Jasmine's Place Issue No. 18 - May/June 2017 | Page 8

Finally my producer said my sound was eclectic and I had gotten to a point where I accepted that it was okay to be eclectic. JP: I love your first album - Rebirth. EW: Oh, thank you! [Big smile on my face] JP: Can you please tell us what the inspirations for the lyrics were? EW: It depends on the song. I thank God for divine inspiration. For the song flip the page, I was listening to a podcast message by Pastor Joel Osteen (Lakewood Church). And some of the lyrics came to me then. I have to say that many times my songs come to me with the melody first before the words. For the song rebirth, my producer gave me the melody he had come up with and asked me to put words to it. When I listened to it, it felt like it was a song about a reawakening. Each song has a different inspiration. JP: And the inspiration for the music itself - I can hear a mix of strains/genres - what are they? EW: HAHAHA! I don't know. I struggled for a long time because I didn't have a common sound and I wanted it really badly. I couldn't answer the question "so whose music does yours sound like"? Finally my producer said my sound was eclectic and I had gotten to a point where I accepted that it was okay to be eclectic JP: At the end of “Wonderful God”, what language did you use and what were you saying? EW: There’s Spanish (Nuestro Dios, Es Grande) and then there's Ibibio, my language. Ibibio is a language spoken in a certain region in Nigeria. in Ibibio I’m saying "God in heaven is the true Lord". JP: I read on your blog that you had been working on the project on and off for about 10 years? Was it just in the works or was there something delaying its production? EW: Several factors delayed - finances my mind-set (I felt like I was too old to be just now working on my first CD and to have the sound I had). Plus I was concerned with what people would say or think. 8 JASMINE'S PLACE