A NIGERIAN POP STAR IN CHINA

Emmanuel Uwechue a.k.a
Hao Ge

Hao Ge (Chinese: 郝歌; pinyin: Hǎo Gē) is the Chinese stage name of Nigerian-born singer Uwechue Emmanuel. He rose to fame through a performance with Han Hong on the CCTV New Year's Gala and has emerged as one of the most notable foreign singers in China.
He began his singing career in the choir at Lagos' House on the Rock Pentecostal church in Nigeria. He received a degree in engineering, and began to pursue a singing career, which led his father to disown him. Before getting his career off the ground in China, he was a country music singer and astrophysicist by profession. He has a graduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Monrovia. In 2001, A friend of his, Li Yayu, started his singing career in China by inviting him to perform in hotels and bars throughout Henan and Hubei. At the Big Easy Bar in Beijing, Hao Ge was discovered by Liu Huan, a well-known music producer.

Emmanuel Uwechue, a k a Hao Ge, plays keyboards with his new band at a studio in Beijing.

 Mr. Uwechue is not the first foreigner to have made a name for himself in China, but he is the first African to have reached widespread success there. Some music industry experts in China credit part of his fame to the close economic and cultural ties — including friendship and exchange programs and other joint ventures — that have long existed between China and some African countries. In a recently televised public performance, Mr. Uwechue dressed up as an oil rig worker and sang alongside a Chinese fellow laborer.

Among nations with close Sino-African ties, Nigeria in particular has benefited from Chinese capital. China has invested more than $7 billion in energy, communications and infrastructure in the country, which exports some $4.7 billion in crude oil to China each year, according to a recent statement by Li Yizhung, China’s minister of industry and information technology.

“This is not just about Hao Ge,” said Long Hu, 38, a music producer and talent scout in Beijing who cultivates young musical talent. “It’s about China and Africa.”

Source: Jimmy Wang of The New York Times

Edited by Eloho Ikede