbaja band around 1994 and stayed with the band for over a decade, making great music and winning awards as the Most Promising Female act at the FAME Music Awards in 1998 and Best Female Vocalist of the Year at the Hip-Hop World Awards in 2006 before launching a solo career in 2007.
In 2008, Ego became a Glo Ambassador, headlining events and promos such as the Glo ‘Borrow me data’, among other commercials for the telecoms giant.
Describing her time with Lagbaja, she said it was a “sister-brother; mentor-mentee; employer-employee” relationship. This made her decision to leave the band the toughest of her musical career. According to her, she left because she thought it was time for her to start a new phase as a solo artist.
Ego Solo Career
After ending her working relationship with Lagbaja, Ego Ogbaro formed a band, Indigo Band, but the band never quite made much impact.
The singer has admitted that she had to spend a lot of time removing herself from Lagbaja’s shadow and changing people’s perception of her as just Lagbaja’s singer. However, her collaborations with artists like Tosin Martins, Sunny Nneji, Djinee, Asa, Cobhams, and Yinka Davies gave her some respite as they helped as makeshift from the stereotyped Lagbaja’s shadows she was known for.
Although she did not occupy center stage, Ego also continued to work hard to carve a niche for herself in the male-dominated music industry, a task that wasn’t quite easy for her.
In 2011, she released a single entitled: “I Believe” with a video shot by Kemi Adetiba.
She also appeared on Ndani TV session in 2013.
Ego Ogbaro’s Marriage
Ego got married to Niyi Ogbaro, whom she sometimes calls her manager. Niyi however shockingly died in his mid-40s, in the early hours of August 31, 2023, after a protracted illness. READ IT HERE
Ego Ogbaro Movie Career
Ego speaking on why she plays the role of Iyabo Kuti in Wura, she said.
“First of all, it was a challenge, and I was up for the challenge; the opportunity came, and I saw something in that character, and I felt I could pull it off, and I connected with that character.
I did my research, sat down, and believed in myself that I could do it,” she said
“It was tough at first, I had my doubts, but I had great people around me, who helped me to stand the challenges of those first few weeks,” she added.
The movie, Wura, is the first-of-its-kind for Showmax. Wura is a telenovela series that tells the story of an ambitious and ruthless CEO of a gold-mining industry, who would stop at nothing to protect her company and those she loves.
Wura is the story of Wura-Amoo Adeleke, a perfect wife, a loving mother of two and the ruthless Chief Executive Officer of a fictional Gold Mine. In the eyes of her family, Wura is a sweet soul and a dauntless saint, but when it comes to running her business empire, she is a lioness, who doesn’t care whose ox is gored in her quest to achieve goals and getting things done.
Safe to say it’s an adaptation of a South African telenovela series, The River. Wura, however, offers a different content value. If there is one thing Nollywood producers continue to teach us; it’s their fearlessness in exploring different film genres.
Source: ENigeria Newspaper
