Hi EUGEE, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?”
Growing up as a larger Nigerian-American woman, I faced a lot of challenges early on, often teased about my body frame and “eloquent” speech. There was a strict focus on education home, so I often missed out on hanging out with friends to focus on school. The time that I spent alone in my room studying or reading led me to discover the joy of Music in middle school. Songs on the radio inspired me to envision a future where I was able to express myself freely through music. Heavily influenced by the pop culture of the ‘90s and early 2000s, I was focused on becoming a Pop Star. Early on though, I was really critical of my own vocal abilities and decided to focus on writing poetry and expressing my emotions through lyrics until I developed my soulful signature sound.
As a New Orleans native, I come from a background deeply rooted in music. I first took my talents to the stage at the age of 16, forming a band under my first name “Ugorji” with my classmate Sam Craft (of the renowned Cajun Pop-Rock band “Sweet Crude”) and other friends from high school. Embracing the “Rock n’ Soul” genre, we quickly grew in popularity and we started to perform in packed venues. However, Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans led to the dissolution of our band.
I moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University Chicago for my undergraduate studies and quickly fell in love with the city’s vibe. Soon after, I started singing in jazz clubs around town. Influenced by the Chicago house music scene, I re-emerged under the Dance/Pop genre and became known as “EUGEE”, creating music with another friend and college classmate of mine from New Orleans dubbed “Simoneaux” who produced eclectic beats that paired perfectly with my unique voice. It was during this time that I decided that I was going to take a real chance at being a singer full-time after graduating from college. Up until this time, my mother had allowed me to sing on the side as a “hobby.” But I planned on proving that I could really do this as a full-time career.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I continued to chomp at the bit, collaborating with local music producers while living in Chicago in 2010, but nothing was hitting quite right. I was working at The Cheesecake Factory to make ends meet (after graduation from college, my mother began gradually withdrawing financial support) but I was barely making $70 a WEEK! Soon doubt and depression set in, sending me into a tailspin—which wasn’t helped by Chicago’s brutal extended winter. I realized that I probably wasn’t going to make it out on my own for long, so I decided to honor my mother’s wishes for me to go to Medical School.
Off I went to Medical School and left my dream of being a singer behind. In my mind, it was my fault it didn’t work out, so I had to face the *consequences* of that. I pushed all my musical accomplishments to the back of my mind and focused on Medical School; I did well. I successfully graduated with my Doctor of Medicine degree in 2015 and started my Internal Medicine residency program at LSU-Shreveport that same year. I completed my residency in 2018 and the intense emotional rollercoaster over those 3 years almost left me dead. In my final year of residency, I knew something had to change—I had to do something to survive. I turned back to Music because it had always helped me out of tough situations before. I had left it behind for nearly 10 years because I didn’t think it was possible to be a doctor and a singer. “Who wants to see that? LAME!” is all I could think all those years. But when I finally got back behind the mic, I began to feel like myself again.
Shortly after I graduated residency and had begun practicing Medicine independently, I began to feel like I had taken on too much responsibility at work and I again began to spiral like I had back in Chicago—except this time I sank into the deepest depression I’d ever encountered in my entire life. The only thing that brought me out of that depression was Music. And that’s when I became completely committed to it being a part of my life again. Never again would I throw it to the side and pretend that it wasn’t my entire essence. I jumped back into Music as EUGEE in November 2019 with a new Pop n’ B sound prominently featured on my heartbreaking and soulful single, “Weekend”, and I haven’t looked back since! I met my current production team who are based in Dallas on the recommendation of another Dallas artist with an astonishing story named Jaylin Williams (a.k.a. JayKid). I filmed my “Abandon” music video during Memorial Day Weekend 2020 at various locations around Dallas with an amazingly talented videographer, Victor Gonzalez (Films by KV), and director, Sydney Escada (creator of “The Billionairess Babes”). We worked on a multitude of projects and I eventually met Jorge “Prophecy” Villa (Films by Prophecy/Prophecy Film Studio) with whom I’ve continued to collaborate with and elevate my visuals with each new project. Dallas is a second home for me.
Remarkably, while handling my enormous responsibilities as a doctor, seeing patients in the day, and developing this new era of EUGEE in the evenings and on weekends, I achieved my board certification in Lifestyle Medicine and Culinary Medicine and also completed a fellowship in Sleep Medicine in June 2021. Despite all my obligations, I have ALWAYS found time for Music, because it is my “medicine.”
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer/songwriter and I’ve always been really good at writing catchy songs. I used to run from the title of “Pop” because Pop music didn’t seem to be taken as seriously as other genres, having a bad reputation of being “silly” and “uncool.” But since my return to Music, I recently realized that’s what I make: Popular music that gets stuck in your brain. My songs are also usually pretty thoughtful and tell a story that brings the listener in—not everyone can do that. And let’s not forget my sassy and soulful vocals that have spanned across multiple genres for over 2 decades now! I’m so grateful to have this unique voice of mine that’s had the ability to heal others, as well as myself.
Any big plans?
The biggest change that happened rather recently is my move to Philadelphia—but Dallas is still the home base for my music & video production. I’ve delved back into my Dance/Pop era from when I first became “EUGEE” and I shot the music video for my hit single “I’m The One” this past May; its corresponding music video is set to premiere on July 15th, 2022! Right after that, I’ll get to work filming the music video for my other incredibly infectious hit song, “Dance with You”—in Dallas, of course! And you know I’m ALWAYS working on music in the studio. I’d like to release an EP of my Dance/Pop hits that I wrote over a decade ago that I never got to share with the world. Those songs still stand the test of time and the explosive trajectory of “I’m The One” and “Dance with You” is evidence of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.EUGEEmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eugee_o/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EUGEEMusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/EUGEEOMusic
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/eugeemusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2F715WIAQ7QPCrDW5GDvzz?si=0hH6xwBASh6VcNpy6WgWnw
Image Credits
Ahmad J/PitchaMane
Joyia J. Johnson/Visuals by Joyia
Jarrett Warren/CleverSoul Photography
Xavien Bailey/The XAVN Co.
Terry Blue/DallasGlobal
