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multi creative has held the Abuja audience spellbound since he (and his station, Soundcity) moved to the city. It is intriguing how the audience of the hit music station sometimes want to fastforward the music just to hear his voice. His personality shines through his voice and we feel like he is having a one-on-one conversation with us. He attributes this to studying several radio formats even before he moved to his new station. He said, “I thought it was good to know these formats and I studied them because I wanted to give my listeners an experience.” While this explains his unique interactions online, EDK refers to himself as a “very shy and socially awkward guy”. other way round. While we joked about this, I sought his opinion on the growth of the Nigerian music industry as an OAP at a hit music station. as there was nothing to suggest this. He was very conversational and at ease although he admitted that he was so used to being the interviewer and not the young Nigerians have a sense of pride in being Nigerian and in speaking indigenous languages in songs and the average person connects better to Nigerian music. The industry has grown and as he puts it, “it is fantastic” and “you can’t fault that Nigerian pop culture right now is practically African pop culture. I listen to a lot of African radio and I am in I particularly found this awe of how well they speak The animated, breezy and statement unbelievable of Nigerian artists. A lot of intellectual OAP was born Osato Edokpayi. I knew this before the interview as I had followed his career from Vibes FM, Benin, Edo State. You can imagine my excitement when I got the brief to interview him for this edition. For years, I have compiled a list of questions to ask when I first saw him and it was just a seamless conversation when we met. The first thing I was curious about was how he handled the switch in radio style when he changed stations. The EDK in Benin had to talk more than play music but the roles reversed in Lagos and now, Abuja. Despite the cultural diversity of these three states, he has held it down in the most creative way. 25 | blueink.ng