Okwei Odili

Okwei Odili is a multidisciplinary Nigerian artist based in Lagos/Nigeria and sometimes in Salvador (Bahia)/Brazil.

Odili is the leader of Aweto Band and this year produced and released their debut album Òsùmàrè with the support of Bahia state government and Onassis Foundation in Greece.

The artist has spent the past years building her music career from Salvador, Brazil; and Lagos, Nigeria. Odili’s solo work and partnership with afrobeat jazz band Ayetoro in Nigeria was instrumental in the artist’s process and growth. In 2013, Odili was a awarded an art grant by UNESCO/Aschberg, which helped her visit Brazil for the first time. In her two-month stay in Bahia, Odili and some local musicians would team up to form a project called IFA Afrobeat. Their joint EP album IFA Afrobeat + Okwei Odili won them Brazil’s prestigious Caymmi Music Award for »Best New Revelation« in 2015. Following the reception of the album, Odili returned to Brazil, formed her band called Aweto and together they have honed their sound, and won many hearts and ears. In 2020–21, they released her debut solo album Òsùmàrè, which united 15 Brazilian and Nigerian musicians. The Nigerian singer and composer has been dubbed one of the most important voices in the Afrobeat genre.

Odili is open to experiencing other forms of art and has experience with creative writing, film, and performance art.

 

Òsùmàrè Album (2021): bit.ly/3oDETWj

IFÁ Afrobeat + Okwei .V. Odili (2015): https://bit.ly/3sEnLAW

Chop your moni go. (Concert 2021): https://bit.ly/3oMLSME

Odili and Panteras Negras Band at Goethe Institut Salvador (2019): https://bit.ly/3sSXA9J