In this captivating episode of The Sanctuary,  rising Nigerian artist OG Mage dives deep into his incredible journey from software engineer to full-time musician.

OG Mage opens up about the viral success of his breakout hit "Head of State," revealing how a simple Instagram reel with a flute sample turned into one of the most talked-about drill songs. He shares the wild story of shooting the music video in just two days with help from his Abuja community, proving that grassroots support can create magic.

The conversation explores his creative process, from his university days coordinating a Christian rap group to collaborating with legendary Nigerian rapper Ill Bliss on "Like An OG." OG Mage discusses his unique approach to features, his spiritual connection to music-making, and the stories behind his captivating cover art designs.

Beyond the music, he reveals his multifaceted background as a digital artist and software engineer who taught himself to code by writing out the code on paper before he even had a laptop. From working at MTN to his recent role at D Brand, he explains how he finally leapt to pursue music full-time.

Looking ahead, OG Mage teases his upcoming EP "The Calm" and hints at "The Storm" - a major project featuring collaborations with established artists like Skales. Throughout the conversation, his core message rings clear: consistency is everything.

This episode offers an intimate look at an artist who's building something authentic in the Nigerian music scene, one collaboration and one consistent step at a time.

Check him out @ogmagegram

0:00

Hello and welcome to the sanctuary, a safe space to speak from the heart. I'm your host, Israel, and my guest today is someone I've been dying to talk to. Oje, the head of state. uh Thanks for coming to the sanctuary today, Thanks for having me. OK, so to me, mean, obviously there are people that have known you for years and years, but the introduction for me was head of state.

00:26

There are songs that you know you need to listen to get used to it or like but then there are songs that from the from the first few notes you're like okay wait something magical is about to happen that flute that started a song like okay what is about and then like the song yo yo the collaboration the flow the lyrics the

00:52

The like using the national and like everything about that song. Classic, classic. So I want to start with Head of State. How did that happen? So Head of State was one of the jams where I was just playing around. So I heard this song that had this really sick flute on it. So it was a real, it was an IG reel. So I sent it to my producer. I'm like, can we have like flutes?

01:21

on my next drill song and I think it took him like two days. didn't, it was just, I was just playing around. I'm like, can we have flute on my next drill song? So he sent me the beat like two days later and I had that beat for a while. So I, I came across this song, it was called Calambolo by the guy I featured and some of his guys. So I'm like, yeah, who's this guy on this hook? I want to work with him. was telling my producer.

01:48

I don't think he thought I was serious. like a few days later, went to IG, I went to look for the guy. I'm like, yo, I think we should work. So the day he came to the house, I said, I wasn't going to write anything until he got to my studio. And then when he got here, we started working and he came up with that hook. And that's when I started writing. So I'm like, we can have to write something very on, on topic. And that's how we came out with Head or Seat. Yo, that song is a banger, yo. Yo, yo, yo. I mean.

02:17

And then, you know, it's great when a song is good. Then the video just took it to the next level. So how did the video thing happen? So what I love is like before the video dropped, we had this mini series about, you know, a cool having a cool that was on IG. So first off, we wanted to

02:45

have something that really embodies the song pretty much. give it some kind of military touch. So I sat down with my creative director and my producers and we just had coming up with stuff, watching other videos coming up with our storyline and all of that. We were shooting for two days. We had to shoot at multiple locations. Yeah. That is wild. You guys made that video in two days. Yes. That is crazy, yo. Cause you use the tunnel locations and the tunnel people too.

03:15

Like the logistics is crazy. Yeah. see. I see. For the people, think I just posted that, I'm shooting a video. need people to pull up with like their cars and I need some people to shop at social location. that's it. pulled up because it's kind of like, I have this song called capital. Same thing happened. I just posted that one. So there's plenty of love from Abuja. Shout out to my people from Abuja.

