Last year, the popular Nigerian international singer-songwriter, music producer, and media entrepreneur Emma Ike Agu, who is based in New York and has won multiple awards, decided to drop his first name and slightly alter his stage name. Since then, people have been curious about this change. As a result, I reached out to him to ask some questions about his new brand name.
Question: You were known as Emma Agu, also known as Alabama, for many years. What motivated the name change, and where did Aguike come from?
Answer: I became known as ‘Emma,’ a shortened version of Emmanuel. I was particularly fond of the first four letters of my name and had people call me ‘Emma.’ When I got my first international passport, I used ‘Emma’ as my first name. I also modified my nickname and added letters to reflect my early childhood. Therefore, I changed the name Alabama to Alaabama. I had a challenging experience in Aba town, the commercial city of Umuahia. When I received an invitation to an event in the United States, I had to go to the embassy twice and was rejected. It was not until my third appointment that I was granted a visa.
When I arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York, I had a rude shock. The customs and border security officer stared at me when he took my passport. He seemed hesitant to allow me entry. After processing my entry, another officer asked for my passport while I picked up my luggage. He inspected my passport, looked at me, and handed it back to me. I did not understand why I was receiving such treatment, and I feared that I might be denied entry. I noticed something unusual about my name after settling in New York for a few weeks. People would call me ‘Ms.’ when my phone rang, and I had to correct them repeatedly. The name ‘Emma’ is a common female name in the United States and Europe, which led to these mistaken identities.
Additionally, Alabama is a name associated with a state in the U.S. that has a history of racism. As I did not want to be called ‘Emmanuel,’ I decided to drop my entire name and started using IKE, which is my real middle name. While Agu is my last name, my family members referred to me as Nwa Agu, and I decided to combine my last name and middle name to create Aguike.
Before settling on Aguike, I considered using Mazi Iyke, which means Mister Iyke. However, I later discovered that an actress shared the same name whenever I searched mine online. Therefore, I chose Aguike, also known as allah bama. It was a quick process for my new brand name to gain popularity in search engines and on Wikipedia, with my images featured alongside it.
In conclusion, the international singer and hitmaker has been known to his fans by the stage name “Alabama.” However, this name evoked memories of the U.S. State of Alabama and its history of racism. Despite the former stage name having no connection to Alabama’s past, the artist decided to change to avoid misunderstandings or associations with uncomfortable memories. With his new stage name, Aguike is ready to continue captivating and delighting his fans worldwide with his music. His upcoming album’s latest singles are already receiving positive reviews online and on social media. The “Wajo Kusimi Laya” artist is back with a new stage name and is again focused on producing great music. Listen up, everyone – allah bama is back, and great music is back!
Franz Dickson