Get to Know Samuel Onwubiko Imo Aka Limo Blaze
Written by G Njuguna on November 25, 2022
Today on our weekly feature we get to know Samuel Onwubiko Imo aka LimoBlaze. Limoblaze is a Nigerian-born Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor who combines Afrobeats, Hip-Hop, and Gospel in a unique way. He was born on October 25th 1995 hails from Bende local govt. in Abia state Nigeria. Born and brought up in Makurdi-Benue state. He studied Biochemistry at the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria.
He discovered his musical abilities at a tender age of 8 when he started singing in the children’s church choir. Also at this age he came in contact with rap music. He went on to write his own lyrics, they weren’t good enough at first, but he kept on writing. Years went by in this practice until he became a well known lyricist in school and earned himself the nickname of “microphone 1da boy” fashioned to “1daboyofficial”. Up to this point he never knew of Christian rap, all he rapped about was money, cars, fame ,etc.
He started his musical career as an independent recording artiste in 2012 and has been active since then till date. His first song was titled “Memories” which he wrote and dedicated to his classmates after graduating from High School. He has a unique and versatile style and is known for explicitly fusing his Christian faith into his music. He has so far managed to make a mark in the Gospel music scene with his heartfelt lyrics and message driven songs. He recorded other songs like “Amazing Grace”, “Mercy”, “Unconditional Love”, “Wrong Ways”, “Grace Talk (intro)”, “Pain”, “Misfit”, “For the King” which features an American rapper Los of hga and “So Far Gone”. Also to his credit are a couple of collaborations and freestyle sessions with artistes such as Ada Ehi, Travis Greene, Da Truth and so on. His Debut Album “Blind” was released in 2016 while his second album “Before Now” was released in 2018, followed by Afrobeats Raps & Jesus released in 2019. The Wait E.p was released in 2020 and he released his fourth studio joint album featuring Da T.R.U.T.H titled Bridges on November 20, 2020 which trended both locally and internationally.
He came up as second runner up in the Bouqui unstoppable Rap competition and has received notable award nominations such as Crystal awards which he got triple nominations for in 2015. Limoblaze was nominated on the 29th of March, 2019 alongside Tim Godfrey, Todd Dulaney, Osby Berry, Jonathan McReynolds, Chevelle Franklyn, Phil Thompson, Tasha Cobbs, Joe Mettle, and Koyrn Hawthorne for the Best International Act and on the 11th of May, 2019 he emerged winner of the Premier Gospel Awards which held in London. Limoblaze is also Two-time African Gospel Music and Media Awards (AGMMA) winner.
When asked by Premier Gospel for the secret of his success, he said: “It’s the hand of God. I am very hardworking; I push myself beyond limits but it’s the grace of God. The Holy Spirit recently reminded me that it’s not the excellence of my music that has brought me this far, but the hand of God. I do not look to awards for validation, but it tells me that people are paying attention to me and that my name is in the conversation. The Premier Gospel Awards was a highlight for me as I was up against some big heavy hitters.”
In October Limoblaze signed with Reach Records, a production house owned by Lacrae a person Limoblaze looks upto. Shortly after announcing his signing with Reach Records, Limo released Sunday in Lagos, his first commercial body of work with the label. The EP features the previously released singles ‘Jireh (My Provider) Afrobeat Remix’, ‘Desire’, and ‘Gold’ featuring internationally recognized gospel music artist Ada Ehi. New music from the project includes the focus track “Pull Up.” Fans will also be delighted to see a guest appearance from label mate 1K Phew on “I Believe” where both artists trade melodic praise to God and reaffirm their belief in Him. Speaking to his vision for the project and new label partnership, Limo said, “This moment is the beginning of something special. I believe I am uniquely positioned within christian music to inspire the world to see the potential in putting God at the center of their lives and chasing their dreams.”
