Meet the team: Akil Henry
We're starting a new feature where we give you an introduction to the people behind One Sound Music, so you can know who they are. Today we're joined by the CEO of One Sound Music, Akil Henry.
Hey there, what's your name and tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Akil Andrew Adejamo (funny story about that name) Henry. What do you want to know? Errrr....I'm a musician. I play keys, do a bit of musical directing now and again, and very occasionally, I do vocal arrangements. I'm also the CEO of this lovely group of people we call One Sound Music.
Tell us a little bit about what One Sound Music is..
One Sound Music's overall aim is to give a platform for artists to share their music with the world, specifically music that speaks of hope and love found in Jesus. We do this through a variety of services such as artist management, live events, and our flagship YouTube channel which currently has over 400,000+ views. We also create programs for churches in order to enhance their music and worship services such as songwriting workshops and musician masterclasses.
Ah I see, that's pretty amazing. So what is it specifically that you do for One Sound Music?
Anything that needs doing! But specifically, I'm responsible for artist management (taking care of Destiny and Paris), marketing and PR (getting our products out there and promoting ourselves), finance (making sure we don't lose all our money) and admin (organising files and things...which I love!).
When/how did you get involved?
So, I was actually there from the beginning...because my friend and I came up with the idea lol! Since the age of 18, I had this dream of being the head of a gospel music record label. I spoke to my friend Phil (the founder of the amazing vocal group Vade) and we came up with the idea of putting out an album. We spoke to our friends Tochi and Toni, and thus the idea of One Sound was borne...5 years later and we're still here!
Praise God! Ok, so people don't know a lot about the people behind the Music, so I'll ask some questions to give people a better feel for who you are. What would you say is your favourite hobby?
I guess you mean apart from anything musical right? Cause that's pretty much the majority of what I do outside of my 9 to 5! I play keys, listen to loads of different music etc etc. I love watching football - avid Chelsea fan right here! I also read the news a lot (HuffPost, BBC, The Root etc.) as well as books in general - I'm a super geek so I always want to learn new stuff (I love a good TedTalk). Currently learning Spanish, and (when I have time) trying to code a little bit as well. Social justice is super important to me too, so I like to discuss about issues concerning racism and sexism.
Oh my goodness, I think I'll have to edit that bit about Chelski from the blog. Smh, Can you tell us 2 quirky things about yourself?
I really hate messiness, I don't have OCD, but I feel like I'm leaning towards it. I used to be super tidy and then stopped at uni...then a few months ago, a switch came back on and now I can't stand mess. So my room is always tidy now. Even my wardrobe, like the inside of it. Second quirky thing...I am a massive fan of quiz shows! The Chase, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, University Challenge, all of them! I love it!
That's great, I also love The Chase and Who wants to be a Millionaire! What do you do for your day job?
I am a digital marketing analyst, which basically means that I use data to help clients make business decisions. Lol, jargon alert. Digital just means online, so I analyse online behaviour of users to help clients understand why people react to their site in various ways and where they should be spending their marketing budget essentially.
Ok so you analyse google, youtube and all that jazz? Cool beans! If you could be a superhero, who would you choose and why?
To be honest, I never really cared about superheroes...Jesus is my Superman! hey glory! Actually...Luke Cage. Being bulletproof would be lit! And it means I could stop gang violence amongst the brothers killing each other which would be awesome.
Lol 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 That reminds me of Donald Lawrence's song 'Superman'. Anyway moving on, what would you say is your hidden talent?
Hidden talent?? These questions...I don't even think I have one. Everyone knows I do music, and that's about it! I guess I'm good at organising and planning events (when I don't take on too much!)
I'd personally say that you love to debate and perhaps it's a 'not so hidden' talent, but hey, what do i know lol. If you could go back to any time period, which one would you go to and why?
As a black person, I'm not sure whether going back to anytime in the last 400 years is a wise choice...however, if I'd have to say any era, I'd want to be around in the 19th Century when Beethoven and Chopin were dominating the classical world. Two phenomenal composers of unmatchable talent really. Chopin was the best writer for the piano ever in my opinion, and Beethoven was an absolute genius.
Wow, I hear that! If you could share 1 thing with the world, what would it be?
The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Everyone needs to read that book. It's got everything in there. But most of all, it shows how just because you hold an opinion firmly, doesn't mean it can't be changed by reasoning it out, and it's actually a mark of honour to be able to publicly change what you believe and not be ashamed to admit it.
Thanks for joining us Akil and sharing with us. We hope to see more of you soon.