OMARION: A Respect For The Value Of Culture
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
He’s a Grammy award nominated artist who is known for his amazingly artistic music videos, soulful vocals and thoughtful lyrics and he is on his way to New Zealand to perform his first ever show in Auckland tomorrow night. Omarion began his musical career in 1999 when he joined the American R&B Boy Band B2K taking the role of lead vocals. Following their disbandment in 2004, Omarion sought out an independent career within the music industry, the result being his critically acclaimed 2005 debut album simply entitled ‘O’.
Speaking with Omarion from his Melbourne hotel room on the eve of his Auckland show, he certainly sounds excited about his impending visit
“This will be the first time that I get to experience it [NZ] on this level, I’m excited! I don’t know what to expect but I think it’s gonna be dope, I think it’s gonna be super dope!”
Omarion has recently released several visually stunning music videos, two of which were filmed in South Africa, a country that Omarion has definitely fallen in love with
“Oh my God…Oh my god! I am thinking about buying a place there, I mean it’s so peaceful and I have never really experienced that you know especially because I travel a lot. We ended up shooting the videos ‘Distance’ and ‘BDY On Me’ down there and I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t ready for the beauty of it! It was just such a great time, I was just like wow this is a special place so yeah I really enjoy shooting down there.”
Omarion not only sang and starred in the videos he also made his directorial debut with ‘Distance’, stating that his experience over the last few years have certainly made it easier to do what he has done
“I was looking back on all the experience that I had throughout my career you know because a lot of times people forget how long I have been entertaining. I mean I have been entertaining since I was 14, and now I am a full adult! (laughs) I’m 32! So the experiences have been just piling up. I really retained all of that knowledge [from film work] and it got me to the point where I really saw myself inside of my creativity; I saw the shots and the angles.
I also really have to give a big shout out to my other partner Deji Laray. He does multiple things, he doesn’t just edit, he helped me bring my vision to life; especially with W4W and travelling to Japan because that idea came to me maybe two months ago and he made it happen.
So I have always been directing, I just never really got any credit or anything so you know I felt like it was time for me to introduce this other creative aspect to what it is that I do. Down to the colours, down to the edit, down to the lyrics, everything that has to do with me as an artist is pure art; pure art and it’s mine, so yeah.”
Moving onto the topic of Japan, we spoke about his latest video, the sumptuous and visually stunning W4W ‘Word 4 Word’ and why he decided to film in Japan which is very much the polar opposite to South Africa
“Well it definitely had everything to do with the culture; but in putting this piece together I wanted to be really thoughtful and I wanted to show elements to people; especially my culture, the black culture; I wanted to show them you know the discipline that goes into their [Japanese] culture and it is something that is missing out of some of the curriculums back home! (laughs)
The simplicity really has to do with the mood and the self-reflecting in the video cause I’m looking a lot at myself and that really has everything to do with where I’m at right now. I have been in the music business for so long and you know I’ve finally got to a level where I know exactly what I wanna do. I’ve always known my purpose but throughout all of the transitions and changes it put me in this place-in this position of realizing and recognizing who I am and what it is that I truly contribute to music. Japan has always been a place outside of the US that I have been able to travel and I felt also connected to because they appreciate music so much. To be influenced and to be an influencer, to be able to receive that kinda love from culture it really shifts the purpose of creativity. I was just hoping with W4W that I could show that self-reflecting and I could show all of those different perspectives and point of view’s inside my creativity”
The culture of a country is something of great importance to Omarion; another reason why he is so excited to finally visit New Zealand with a small group of his childhood friends being both Samoan and Tongan;
“I may co-relate this in an interesting way, because where I was from there was only a small group of like Samoans (and) Tongans and I always co-related those people to New Zealand even though I know it’s not actually in New Zealand! (laughs) That’s how I was exposed to Polynesian Culture, so for me to be able to come to New Zealand it’s like super cool!”
Omarion’s highly anticipated 5th album was due to be released last month, however it has yet to be seen, I enquired with Omarion as to when we might see it drop and what he meant by the statement “When fans demand it” in answer to a similar question posed to him a few months ago
“Well I’ll dive a little deeper into it; dealing with a record company and record label, the business is complicated and I’ve done everything that I can do as an artist as far as preparing the album. I’ve been working on Reasons for about two years; on that body of work! For me as a creative I just wanna make sure it gets put out when it’s supposed to get put out and it gets a real opportunity to live in a space where its value is truly appreciated”
He certainly hasn’t just left his fans hanging though, on top of the fantastic videos mentioned earlier, Omarion recently released a beautiful cover of the classic Earth, Wind & Fire song ‘Reasons’. With the title of the song being the same as the title of Omarion’s upcoming album – I had to ask what it was about the song that spoke to him, especially since it is not your standard love song, rather one with much sadness and an honesty to it
“I tell people that all the time – I’m like ‘Yo this is not a real happy song – this is a truthful song’.
But I thought this would be dope to pay homage because June is Black Music Month; I have always been weary of remakes especially with legends like Earth Wind & Fire but I really wanted to keep the integrity of the song and you know remind young people – I mean no disrespect to what you listen to – that these artists like Earth Wind & Fire have been there first, their music lives through me. Their chord progressions, their changes, their vocals; I mean when I had to do the vocals I didn’t even know it was that many vocals, it was very hard to duplicate! (laughs) They didn’t have auto tune and they didn’t have all of these other machines that they use now days so it was like a challenge too and that made it attractive. I’m so happy that people received it well; there are not a lot of RnB artists that have the same tone as me or the same range and I was able to kind of flex my falsetto a little bit”
But music isn’t the only thing that occupies Omarion’s time now days; becoming a father for the first time in 2014 and again just last year to a beautiful baby girl has certainly changed his perspective on life in general
“My children have given me a piece of emotion that has essentially made me better as a creative, because my purpose isn’t solely driven off the connectivity of my talent – it’s like, ok we can talk about love, we can talk about emotion, but when you have a kid and you actually see a miracle happen in front of your eyes [he proudly speaks of how both of his children were born at home and he “caught’ his own daughter] – you get to understand the meaning of life and how precious it is. Your appreciation for things shifts, your priority shifts, the way that you look at things; it’s so much deeper. Having kids has really made me more focused as a man, as a creator. We all have our own experiences but for the most part when you become responsible for a whole human being the game gets way more serious (laughs) It’s a different experience for women than men and with women, you guys really are incredible creatures you’re so strong and it’s just amazing to be able to bring forth life!”
So what is Omarion’s final message to his New Zealand fans?
“For everyone coming out this is going to be a night to remember, we’re gonna have our first meet and greet, it’s gonna be lit! It’s gonna be good vibes…good vibes! I just hope the energy is as high level, cause I’m ready!”
Omarion has a one off show at Auckland’s Studio tomorrow night (Thursday 20th July) with support from Donell Lewis and Mikey Mayz. You can find out more info on the show here, and tickets are still available from Ticketspace (but get in quick as they’re selling FAST)!
