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The conscious MC and poet aims to be the exception to almost every musical rule.

Friday Sep 21, 2007.     By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

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"You can be an artist and still be an activist," insists Ugochi Nwaogwugwu. A whirlwind of creative action, Ugochi sings, rhymes and dances all over the world. Her art is a sophisticated mix of Diasporan influences with an urban sensibility, but her consciousness-raising seeps through everywhere,from her music to her poetry to her dance moves.

"When I started in music in '97, people were proud to have consciousness and have something to say," she says. "I don't think people see that enough in this generation." With "pop, drop and lock it" as the most thought-provoking lyric in a recent slew of crass and empty hip-hop and R&B hits, it's clear that voices of substance don't exactly thrive in the music market these days. With her self-produced, critically acclaimed debut, African Buttafly, under her belt, and a second CD in the works, Ugochi aims to be the exception.

Anyone who's caught her regular set at the Wild Hare or any of her various local appearances knows that exceptions represent what Ugochi's all about. Soul, reggae and Afrobeat classics fill her show along with her own originals, but they rarely sound the way you might expect. Her rich, throaty alto caresses tunes like familiar friends, drawing fans into her world. She might do Sade's "Sweetest Taboo," but with heavier, African-influenced rhythm. She might offer a reggae version of the Cranberries' "Zombie" or her own Afrobeat jam, "Don't Mind Them," about Nigerian personality quirks. The songs have one thing in common; they all underscore cultural and social awareness. "I'm trying to make original music that people can look back and say, that was my generation and the music is still relevant," says the 35-year-old.

Her music also displays dashes of spoken word, African dance and contagious percussion. "That soul/jazz essence will always be there," she says of her sound, which she calls Afrosoul. "It's like reggae meets Nina Simone. I want to make people move but also make music that moves people."

Growing up in the South Side's Morgan Park neighborhood, in a traditional Nigerian family, Ugochi never dreamed that she'd perform for a living. Although she learned African dance at home and was exposed to a huge variety of music, her family had already selected her path; she was to go to law school and become a judge. But shortly after finishing a journalism degree and taking the LSAT in 1995, she was overcome by Chicago’s vibrant poetry scene. "The movie 'Love Jones' was being made and all my friends were in it," she says. "I took the LSAT and got my scores but I didn't want to go to law school. I felt I could effect more change through poetry and music."

Ugochi started performing at open mikes and poetry slams, building a loyal following for her melodic, insightful poetry. "I started as an MC. I just matured into poetry to express what I wanted to say," she says. "Hip-hop is an outlet to say some things but not everything. Poetry was the best way to bring certain ideas to the table. With hip-hop, I was too locked into the rhyme and meter."

Her diverse talents were recognized almost immediately. In 2001, she was a finalist in the Def Poetry Jam competition. Evolving into singing and songwriting, she wrote Kelis' song for the "Red Hot + Riot" tribute to Fela Kuti in 2002. In 2003, she found herself a finalist for the Star Search TV competition.

"I feel very lucky to grow into different art forms," she says. "I’ll be doing some work with Muntu African Dance Theatre this year and I'm working on a one-woman show about my family's immigrant experience." With all these skills, Ugochi still sees her music as the facilitator for everything else. "We're (she and her band) not doing what everybody else is doing. We're doing new music that makes people feel good about what they're listening to," she says. "I want people to get back to research and reading and consciousness. We need more than money to be our main motivator. We have to bring consciousness back and make it cool to open minds up."

Ugochi performs at the Wild Hare on the third Thursday of every month for Africa Night, at 10 p.m. and midnight.