03:42

You know, they always pull up for me for things like that. And that's how the video came out. That video is wild. The song is crazy. I still listen to it. I still play it on my radio show. I love it. Love it. it. Love it. Let's rewind then. Let's rewind. Let's rewind before you come back to the present. How do you get into the music thing? Because like how? Hmm. That's interesting because I've always been like kind of a

04:12

music consumer for like as long as I can remember but when I was in uni I joined this group called IHN in his name is a subgroup of another group called WWJD what would Jesus do and I joined them because I saw this guy do like it was a rap verse but he performed it like he spoke on what peace and peace I was like yeah I think I want to I want to do this so I joined the group and I think the week after I joined I was in a performance with them already so it was like I hit the ground running

04:42

Two years later, I was the coordinator of the group. That was beautiful. So it was like, I just kind of took off from there. But like, um then um did you, you keep mentioning your producer and stuff. How did that, how did that connection happen? Oh, so currently one of the main producers I work with is Danny Dre. And we've known each other since uni. Remember the rap group I talked about? He joined at one time.

05:11

At that time he was learning to produce. So, you know, after uni, I used to work with the guy that was teaching him. But after uni, we now like linked up again when I moved to Abuja. And then we just started working since we've known each other from like way back. And it's just been good since then. We have like a very nice working relationship. If I were about to put out a song, he's coming to my house this weekend. So we'll do some shoots.

05:37

Whenever I go on Spotify and I see like, you know, cause like I follow you and it tells you when a new song is coming out. I'm always like, Okay. Okay. Okay. So I mean, it's one thing to like now coordinate a group versus, okay, I'm going to do my own stuff and actually really see to the world. How did you go from there today? What was the bridge? Okay. So I think when I started, I didn't really know much about the industry.

06:07

06:37

And, you know, we talked and I'm like, yeah, this guy has all the, all the knowledge that's, you know, I'm missing out on. It'd be good if I can work with him. Like he can show me the do's and don'ts of the industry, that kind of stuff. But at the time I didn't really have the funds to really push the music. I was doing it like a hobby, but I had my equipment. It was around like one month later that I got the job.

07:02

07:32

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I mean, you know, when things, one thing I've learned in this life is like when, when is that thing is going to happen, will try to find a way to happen, you know? Yes. Yes. Let's get back into the music. Okay. Let's get back into the music. So, um, you, released this project, um, up to no good. Yeah. Um, the two stand out songs for me, like I love the whole project, but like an OG.

08:03

uh Ah, that's a good one. So Ill Bliss and then like Anoji and he's like verse is in vernacular like, jeez. Okay, how did, how did like Anoji happen? Okay, so remember this guy I told you I met at the airport, Frank, he calls me one day, he's like, would you like to work with Ill Bliss? I'm like, like, what kind of question is that? Of course I would like to work

08:34

Of course I like to work with Ilblis. I was like, oh, okay, great. They're friends. So I said, okay. And you know, he, made all of the arrangements. He gave me Ilblis' contacts. It's like, oh, he's spoken to him. This is how everything is going to go. Then I'm in the studio one day and Ilblis' video calls me while he's getting a haircut. I'm like, oh, okay. This is, this is actually getting real. So we spoke. I told him that we're going to be in Ghana.

09:03

in like two weeks, but we're going to go through Lagos. We're going to touch down Lagos. So he says, oh, when I'm in Lagos, I should let him know. we were just, we're communicating. And when I got to Lagos that the next day after we got to Lagos, were only in Lagos for that day. And then the next day we're going to be in Ghana. So he came around to the apartment in the morning and the plan was to like just spend the whole day with us. shot a whole documentary.

09:30

Like we went out to get food, we went to get ice cream, came back to the apartment where Justin, called his producer Skita. Skita showed up with his box of all the equipment and he just set it up. And he just started playing us beats. So we know we're going through beats, going through beats. And I don't know if you know this, but Iublis was one of the people that brought Fino out. So he was saying something about one of Fino's song.

09:59

I think is alo bam. You know, there's this way, you know, just shouting out to all these guys from the hood. So it's like, he told me I should do something like that. I should like give a shout out to everybody that was there, like from the very, very beginning, not even the now. And then I should leave the chorus to him to handle. He's going to endorse me as an OG. Yeah. Because that's one thing that there was some friction around the OG in my name. we put on a cover. Right. Right. Right. Right. So he laid down the hook like in like.

