Home is where the heart is, the old saying goes. Sometimes when we’re forced to be out our comfort zone, nothing rejuvenates you more than a return to your roots.
There are many Africans who would jump at the opportunity to be in a foreign land and never look back. However, when the fire of the homeland burns deep within you, nothing can keep you out there for too long.
Despite having opportunities outside Africa, Nigerian artiste RichTunes once upon a time made a decision to return home and contribute his quota to the development of Naija music. That has become his life’s mission and one he takes very seriously.
Richard Olutunde is his name and Afropop is his game. Professionally known as RichTunes, the Afropop star is a British born Nigerian artiste/rapper.
The past year has been a seminal one in connection with race relations. It started with Ghana holding a ‘year of return’ which invited Africans in the diaspora to make a trip back home in commemoration of 400 years of slavery.
This era of black consciousness continued to this year with Black issues dominating headlines worldwide despite the human race being in the midst of a pandemic, with Black Lives Matter taking a centre stage in recent months.
Before these issues exploded, RichTunes took a stand to make a return home and help elevate Nigerian music with his talent and connections to the outside world. It has turned out to be a visionary call, as succeeding events have proven how much Africa needs her children out there to come back home and make a difference.
Born in the UK to Nigerian parents, RichTunes shuffled between the two countries for his education. He returned to Nigeria at age 13 for his secondary education – enrolling at the Lifeforte International School in Ibadan and UNAAB in Abeokuta – then went back to the U.K to further his tertiary education.
He then completed a BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) at Palmer’s College in Essex, continuing to the University of Kent to study applied physics. It was at Kent that his two passions clashed and RichTunes had a decision to make.
“When I finish my lessons I would go back to my dorm and start recording. Sometimes I wouldn’t go to lessons and be in my dorm and be recording music, which brought about me chasing music further than chasing physics,” RichTunes told GhanaCelebrities.Com.
Eventually, his true passion for music won out and RichTunes decided to follow his passion professionally.
“As far as I’m concerned I’ve been doing music all my life,” he told us. Such inbuilt passion can scarcely be denied, not even in the face of the powerful allure of particle physics.
With an extraordinarily strong passion for Music, especially AfroPop, RichTunes has founded his own Record Label called “SAKS TUNES” alongside his Dad.
His Dad has been a key force in his musical journey, as has his family. RichTunes is driven most by love – love for country yes, but first love for his family, from which all other things spring from.
“I’m the first and only son of three children and I have very supportive parents,” he said.
“My driving force in life are my parents, especially my mum, she keeps me in check. My dad encourages me to keep fighting and to never give up,”
This strong familial love inspires his music and his vision to raise the level of naija afropop to the world.
RichTunes has a strong vision for his music and his craft. He’s looking towards making an impact in the lives of people who really need it.
Music must be soothing for the soul and that is RichTunes’ entire motivation.
“I want my music to go all over the world,” he tells us. “I want to contribute diversity in style and diversity in sound. I want people to dance more vigorously to my music.
“I want people to see my craft however they need to see it to make the day go well, or to better them in whatever situation they may be in,”
His passion for music took him around the world in search of knowledge, leading to many hours of sleepiness nights of research on how to improve and pass a positive message of the AfroPop to the world.
Listening to his music, it’s clear he has found his groove and is ready to deliver it. It’s up to the world to catch up with him on this journey of musical bliss.
Richard can be found on social media – @Richtunes_ on Twitter and Instagram
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com