Blind musician Blessing Offor says he’s ‘living the dream’

Christian singer-songwriter Blessing Offor refuses to let his blindness stop him. The Nigerian-born artist says he wants to share his talents with the world in a way that helps listeners look forward to better days.

Offor releases his first EP brighter days last month, and the seven-song collection is a snapshot of his character as he takes his life experiences and turns them into messages to inspire his audience.

Born blind in one eye, Offer’s parents and uncle emigrated to the United States when he was 6 years old. His parents hoped that by coming to the United States, where their son would have access to the most advanced medical technology and better health care, his vision could be restored. But at 10, he lost sight in both eyes. Yet he was not discouraged.

Before losing the sight of both eyes, the musician had already learned to play the piano. And just like music legends Stevie Wonder and Sam Cook, he composes all of his songs on his piano.

“Our basic attitude should be gratitude,” Offer said in an interview with The Christian Post. “It’s not a cliché, but we all need to wake up today. This was not meant to happen. Life in context should only make you grateful.”

“I lost a lot of my vision when I was a kid, right? But here I am, right? I can play music for a living. I live the dream. It’s the same for millions of people right now,” testified the multi-talented artist.

Offer’s attitude of gratitude has made a difference in his life, and he credits his family and his upbringing for teaching him to cultivate a positive outlook on life.

“I don’t want anyone’s life but my own,” he said. “Because whatever they’re going through, it’s not for you. So we all end up exactly where God wants us to be and equipped for what He wants us to do.”

Although his father took a big risk being the first person in his Muslim family to convert to Christianity, Offor said he went on his own journey of faith in college and was brought back to Christ. through the Gospel message.

“I really think Christianity thrives under pressure,” he said. “There’s a kind of beauty, there’s a kind of added humility that you walk around with when you’re in a situation where you’re not in power. It reminds you that earthly power is not the period. In the New Testament, the church was never in power, but yet man made this thing grow.”

“If you look at the New Testament, these guys were very, very persecuted. In Nigeria, Christians could tell you what persecution means,” Offor said.

He encouraged Christians today not to get caught up in the controversies of the day or to think that everyone will become a Christian. The Bible does not promise this, he says. Instead, believers are to be a light in the darkness.

“Whatever happens is meant to happen, and we need to continue to trust what we know to be true and not panic when the world acts crazy because the world is crazy,” he said. .

“I don’t think I’m the traditional Christian artist. I consider myself a Christian artist,” said Offor, whose empowering lyrics and catchy melodies aren’t overtly religious in their message.

“I grew up with all the music in the world – Motown and jazz – and all that stuff,” he said. “And I’ve always felt very deeply that Christians go through heartache, Christians go through loss, Christians go through the same emotions that everyone else does. Why does being a Christian all of a sudden mean that we don’t live human lives?” he asked, noting that it never made sense to him that when his friends were done worshiping, they had to go to secular artists to find a song they could relate to for their relationship issues. .

“So my mindset to make this record was just to be human,” he claimed.

“‘Tin Roof,’ ‘Believe,’ those are songs where it’s me struggling with faith or dealing with faith,” he continued. “‘Brighter Days’ is a song full of hope. ‘Love Something’ is just a song about loss.

“So I guess all I want is I wanted to make a record that’s full of human emotions, all kinds of emotions. Because being a Christian always contains within you being a human being. I’m trying to bridge that gap I can’t make music that my dad can’t listen to I can’t record songs that I couldn’t play in front of my dad because my dad is just the man sweetest, nicest, most God-worshipping person in the world, but that leaves a lot of freedom.

The Belmont University alum concluded the interview with CP by encouraging Christians to think outside of cultural norms.

“I think sometimes we get stuck in our own bubbles,” he added. “I struggled, growing up. I was like, ‘I love Jesus, but I don’t think I’m like a worship leader, per se. And I don’t think I’m a worship artist. gospel because, man, all these Motown songs, these songs are wonderfully adoring in their own way To be honest, I just have to be myself here, so that’s kind of what the EP is, Blessing Offor trying to be honest about Blessing Offor.”

The EP brighter days is available now through Chris Tomlin’s Bowyer & Bow imprint in partnership with Universal/Capitol Christian Music Group. For more information, click here.