WHERE IS AGE BEEKA?

My love for music is a given. I am drawn to a person's mind; his ability to articulate in unambiguous, intellectual terms what he feels. This is what attracted me to Age Beeka.
Listening to his songs on my phone evokes a passion within my spirit that words cannot describe. His soft voice, though meek and gentle, radiates energy similar to the suns’. Age Beeka enthralled me early on when I heard an acapella rendition of ‘’Angelica’’ on Music Africa. Immediately afterwards, my detailed military manhunt for him and his began. I garnered some tips from Gulder Ultimate Search, added them to my arsenal and hit the streets. My search didn’t yield much result for years, despite my military tactics, until a friend of mine; Andrew Adigwe gave me the debut album - Age.

Age Beeka, born 7th Dec, 1975 captivated Nigerians with his debut album titled ‘Age’ with songs like 'Angelica', 'Trusting in the destiny', 'Girl of my dreams', 'Gift of God'. With an inspirational lyrical pad and mellifluous voice, accentuated by a dexterous touch on several instruments including the guitar, piano and drums, Age is a musician in the class of the gods.

His entry into the music industry, though orchestrated by happenstance circumstances, was highly inevitable as his love for music created a surge in his early years and since then Age has been relentless in his pursuit. Really Age may not pass with the Nostradamus phenomenon, but when it comes to music...Age saw the future. As I lay on my bed letting my mind get soaked with the rhythms and essence from several of his tracks, I couldn’t help but agree that Age came ahead of his time.

If you are anytime like me, the first awestruck feeling I had, reverberated from the realization that he his Nigerian. At the time his single hit the airwaves in 2002, many were unsure if this good thing can really come out of Nazareth (speaking of Naija), his nationality became an issue on the street, in the buses. People started to troop into his residence to ascertain his identity.


Driven by excellence, he began by personally studying music great artiste of all times in the likes of; Mozart, Beethoven and a host of others. After, his first album, he attended a music school in Los Angeles where he developed his love for music into a first class item. I say first class, because the standards of the world are unworthy to serve as a yardstick in classifying his kind of music.

Age like his name is boundless as he easily connects with people from all ages. Though, in some shallow farce one could easily dismiss him as foreign with the wave of hands. Nonetheless, Age’s music transcends nationality, tribe or social status. It is for those who appreciate the intricacies of professional music, and whose heart resonates with unsaid words.

After his first album, which was heard by a handful of music lovers, he totally dropped off the radar. Whispers have been heard about a second album and some stage appearances, but really nothing substantial.

In view of all that has been raised so far, one would think that Age would play a key role in projecting the Nigerian music brand but alas, the Nigerian music scene is a theatre with elements of mediocrity and gross ineptitude, on display riding on a platform of ephemeral financial profitability. Age’s romance with oblivion does not therefore come as a shock as he has become anachronistic in a world where mediocrity has become the new excellence.
Nevertheless, all who have caught a glimpse into his soul attests of his addictive ability. A single ‘drag’ on his lyrics, instrumentals and productive prowess leaves one hooked to his passion, excellence and infallible talent.

Age Beeka has effortlessly ravaged our souls, invaded our beings and disrupted our lifestyles, but we do not complain. We are content. But as our proclivities oscillate us towards the status quo, towards bland music; inspired by perversely hollow minds and dominated by empty, mediocre lyrics, we can only ask; WHERE IS AGE BEEKA?