His vocals are quite unique and he is noted to be amongst the best singers and guitarists in Nigeria. He once described his music to be like riding a horse swimming in the ocean.
That caught our attention. Today, we resolved to get you familiar with him on Gospel City Naija.
Born John Bemdoo Sar, Bem is the first of five siblings. He started an early education in Zaria, Kaduna State where he was born and moved, with his family, to Benue where he graduated from the state University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Right after graduation, he spent a year working in a bank to fulfill his service to the nation, then took up a position as Marketing Officer in a real estate firm. This job only lasted two months before he opted out to face his one true love, music.
Being a self-taught guitarist and vocalist, his music has often experienced drastic changes, since he started out as a Hip Hop Artist in 1996. Encouraged by a friend to convert his knack for writing short stories into lyrical composition, Bem had to draw from a very eclectic listening background to hone his word craft.
In 1996, Bemsar recorded his first demo, which contained hip-hop songs that he wrote with encouragement from friend, rapper Rule Clean (a.k.a. RC). At the early age of six, after watching performance clips of The Jackson 5 on television, Bemsar began receiving guitar lessons from his dad. When hip hop did not pan out he turned to the instrument and channeled his musical inspirations: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Earl Klugh, Christopher Bona, Prince, Bono, Youssou N’dour, Seal, Snoop Dogg, Osibisa and Aerosmith. In 1998, Bemsar focused instead on blending these elements, taking an experimental approach and developed his own flavour of soulful rock.
Bemsar, which means, “One Who Spreads Peace” soon began to write socially conscious music and tapped into the “singer-songwriter” wave that other Nigerian artists such as Age Beeka, were embracing. However, his music did not gain recognition beyond Makurdi, Benue state, until he moved to the federal capital. This move to Abuja coincided with a turn to Christ. It was at this point in his life that he wrote “Something Good”, which is probably his most celebrated song, appearing on his debut and a remix on his sophomore.
By 2005, Bemsar had fully committed to his musical pursuits, recording “Something Good” a song he wrote in 2003. “Something Good” was followed by the release of his debut album, For the Life of Me, on which it featured as the starting track. In 2008 his sophomore album, Raising Dust, was released. A remix of ‘Something Good’ featured on it.He is a facilitator on the ‘Abuja Collabo Project’ alongside 30 other musicians based in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, Abuja. He has also performed in front of 40 African Presidents at a dinner marking the 50th anniversary of Nigeria .
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