Unfortunately I am not going to start off with those cliché, “I have been playing drums since the age 4 or 6â€; even if that is the case, that is not exactly how it starts.
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Firstly I would like to give thanks to my mate upstairs for giving me the tool to play for him and the gift to give back to him.
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It all started off in Nigeria at about the age of 3 or 4. We have a very big church in Nigeria and at the end of every service I would go to the musicians section (in Nigeria they were called instrumentalists, even here as well) and start dabbling on the drums. At that age, even my parents didn’t know that I had been given a gift from God, they just knew that I liked playing the drums. Being parents, they would try and hurry me up and order me to leave that area, but the Pastor always told “leave him alone, let him glorify God in the way he knows best†obviously in Yoruba! That was the story in Nigeria, until I came to the UK.
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My hands had always been itchy and even at home, even when I didn’t have a drum kit, I would find a way to construct one. Back in those days, we had a video in the house called ‘Take Control’ from my church in Nigeria which I watched nearly every day and assembled books in front of me. I was pretty much in tune with drums then that different levels of books represented the small, mid and floor tom. Using my pencils to play what I could see and hear on the TV.
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From then it moved to actually playing at church at the age of 9 and progressing from there. Obviously a lot happened between those times, but all can not be explained.
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Although I have been playing all that time, it is best to say that I have been playing properly for the past5 years, but still not been allowed the time to practice on my own and the only practice time I have is in church. For the past 6 years, I have been playing for my church at all major shows, conventions and concerts, most recently the open air concert in Homerton in 2006.
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I have also played alongside Kenneth Benson (Gospel artist) and within the vicinity of Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Royal Festival Hall and partook in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2000. There are many more, but hard to remember.
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I am sure my mate upstairs will provide me with the necessary platform for me to show off his gifts.
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Currently, I am playing with a Group called New Inspiration, Nu Born 2 Praise and a session musician. My current drum set is a black DDrum Diablo 4 toms rock set, but turned to a fusion set, with Sabian Pro Xcelerator hi-hats (they sound niceeeeeeee) and sabian cymbals, alongside Stagg splash, crash and china (pictures will soon be up of my set-up in church). Currently endorsed by Los Cabos drumsticks. God is paving the way!!
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Overall I would say that I am a dynamic, versatile and disciplined drummer.
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All those aspiring drummers, just remember to keep god first and know where you are going in life, be it a full time drummer or a doctor and concentrate on that! Try to distinguish early on whether your gift is just a hobby, your full time ministry or profession and stick it.
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God Bless
Emmanuel
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