10:29

I can't tell you this, in like 10 minutes he just laid down the hook. was like, oh shit. That hook is mad. That hook is crazy. You guys did it in a day. Everything was in a day. So after he laid down the hook, he stepped out to go do something. And that was when I wrote my verse. So when he came back, he had not heard the verse. So there's this studio session video I posted on YouTube. When the beat drops on my verse, you see the reaction on his face. That was like.

10:56

genuine first reaction because it wasn't there when I recorded it and you know it was a swell song I love it so much ah I love that song so before I get to the next song that stood out for me in that album like let's talk about the name OG Mange because you know like at OG where do you come from and like what was I guess a controversy for some people behind the so uh the story behind the name is not it's not really

11:26

that's complex. from school they used to call me magician. There was a group of people that's calling me magician and it was because

11:36

They just, they'll see me do this thing today and they'll be like, oh, he's good at this thing. And then tomorrow I'm doing something else. then some, I think one of them was there the day I picked up production. He was seeing me playing around with FL in the morning. And by evening I had these beats and he was just so shocked. was like, bro, you're in magic show. So they kept calling me that for a while. And there's this name I stole from my brother, Elmage. And then.

12:00

mage just happened to also be magician or sorcerer or wise person. So I just dropped the L and my name became mage for a while. I put out a song as mage and then my profile, was other artists music just kept, you know, crashing into the profile and it was a whole mess. So I'm like, it's either I write to the distros for them to like rearrange my profile or I change my name. So my last name is Ogaba. That's where the play on word comes from. So the OG is the

12:30

first two letters. Yeah. But the idea is like among all of the images that existed that all our songs were encroaching on each other. I'm the OG. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I and I think the thing about names is you kind of have to live up to it. And to me, just like, I don't do it from anywhere. I'm just some random person online. And I'm like, who is this person? Cause

12:59

That head of state just sends me down your like, I'm like, okay. You know, I mean, there are people that have like songs that are dope. And then you go through the other songs and you're like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But like the songs that I'm like, okay, this guy. So let's get back to the song now. The other one I love is Begging. That beat.

13:23

13:53

I met, that was where I Manny. She was sitting beside me. And, you know, after that day, we just told ourselves, we should meet sometime and, make a song. And that's how we met and made the song. It was not, it wasn't really unplanned. I had that beat. Dre, my producer, he sends me beats sometimes in batches and, you know, I don't know what to do with them. So when I'm in the session, I'm just playing the beats and that's how we play that beat.

14:21

Mandy, she loves to do these ad-lib things. So she starts laying down the vocals and then there's a hook and then I just write out the verses. And that's how we just made Beggin. It was very natural to me. I'm not listening to this song, but I'm hearing that hook in my head.

14:42

I get the thing. Oh my gosh. That's all. Who is this woman? Yo, her voice is magical. She's, great. How do you even choose the people you walk with? Cause it's like, yeah. when it's like you, you are of course, OJ made you are doing your thing, but then you bring this person. It's like you.

15:07

The synergy is so beautiful. know, it's like you guys have been making songs together and then you're like, no, it's just Sidi Dady. I'm like, no way. No way. Yeah, it's interesting because I never really think about who I'm featuring too much. Sometimes when I hear a beat, I'm already like hearing somebody. I'm like, okay, this is I put on the song. Or sometimes I record a song and I leave something open. And sometimes I have the song.

15:36

or I've written the full song and I just know that, I'm not the one singing this. And then one day somebody shows up, that's just a very good fit. But I don't think I have ever had a bad feature. Like, I feel like that's one thing I'm really bad Yeah, that's wild. That is crazy. That is crazy to me. It's like, you know, you bring someone and he just elevates the song. That's like...

15:59

But talking about elevating the song, another song I love, because I'm just going to the, is Father Lord. Okay. uh

16:12

Yeah, how did that so called? I think you featured some artists called Ziya Ziya Ziya eh Ziya has been shining away from from music I might put it out there. For Ziya, we've made a couple songs and she has such a beautiful voice. Sometimes I hear a song and I'm hearing Ziya on it. I'll call her I'm like where are you?

