Mojisola Odegbami did not anticipate that a trip to the United States would land her a part in a visual album by one of the most popular music artists in the world — Beyoncé. The 69-year-old Nigerian grandmother appeared in two music videos in Beyoncé’s highly anticipated “Black Is King” album, which premiered on Disney+. In a video, Odegbami appeared in “Bigger” taking on the role of an African queen, and in “Mood 4 Eva” where she was dressed in African attire, including a gele, a traditional head wrap commonly worn in West and Southern Africa.
She told CNN that her journey to being cast began with a medical trip to California in July 2019, where she met Folajomi “FJ” Akinmurele, a young actor. “I was staying with my daughter’s friend, and this friend of hers has a 7-year-old son. The son, FJ, is the main character in “Black Is King,” Odegbami explained. “Each time he needed to go for practice, I was the one who drove him there cause his mum would have gone to work. At that point, Beyoncé’s staff got to know me as grandma Moji,” she added.
Even though Beyoncé’s staff knew Odegbami, she did not get invited to cast in the album until her daughter’s friend took a leap and signed her up with the talent agency responsible for choosing characters for the album. Right after acting out the scenarios, she was told she would be featuring in the album and meeting Beyoncé.
On Representing Nigeria
Odegbami said meeting Beyoncé was a wonderful experience. Everyone on set, she said, was receptive and kind. Odegbami, who lives in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria, told CNN that she feels happy to have represented Nigeria, and by extension Africa, in “Black Is King.” It was an opportunity to showcase Nigerian culture through her appearance, she said.
Read more here
Culled from CNN
