Ndidi O reflects on reinvention and defying expectations ahead of Massey Theatre show
In musical travels from rock and electronica to folk and blues, the roving artist has followed her curiosity and intuition beyond industry-drawn boundaries
Ndidi O.
Ndidi O plays the Massey Theatre on April 12 at 7:30 pm, presented by Eighth & Eight Creative Spaces
WHETHER IT’S BLUES, folk, trip-hop, or country, singer-songwriter Ndidi Onukwulu, known by her stage name Ndidi O, refuses to be boxed in. Over the course of her career, the B.C.-born artist has travelled the world, absorbing sounds and influences that defy easy categorization. Now, ahead of her upcoming local show, she reflects on a career built on instinct, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to creative freedom.
Onukwulu is set to perform at the Massey Theatre on April 12. Nearly a year after her last album release, titled Simple Songs for Complicated Times, she describes her decades-long journey with an equal sense of acceptance and renewal.
“I’m in the perimenopause of life, but I’m also in the perimenopause of my career,” Onukwulu says in a Zoom call. “I’ve aged and I’ve gotten much better at my craft, but I’m not fresh and shiny anymore. So it’s been interesting because this album increased my visibility to a degree, [and] reintroduced me to audiences.”
Reinvention has been a part of her journey from the very beginning. As she was growing up, Onukwulu’s exposure to music was limited to film and television, until she discovered her love of heavy metal. It was while studying theatre at Simon Fraser University, in the aftermath of a car accident, that she made the bold decision to go to New York City to perform at open mics and develop her musicianship. In her words, “It was brave and delusional, a deadly combination.”
After that, Onukwulu’s musical leanings took her to Toronto, where she explored rock music and joined the electronica group Stop Die Resuscitate, before releasing her blues-infused debut album No, I Never. She has since travelled extensively throughout Europe as a performer and recording artist, and continues to explore collaborative projects through her trip-hop duo BOGA and her project with singer-songwriter Trish Klein called the Blue and the Gold.
As a multi-genre musician known for following her musical intuition around the globe, her roots ’n’ blues style can incorporate a wide range of influences. Yet, despite her reach, as an African Canadian artist, Onukwulu still faces biases and limiting beliefs within the music industry, alongside the role sexism can play in the business.
“I was told many, many times that if I just do jazz, I’ll be very successful,” she says.
“I’ll see an artist of a certain ethnic makeup and I’ll already assume what they should be doing. I’m as guilty of it as anybody else, but I constantly try and fight against it by not making music that fits the African American and Canadian stereotypes, which means it’s been a harder, more isolating road. It can be confusing because you never know what kind of album you’re going to get from me. I don’t even know. And I do think for Black women in particular, there’s a high level of sexualization that you need to ingest in a body in order to succeed, and I’ve never been comfortable with that. Who are you without the lingerie? Why are women’s roles in the arts and society quantified at our sexual value?”
True to her creative ethos, Onukwulu mentions that her next album project has already been recorded in Cork, Ireland. A project that quickly emerged after the recording of Simple Songs for Complicated Times, the upcoming release explores the intersections of traditional Irish music and blues music, with its first single tentatively slated to come out in May.
“Of course, being in all these different cultures and places would influence how I write and what I’m into sonically in how I want to create that form of art,” she says. “I do think there's a worldliness in how I see things, because the further I go, the more I’m seeing similarities. We are all human and we move with the same markers and energies as each other.”
With new projects lined up for the year, Onukwulu encourages Ndidi O fans to check out her upcoming show, citing that future shows in the area will be limited “in the next little while.” And for neurodivergent music lovers, she is committed to making reasonable accommodations so that no fan feels discouraged from experiencing the live show.
“I’m a person with neurodiversity, so I really want people to know that I aim to create safe spaces with my shows,” she says. “If anyone’s coming and they have neurodiversity issues, I would love for them to let me know, and I will try and create a section where it’s easier for anyone that could be overstimulated, because I exist in that world. If I can, in my tiny little way, create spaces that feel safe for people, that’s what I’m going to do.” 
Related Articles