16:40

she may be in some like edge of town, I would drive to go look for her so that we can come to the session.

16:49

That's how it is with me as I am, but every time we make a song it's always a banger. So for Father Lord, I was in the studio with UC. ah He produces for Odongo Du Black. He was in town that period, so I called him that we should have a session. The session was for a different song called Game Unlocked. But I had written such a nice chorus and I didn't know how to follow it up with the verses. It was the first time I was working on a song like that.

17:17

So he said, okay, let him play me some of that stuff so that I just clear my head and then we can come back to, you know, the game unlock song that we're working on. So he opens this folder. It seems like a very special folder because it was secluded from everything else. And he was playing beats and then he plays these beats. The name of the beat was Godman. I can never forget. So he plays these beats and like everything in me just lit up. I thought it was in my head.

17:45

I think I'm thinking about this. There were two guys in the studio. One was even like falling asleep and they both sat up and everybody was like, what beat is this? I'm like, okay, it's not in my head. So I tell UC, can we work on this one instead? UC says no, that these beats that he's playing for me in this special folder is for when he meets all, when he meets all them whiskey, David, we can play this beat for them. And they see the one they like. say no, UC.

18:15

we're making this song, we have to step outside of the studio to go negotiate because he was not going to let it go the way, you know, it was not going to be the same arrangement we gave him on lock. we step out. Thank God my manager was not there. my manager was there, that deal would have not flown because it's the beat I paid the most money for because I just knew that the song had to happen. It was a very spiritual experience. So we get back in the studio.

18:45

And we start, first of all, I usually don't on my chorus. I try to put some melodies in my verses, but it's rare to hear me sing on my chorus. it was like, started channeling this song from somewhere. When I tell you that even me, I didn't understand what I was singing about at first. And then he's like, Oh, you can feature somebody on this song. doesn't have to be like a big artist, but somebody that really complements that happened to be a day that Zaya was on her way.

19:14

to my studio. So I'm like, oh, I have this friend. She's on her way. And she got there in like five minutes. She had the rest down and you know, it was just synchronicities and everything. It just came together and that's how we met, father, Lord. Yeah, I love that song. So like, I mean, if I have the time, I'm just going to be like, how do you do this song? How do you do this song? All your songs are just like...

19:44

yeah we'll be here till tomorrow cause this is my other list i like that i hot boy far away yahoo okay i'm telling you so i think maybe i'll just do a different episode just talking about the songs but let's talk about you know your process and stuff it seems like it's really authentic but how do you because

20:10

You seem to work with the same people or the people in the same circle. How do you maintain that circle? Cause like music is music. can get difficult, know, like emotions and stuff like that. So how do you maintain that circle? uh For me, I feel like I'm a very real person and I kind of attract, you know, the same kind of people. We, we kind of, understand each other. have a good working relationship and

20:38

When it's work, know what the MO is. When we're playing, we know what the MO is. ah My house is kind of like the meet-up spot. So this group of people may come around, this group of people may come around, and everybody's meeting at my place. And that's where the studio is at. So there's never a shortage of who to work with and that kind of stuff. So it's just kind of, if I'm in the mood to make a song,

21:07

and someone is around and I see that, you know, they're in the mood to make something. I mean, tilt in the direction of something that would work for both of us. Sometimes it's like, oh, I just want to be in the studio and I'll call Dre, he'll come around and, you know, we'll just record some music. ah It's pretty much like that for the actual process of making the music. Sometimes I take one to two hours to write a single verse.

21:35

especially when I'm trying to build a storyline and I'm trying to be intricate. Sometimes it just hits me like fully formed songs have hit me and those kind of songs I usually don't understand them until like later. And I see that it's like, oh, something from a higher plane of existence was trying to pass me a message saying this thing as something happens in my life and the song perfectly explains it. I'm like, oh wow.

22:04

That's why I believe music is spirit trap. Yeah, I know. I mean, I need shows. Another thing I wanted to talk about was your cover art. Yeah. Because, mean, I'm a very visual person. Like, obviously, the music is nice. Yes. But, you know, the music videos are dope and stuff. But the cover art for the project itself. How, like, do you decide what's going to be on the cover for the singles and your projects and your and stuff like that? Yeah.

