If you have heard of Lagbaja before or you belong to his fan base then you definitely know Ego, his former lead vocalist who thrilled both fans and foes alike with her melodic voice when she was still part of Lagbaja’s band.
For those that do not know him(which i’m guessing are very little) Lagbaja, whose real name is Bisade Ologunde, born in Lagos, is a Nigerian afrobeat musician, singer-songwriter and percussionist who is widely known as Lágbájá for his signature use of mask which covers his identity.
Lagbaja’s musical career spans over two decades and at a point of time during his career, he had a lead vocalist who seemed inseparable from him until their separation later on. Her name is Ego Ihenacho Ogbaro.
Nwakaego Ihenacho Ogbaro, known professionally as Ego, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born in Imo State and is best known as a vocalist for Lagbaja’s band Africano before she quit the band in 2007.
Ego attended Central Primary School and the prestigious Ikeja High School, GRA in Lagos. She graduated from high school in 1991. According to her, She went to the university although she didn’t graduate because she was already starting a career and also she wasn’t cut out for a “nine-five” job.
Ego joined Lagbaja’s band around 1994 with which she stayed for over a decade churning out great music and winning awards like the Kim Lawani’s Most Promising Female Act of the Year at the Fame Music Awards in 1998 and Best Female Vocalist of the year at the Hip-Hop World Awards in 2006 before she decided to launch a solo career in 2007 and formed a band called Indigo.
While, she was with Lagbaja, she recorded hit songs such as “Konko Below”, “Nothing for You”, “Never Far Away” and frequently went on world tours with Lagbaja.
Since leaving Lagbaja’s band, she has collaborated with artistes like Sunny Nneji, Djinee, Tosin Martins, Ayanbirin and Blaise, among others. She has also performed with Weird MC, Aṣa, Cobhams Asuquo and Yinka Davies. She was signed as a Globacom ambassador in 2008.
In 2011, she released an impressive single “I Believe”, to address the violence that erupted in Jos city in 2010 and it was also the lead single from her debut album. The video was shot by Kemi Adetiba.
Lagbaja and Ego had an amazing chemistry during the period they were together, in fact, rumours were even circulating then that they were both dating, however, she silenced those rumours when she walked down the aisle with her longterm lover, Niyi Ogbaro in 2009.
She has often described her relationship with Lagbaja as a brother-sister, employer-employee and mentor-mentee type of bond while admitting that she learnt a lot of things from him because he saw the potential in her even before she saw it in herself.
While speaking on how she met Lagbaja, she revealed that she met him through Sunny Nneji, who was a friend to her friend. She was somewhat active musically in 2013, appearing on online platforms like Ndani TV’s Sessions.
She has also admitted that leaving Lagbaja’s band was one of the toughest moment of her life but she believed it was the right step to take at that time. She has also denied reports that she left the band in bad faith while noting that she still maintain a good relationship with the veteran musician.
Generally, Ego Iheanacho Ogbara has been quiet on the scene since she split from Lagbaja’s band, and nothing much has been heard from her other than the music she created with Lagbaja, however, it is safe she made her mark on the music scene through her contribution to Lagbaja’s discography.
Ego’s recent pics:
According to the singer, she unwinds by watching TV, hanging out with friends or going to the beach…..See More
Leave a Reply