Christy Essien was an artist with two lives. She was an actress as well as a musician.
As an actress she played the role of APENA in The New Masquerade a television soap which dominated the airwaves in the 80’s. Christy’s Soul Train Outfit contributed to the foreign pop revolution in Nigeria.
Her ground breaking album Ever Liked My Person became a hit parade in the 80’s and frequently topped the chart.
When her Evergreen highlife oriented song Seun Rere hit the market in the 80”s it became the choice of the record buying public. She later discovered that for an artiste the formula for gaining profound acceptance and popularity was identification with the roots.
Christy Essien’s song Seun Rere till date remains a Masterpiece. This inventive song is filled with the coloration of folklore, lyrics laced with words of exhortation and moral values. In terms of lyrics this song is comparable to other Evergreens like Ambrose Campbell “Omo Laso”, IK Dairo “Ere Omo” J. O Araba ‘s “Omo Lere Aiye”, KSA Omo Wunmi which has been kicking around the years.
Seun Rere has become Universal and Timeless. A nostalgic song that *resonates generation after generation* . A Song not specific to a particular audience and universally relatable without language barrier of its listener.