22:32

So it's different for each one. For example, for Up to No Good, I wanted the cover art to be a story. At first I wanted to do it myself, because I'm also a digital artist, but... Magician! Okay, okay, I it now. Oh yeah. So I had an idea, because my first project was called Alter Ego. And the initial idea behind Alter Ego is how...

23:01

Like you listen to some of my songs, I sound different. If you listen to this, I sound different. Um, it's kind of like the different sounds or the different personalities I have when it comes to music. You know, there's the lover boy, there's the hard guy and that kind of stuff. So I wanted to have a project that like brought all of this past together that was up to no good. So that's the three heads you see on the project on the cover art. And then behind you see something that looks like Hollywood.

23:28

but it's written up to no good. You see stars falling into Hollywood. That's all of the planets and stars in the sky. But then if you look closely at the picture, you see a door beneath and you see me walking through the door. So while other people use the regular way to get to where they are going, me, I have my hidden entrance. So there's a whole story of that at all. I just... uh

23:58

Yeah, I told the artist, this is what I'm trying to communicate. And you know, we're just going back and forth. I and the artist, we go way back. We almost started the company together like some time, some years ago, but that didn't work out. But that was around digital art. So it was easy to say, I'm working with this guy. eh Wow. OK, so do they all have stories? Because like, Head of State is another cover I like.

24:23

But like, I'm particular about the song and like, you know. So Head of State was pretty straightforward. you see two generals facing each other. And you know, we dropped the song on June 12th. That's Democracy Day in Nigeria. And we dropped the video on October 1st. That's Independence Day. So it was like, it was very branded like that. So everything military. was the branding. For Father Lord.

24:52

I did Father Lord and Father Lord also has this story. I did do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's talk about Father Lord because I love that story. But it's just kind of like celestial type of thing. The story behind that song. Damn. say this story, this is a very exclusive story. Why? Because somehow I'm still inside of the story of Father Lord. So it's very interesting that I tell a story that's unfinished.

25:21

25:52

And I'm not changing it. so we can, so it felt like everything was on my neck to really make the release happen. So I didn't want to have any artists delay the work or anything like that. So I just got to work doing the stuff. If you notice the person on the cover art has my hairstyle, the signature buns. I'm not on the buns today, but it has the signature buns.

26:22

but it looks significantly older.

26:27

Yes, it's not like my face is a significantly older guy. Because like I said, the song said, Father, I pray I really want to know something. You made a shard come my way. Are you telling me to hold that thing? Deep inside my heart, I knew that this was not a song for the me of now. It was a song for me sometime in the future because I didn't understand it. That's usually my tale that, you know, this is one of those messages. So shortly after I meet a girl and it felt like that was why I made that song.

26:57

because I was asking the same question I was asking on the hook and everything just kind of made sense and even when I mentioned it she did not think that it was farfetched.

27:09

So it was like, okay, this is. It just comes together. Yeah, it really just came together. And if you look at the song or the cover art also at the top, see a, it looks like a celestial figure of a lady. Yeah, because it's like something in my imagination that has not yet come to life.

27:36

oh You see the guy looking up to the sky like he's praying. That's All the while I was thinking it's like the sun and stuff but yes it's

27:51

28:21

And one of the first softwares I had was Photoshop. It used to be two different softwares, Photoshop and Image Ready. So, you know, I remember that we'll go to maybe a cafe or find a way to go online just to get like tutorials on how to use Photoshop. Then we're not downloading video tutorials. used to be pictures, but the pictures would be like really thin and long. You have to zoom in and follow the things step by step.

28:50

Uh, how to do, sorry, you have to follow the picture step by step to do certain things. had had to dwell on how to make something metallic, how to do this, how to do that. And that's how we started. And then we used to be on this website called Naruto base and I'm a big anime fan. Like if you read behind me, this an anime picture.

29:16

We decided to enter some contests on Naruto Beasts where they give you a copy of their manga, which is like their comic, but it's not painted. And then they asked us to paint it. And, you know, we started doing that and would use Photoshop to make our own version of the manga coloring. And that's how I got into like digital art and, you know, painting and all of that. So is that why you decided to study software engineering?

