Maxwell K. Okwensy, who takes on the stage name Koby Maxwell, first came to my attention one early morning in 2004 while listening to Morning Devotion on Joy FM, one of the very popular radio stations in Ghana. A few years later I would catch sight of him while perusing YouTube videos of Ghanaian musicians, with his hit video “I’m Aware”. Fast forward to July 24th 2010, and at a Kojo Antwi Concert, I will again see him, this time live on stage before a packed hall of teeming fans who were dancing and hollering at his mesmerizing performance. At this concert event, this headliner performed popular tunes such Abiba and I’m Aware. After his set, I could not help but go backstage to make his acquaintance and find out who the real Koby Maxwell is.
Koby Maxwell hails from Saltpond in the Central Region of Ghana and the oldest of 6 kids. He arrived in the States 14 years ago with the goal of creating transformational music that maintains the authenticity of African music, but still incorporates the sounds of others. Having cut his teeth with the likes of Amakye Dede (Ghana’s Highlife Music exponent), Ali Baba Foster and Hugh Masekela (Father of African Jazz), Koby Maxwell imbibed all those experiences and channeled them into his music. This distinct style has ushered him to revered music venues and festivals such as the Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall and Detroit’s 21st African World Festival just to mention a few. He has also shared the stage with the likes of Salif Keita, Nancy Wilson, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, Sean Paul, Barrington Levy, Sanchez, Ziggy & Stephen Marley and Bunny Wailer.
His repertoire includes Praise the Lord (2002), Flying with the Lord (2004) and Step to the Top (2008). He is currently promoting the singles Face Book Girl, Do It and I Miss You from an album scheduled to be released in November 2010. He is the first Ghanaian musician to release a four DVD and CD compilation which included the hit song I’m Aware. Koby Maxwell is currently preparing to shoot a music video for the song “Do It” with Chris Deshield, which will also serve as the soundtrack for the movie “PAPARAZZI" EYE IN THE DARK”
I recently chatted with Koby Maxwell about his forthcoming album and his debut in the movie “PAPARAZZI" EYE IN THE DARK” and his future in the world of music. Below are excerpts of that interview.
How and when did you start singing?
I started singing at the early age of 12 for the Saltpond Victory Gospel band. The band soon realized my God-given talent as a multi-instrumentalist and allowed me the opportunity to play bass guitar too. With time I was contracted to tour with other bands on the weekends. Soon after that, I started singing backup vocals with the Sakra Band of Megastar Records Label in Accra, Ghana in 1992. It is at that juncture my singing career took off.
You have a couple of songs such as Facebook Girl, Do It and Password Recovery on your soon -to-be released album. Will you share with us how you came by these titles and when do you plan on launching the CD?
(Laughing). There are people out there that are going to read too much into these titles. However, there is very little to go by here. I am a singer/ songwriter and I sing my songs to people to help them laugh and feel their folly to help people to escape from the drudgery and discomforts of their daily lives. I like to think of myself as an antenna of society. I notice people, I observe them and I put it into music. This includes the technological changes we are all witnessing and what the downsides of these technologies can be. I do this so that so that we can all cry or laugh at ourselves and feel better for it. With regards to the cd, I am currently finishing work on the mix down and hopefully have it for launch either in November or December of this year.
As any serious musician will tell you, it's tough to make a decent living playing music full-time. Aside music what other thing would you be doing?
Well, music will always be my first love. However, I am into acting too, with my first role in the movie “Paparazzi” Eye in the Dark”. Besides, I am a businessman too.
Could you please tell us a little about the movie” PAPARAZZI" EYE IN THE DARK” and who your co-actors are?
I am not going to give away too much detail here. However, what I can say is that it is a romantic comedy directed by Bayo Akinfemi (Gemini Award Nominee for Human Cargo & The Border). It was shot on locations in the Atlanta area. It features actors such as Van Vicker (Ghana), Syr Law (Tyler Perry, Diary of a Mad Black Woman), J.J Bonney (Nollywood USA), Chet Anekwe (Monique’s Phat Girls) and Tchidi Chikere (Top Nollywood Producer/ Director). It is scheduled to be released on October 16th 2010. I will ask your readers to be looking out for a movie trailer that will be released soon or visit the movie’s website http://www.eyeinthedark.com/
What inspires you and why?
There is so much that inspires me. Love, family, acting and my faith quickly come to mind. Reading the bible and praying inspires me to wake up in the morning. It gives me hope for a good day, if not a good day but a day to improve, a day to learn and love. Love inspires me to face fear, take chances, and live life to the fullest. Family inspires me to want a family of my own when I am ready to start a family. Acting inspires me to be outgoing, different, adventurous, and fulfilling. My faith inspires me to continue to study, experiment with music and live. I challenge myself everyday by waking up and living, living for the better, wanting the best and expecting the best.
Where do you intend to take your music career to in the nearest future?
I believe my career is going all the way to the top. I can tell you what or where I will want to be in the next 4-5 years. However, it is all in God’s hands.
You have talked openly about your faith today and what an important part it played in your life. What part does it play in your work?
I don’t see any conflicts between my faith and my work. I’m a Christian, and proud of it. Just like I am an African and proud of that. As I see it, my job as a musician is to seek truth, put truth to power, afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. That’s my responsibility as a musician. As a person of faith, I was raised to respect people of all faiths. And my faith tradition says it is a search to better understand the truth that God has for me. So I don’t see any conflict between my job and my faith walk, because, you know, we are a people of many different faiths. And so I can still function, do my job, be respectful of all people in all situations and still worship the way that I choose. So yeah, I don’t see any conflict in either one of those things.
When you reflect about your musical career, what are the high and low points that come to mind?
The high points will be my travels: my music afforded me the opportunity to travel around the world and meet different people, with different cultures, and that has been very educational for me to share in people’s cultures, their sorrows and joys. With regards to the low points, I tend not to dwell on them. There are some things that I regret that I would like to change if I can live again. But you know, we don’t go back, we move forward and continue to do our very best each day.
How can fans gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
My music can be found online at Amazon.com, ITunes, Reverbnation.com, and at my website www.kobymaxwell.com.
In my humble opinion, this guy has a bright future ahead of him. His skills as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist will sustain him with future gigs and produced works. His wholesome image should put him in line for public appearances as well as future acting parts. The one constant in his music is a restless desire to move forward and to experiment with sound in all of its various manifestations. Be on the lookout for more movies projects and music from this guy!!
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