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When someone refers to you by your first name and everybody knows who they’re talking about, you know you’ve made it. Lemar is one of few British artists who have accomplished that feat, having smoothly made that transition from a nobody to a somebody in less than a year; a somebody whose name everyone is familiar with. However, it has not been an easy ride for 27-year-old Lemar Obika, who had almost given up on music before he entered the auditions for the BBC 1 talent show ‘Fame Academy’. After being dropped from his previous record deal and returning to his old job at NatWest bank, Lemar’s hopes were down, but not completely out. “Before that show I wasn’t really focussing on the music, I was close to giving it up, but I was just like, well, we’ll see how it goes,” told the Tottenham-born singer. “I thought, maybe give it a year or so and see what becomes of it.”
Luckily for him, his fortunes were changing, and he soon became a hot favourite to win the big prize: a record deal and a year of living in luxury. The down side? If the winner couldn’t make a success of themselves in that year, they would pretty much be back to square one. “Not winning the show was probably a blessing in disguise,” said Lemar, who came third overall. “Instead of rushing to get an album out, I had the time to sit down and think about what direction I wanted to go in.” Since the end of ‘Fame Academy’, Lemar has been the only candidate to sign a major record deal which would see the release of two full albums, hit the top ten with consecutive single releases, and complete two national tours, selling out almost every date when he hit the road for his second outing earlier this year. “This last tour went very well,” said an upbeat Lemar. “I mean, my first tour was very successful, but this one has been taken to the next level. There was a lot of energy on this tour; it was very much a party vibe, so I really enjoyed it.” He continued, “It’s great to have sold out at nearly every venue, it feels really good. It just shows that more people are enjoying my music with this second album, so it’s always a great feeling to know that your fanbase is constantly growing.” Looking back on his debut album, ‘Dedicated’, Lemar has come a long way. His first single, ‘Dance (With You)’ was described as a cross between Michael Jackson and Musiq Soulchild. So how would he describe his music now? “You know what it is? I think of my music now as eclectic and soulful,” he reflected. “On my current album, there are many tracks that are reminiscent of old school stuff; there’s ‘Soul Man’, ‘Feels Right’, ‘If There’s Any Justice’, which all have that old school flavour. But then there’s more modern R&B tracks like ‘Call Me Daddy’ or ‘I Don’t Mind That’, so I just try to keep it eclectic, try to keep it soulful, and it’s music from my heart.” Listening to his latest album, ‘Time To Grow’, it’s evident that the roots of his inspirations are from musical legends of the Marvin Gaye era. “Yeah, definitely,” he agreed. “I like Al Green and Marvin Gaye, but I also like a lot of the Nineties’ artists, like Boyz II Men, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson… just the usual, man.” Trying to recreate that old school sound in his own music whilst maintaining a fresh approach was something that Lemar had full control over at Sony BMG. “I’m lucky in that I can say what I want and what I don’t want. I write or co-write a lot of my material, so because of that I don’t have to record anything I don’t want to,” he said. “Unlike some artists, I’m lucky enough to be pretty much in control of my own music.” Whilst others may choose to sign to an independent label in the fear of being lost in such a big company, Lemar is adamant that there are very few differences in being signed to a major as opposed to a smaller independent label. “Well, the only thing I think Sony has over smaller labels is the promotion, you know? Creativity and having access to other artists is all down to you, for yourself to determine. One thing about being with a major is that support and the marketing behind you,” he explained. “I still think that whatever company you’re with, you have to know who you are as an artist, because that’s how the company will promote you, and that’s how they know what direction to push the project in.” Speaking of promoting artists, how does Lemar think that the industry can help out fresh young talent like himself? “I think they should be more supportive of the talent in the UK, and give people more of a chance to prove themselves. I mean, there could be the next Usher Raymond out there!” he exclaimed. “A lot of record companies don’t take the time to develop their artists and help them out a bit more, and nowadays there’s a lot of pressure on them to be a success with just one go at the industry, so I think they should definitely be more open and more supportive of new acts.” You sense a real feeling of sincerity in Lemar’s response to the question; maybe it’s because he’s had first hand experience of this, or maybe it’s just because he genuinely cares about celebrating new talent. Whatever the reason, the green-eyed North Londoner is keen to help push the UK urban scene further into the mainstream. Ask him why American acts continue to flourish in the UK whilst British acts seem to stall at the first hurdle in cracking the US, and Lemar is quick to defend his peers. “Well, American artists have been doing their R&B for a long, long time, and sometimes UK artists come out and try to sound like an imitation of American R&B acts, and that’s where I think they’re going wrong,” he commented. “The UK R&B scene is getting much stronger now though, so I think it’ll gradually break the US market too.” Like all ambitious artists, Lemar has plans for himself to tap into the American market, but not for a while yet. “I wanna do more touring in Europe first, and then maybe, after things settle down, go across the pond to see how they receive my music out there,” he contemplated. These thoughts are included in his plans for the rest of the year, so maybe it’s not so far away after all. “Well, hopefully the next six months will be more of the same! I’ve got a couple more singles to come from the album, hopefully I’ll be able to go on tour in Europe, and maybe even go to America, so it’s gonna be a busy year!”
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