29:44

No, my software engineering story was completely different. I've been led in so many different directions. So one day was in the cyber cafe, you know, was, I go there, just want to go online, surf the internet. I don't really have most times like what I'm going to do there. I just enjoy it. And then one day I was trying, I was looking for a particular thing to download. can't remember what it was.

30:13

But I started to ask myself all these websites I go to, to, you know, look for all these things that I'm, would search for all these things I'm looking for. How do I make my own? That's, was a thought, that was a thought that sowed the seed. So I, from then on, like any time I had access to the internet, I would start to look up how to make websites and all of that. I stumbled on this website called W3 Schools and I just started studying.

30:42

learning PHP, HTML, JavaScript, PHP. The mind blowing thing about all of this was I didn't, at that time, I didn't have a laptop and the desktop that we had that I used to learn Photoshop in earlier in life was no longer available because it was not bad. I didn't even have a phone. I would study all of these codes and I'll be writing them on paper. I had like- No way.

31:12

Yes way. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I have had notebooks filled with like code and stuff. So that's how I started learning. And then when I get access to like my brother's phone, for example, I'll study on it and write again on the paper until I had access to a laptop and I started to practice all of the things that had learned. And, know, I my first gig, then my second gig, then work with MTN.

31:40

Then it just, it was upwards from there until, you know, recently, I think my most recent gig was D brand. I was there for two years and then I just quit altogether. I'm in music full time now. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. That is wild. mean, so all these things, all these passions you do kind of come together. So let's now like now that you're doing music full time, I'm going through your catalog. I'm loving it. I'm like a fan.

32:10

But what are some future plans for OG Mead? Oh, there's a lot. There's a lot coming. There's so much coming. Right now, I'm just in like perpetual rest phase because of what is about to come. And oh before I entered into this rest phase, I dropped two songs. I did Fire Away, then I did Cast and Bind, and then I've done two shows.

32:37

One of them was called the Opera Room was a listening experience for Cast and Bind. And just last month on the 24th of last month, I did a live show also. So it's like some momentum has build up. I'm going into isolation now because I need to rest for what's coming. First, we're going to get an EP called The Calm. Oh, yeah. And then we're going to get... many songs will be on The Calm? I'm thinking seven.

33:06

Same thing with Uptown All Good. Disgusting. Okay. Yeah. And then after the calm, let's see one year after the calm in that one year, I'll probably drop two to three singles. But after that one year, we're getting the storm after the calm. That project is going to be big. I can already tell you for a fact now that skills is going to be on it. I don't know if you know skills.

33:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that is wild. He's going to be on the project. This song is already recorded. It's called Good Time.

33:46

Yeah. This guy. Okay. Um, yeah. I like, I really, really appreciate giving me so much of your time. I know you have a lot of going on. So I want to end it with this question though. You've brought all these passions together, you know, the design, the software engineering, the music itself, and then like forming this community with the people you work with.

34:14

Someone is listening to this episode or watching this episode of the podcast. What advice would you have for someone that is just like starting out or building? Well, I have just one advice and I feel like that's the advice I myself have been taking all my life. And that is to stay consistent. That's how I did everything that I did. If I start and I totally suck at it, I know I'm not going to totally suck at it forever.

34:42

35:10

And, know, we're doing all the vocal exercise and all of that for two years. And that consistency is why now I'm able to make songs like Father Lord, you know, and even perform it on stage. So that consistency was the reason why, you know, I'm able to make songs like Father Lord. Yeah. And or songs like Hot Boy even and perform them live in a live show. So I'll say consistency.

35:39

Anything I want to do now, even if I feel like I'm not there yet, I know if I'm consistent at it, I'm going to get to where I need to be. So just be consistent. Put yourself out there. Very, very important because if you are consistent only for yourself, nobody can see the progress.

35:58

OG Mage, Head of State. I can't wait for the comp to come out. Thank you so much for coming to the sanctuary today. I appreciate you so much, Yeah, thank you so much for having me.