Interview: Ikechi Onyenaka
October 21, 2019
Ikechi Onyenaka is a young voice in the Philadelphia music scene. A multi-instrumentalist, Ikechi is steeped in the tradition of Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, and more broadly a lineage of Black music. Born in the late-90s, Ikechi is a child of modern technology and the internet, as such, you’re as likely to catch him at any of Philadelphia’s jazz venues, as you are to catch him on his YouTube page. As a YouTuber, Ikechi has built a following of over 1,400 subscribers, posting his original music, cover videos and saxophone tutorials of everything from Lil Nas X’s Panini to Grover Washington Jr.’s Winelight.
On Tuesday, October 22nd, Ikechi will be playing a 3-hour set with his band at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Center City, Philadelphia, for which I’ve had the privilege of learning Ikechi’s original music for the past month, and will be playing along side him (SO PULL UP — buy tickets here). In preparation for his show I talked to him about his original music, creating his own platform and digital presence via the internet, his influences, and more! Here’s our conversation:
Stanley: What’s your first memory of music?
Ikechi: My earliest memory of music is when I was probably two to three years old listening to a choir at a church service in Austin, Texas. I remember hearing, what I can now classify as diminished passing chords, from the piano as well as the harmonies and soul projecting from the choir. It was the first time that I can remember hearing music with strong emotion, passion, and feel behind it.
Stanley: Alto saxophone is your main instrument, so to speak, but you also play bass guitar and piano. What was your introduction into playing music? When did you pick up each instrument?
Ikechi: My main introduction to playing instrumental music was from playing the xylophone and hand percussion in music class back in Kindergarten. At the time, it was something I enjoyed. However, I looked forward to the vocal music portions of these classes more. It wasn’t until back in 2006 when I entered 3rd grade when my late band director, Mr. Schoener, demonstrated playing numerous instruments in front of the whole third grade class to get us to join the Highland Park Elementary School Band. He managed to hop from the percussion instruments, brass instruments, and even managed to wow us with an amazing bagpipe performance!
Stanley: You're really active on YouTube, posting cover videos, saxophone tutorials, and reaction videos. A lot of the tutorials and covers you'll post will be everything from a Meek Mill song to Lil Nas X, and so many others. What was your motivation for getting into YouTubing?
Ikechi: My motivation for being a YouTuber stems from my early desire to create my own personalized platform. In 2008, back when I was in middle school, I watched heavy amounts of YouTube videos when I got back home from school. I would study cats such as John Coltrane, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, Kalique Woods, as well as musicians that were gigging in the Philadelphia Music Scene at the time. I would study the production of the videos. Paying close attention to how musicians would convey themselves on camera, as well as studying how content creators would title their videos.
Stanley: I’ve been learning a lot of your music over the past month or so, and I can hear a lot of unique qualities in it. How would you describe your sound?
Ikechi: My music has many shades. A lot of my compositions tend to be upbeat and lively, where as other compositions tend to be atmospheric and almost ballad like. My songs tend to have mini storylines behind them. I would describe my sound as an atmospheric story.
Stanley: You have a show coming up on the 22nd at Chris’ Jazz Cafe. Could you talk about the show?
Ikechi: Yes, I will be performing at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, Pa on Tuesday, October 22nd! Concert attendees can expect to hear both my original compositions as well as covers from world round artists such as Herbie Hancock and the late Grover Washington Jr. I’ll also be debuting some of my new music as well as revisiting some original tunes that I created back when I was in high school!
You can purchase tickets to the show here.
