Screenshot from Teach Me, official YouTube video.

Dr. Blessing Tangban’s journey to Canada coincided with her decision to dive into an exploration of the world of spiritual music. I met her during  a performance of “Teach Me”, her debut single, at the Young, Gifted and Black 2024 concert.

Her performance of her latest song, Teach Me, was so soothing, and captivating. I made a point to reach out to her after her performance to learn more. She describes herself as a Nigerian Afro-folk Artist.

Here’s a snippet of that performance.

Performance recorded by Harmony Adesola (IG: @harmz_so_hype)

Blessing revealed that she got into music and performance, while studying for her doctorate (in Public Policy from Walden University) in the US. She later came to Nova Scotia to study Music Business at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) a little under 2 years ago.

Blessing talks about what that looked like and how she ended up in Halifax at this concert.

Story-Book Entertainment (SBe): How did you get into music and performance?

Blessing Tangban (BT): Both of my parents sing, they didn’t do it professionally but could sing.  I got into it professionally, when I was in New Orleans studying, I was singing and playing the guitar at ‘open mics’.

My brother was a professional musician, so I always tried to do what he did. So when it was time for me to decide if I wanted to do music, I already had this in my head, that I knew someone who did this professionally.

SBe: How long have you been performing?

BT: I’d say twelve (12) years now.

SBe: What inspires you? I listened to you perform Teach Me, which was an original song, I believe ..

BT: Yes it is. My personal experiences mostly, it’s like my own outlet, my therapy. My own experiences, I don’t go too deeply into what other people have going on in their lives, I’m just telling my stories from my perspective.

SBe: So, what prompted the move to Canada?

BT: The short answer is better opportunities. The long answer is very long, so I’d say better opportunities, especially with the Music Business Program at NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College), I really needed to step up my game and get attuned to what’s actually going on in the world.

I was in Nigeria for eight years after I left New Orleans (USA). I was doing music there, but it wasn’t at the level I wanted to do it at. I wanted to see what was happening globally. And I decided to take the music program and it’s been worth it!

SBe: What are some of the adjustments or changes you’ve had to navigate in your move to Canada?

BT: Well mostly just my family. I’ve lived abroad before. I lived in the US for six (6) years, so I kinda know what the north-American system is like -ish. It’s different with each country though. What I hadn’t anticipated was how much closer I’d gotten with my family, so now being apart from them was really one of the adjustments, I really had to grow accustomed to. Being apart from my ‘ loved ones’ and  having to make new friends.

I’m just counting down the days when my family can join me.

SBe: What keeps you grounded?

BT: My faith in God. Because there isn’t really anyone else around, it brought me closer to God. It keeps me level headed and hopeful. Moving to a new country, finding a job, getting housing, finding your bearings etc., was confusing at first. I didn’t have a lot of these answers when I was moving, but God has been faithful. The things that I was able to do, wasn’t me alone so that keeps me grounded.

SBe: Short term goals?

BT: Immediate short-term goal for this year (2024) was to produce another song and i just want to focus my energy on this – DONE!

Release my song, hopefully do another showcase, and see what all that buzz is going to get me. I’m not doing music to be the next Beyonce, but if that happens, great! My music is my life.

Long-term, I see myself touring the world, playing the kind of music I want to make. Inspiring contemporary Christian music in Canada. I see that this isn’t really ‘alive’ as it can be as it is with other places in the world. So hopefully adding some spark to that.

SBe: So how did you end up at Young, Black & Gifted? Were you invited?

BT: Yes. That’s how it started. I was playing a gig at the airport for African Heritage month, and one of organizer’s (Delvina), her husband saw me playing and came up to me and said, ‘ you sound good,  I got a show for you’ . A few weeks later his wife messaged me by email,  but I had already booked my ticket back home. So I told her I couldn’t do it. When I came back the show had been postponed and then they hit me up again. So I guess it was meant to be.

Here’s a a link of her official Teach me video on YouTube.

This year (2024) we saw her climb as she was nominated for five (5) ANSMA (African Nova Scotian Music Association) Awards – Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Emerging Artist of the Year, Music Video of the Year and Rising Star! @theansma

She’s  performed  at the East Coast Music Awards and the Halifax Jazz Festival and joined Nigerian star Johnny Drille on his Canadian Tour. 

Her latest single – Prayer was released in September of this year and she performed it during Nova Scotia Music week – November 8th! To stream click HERE.

She describes Prayer as “ Literally a written down prayer to God, affirming his promises to us when life throws its toughest punches.”

“Prayer”  is a confession of faith, an affirmation of trust in God and a reliance on his promises which will never fall to the ground. It takes you on a bold, explorative journey that melds evocative storytelling with the ethereal sounds of the piano, creating an ambiance that’s both serene and compelling. 

Video was shot and directed by Maleek for The Kingsmen Studios:  /thekingsmenstudios 

Song Written by: Blessing Tangban. Produced by: Ekeyzondabeat

To learn more about Blessing and her music,  you can find her on Social Media @Blessingtangban on all platforms (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter)

Youtube: @BlessingTangban   

Spotify,  Apple Music. 

Linktr.ee: linktr.ee/BlessingTangban