“Music is the lens through which I see and most articulate way I communicate my truest and deepest feelings. I can hide how I’m feeling from the world and the people I love, but you can always catch me baring it all, in my songs”.
When Blessing saw a boy singing and playing the guitar at the bus stop on Elysian Field in New Orleans, her journey from Cross River State Nigeria where she hails, to the USA for her tertiary education, changed course. She taught herself to play the guitar and write songs in-between classes at Southern University at New Orleans where she obtained a first bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in criminology.
Emerging from the New Orleans vibrant jazz scene, Blessing Tangban debuted an introspective, vulnerable and folky sound with her Debut EP Nowhere Girl in 2014, that opened us up to the world of a lost a fifteen-year-old Nigerian immigrant in America, starting college, falling in love, getting heartbroken and finding her faith.
Her LP Free, followed in 2017, during her return and stay in her country Nigeria, revealing a musician whose experience had been found and rooted in afro-folk melodies that remained vulnerable, lyrically intelligent, and enveloped in the fingerpicked sounds of her acoustic guitar.
For her next release in 2018, Blessing Tangban collaborated with Nigeria’s renowned musician Johnny Drille on Grow Up which launched Blessing on a career of international tours and festival performances within Nigeria, in South Africa, USA and Canada. Grow Up was also featured in the Netflix Movie, Weather for Two. Blessing’s second collaboration was with Africa’s most prolific rapper, M.I. Abaga in 2019 with the release of Insecure which was featured in the Amazon Prime movie, Still Falling.
In addition to collaborations with other musicians, Blessing won the Galaxy Music Award Award for best vocal performance on her song, Tebe Tebe (Released January 2020). Her natural ability to share her personal experiences through her songs in a way that is very relatable has endeared her to her growing social media following of over 80,000 people across social media platforms and earned her over one million streams on digital music streaming platforms.
With a style reminiscent of the renowned artist Asa, Blessing brings a unique fusion of soulful vocals and intricate guitar tunes to the stage as a prolific live performer. Having played at festivals like Splashy Fen in South Africa, Carnival Calabar in Nigeria, and Nigerian Festival in Halifax Canada, to mention a few. She has opened for renowned Nigerian musicians like WizKid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Timi Dakolo and Patoranking to mention a few. Blessing’s live performance is an emotive journey that melds evocative storytelling with the ethereal sounds of her guitar. Her music resonates with the richness of African soul and contemporary resonance, creating an ambiance that’s both serene and compelling.
A high school graduate at the age of fifteen in her native Nigeria, Blessing is currently enrolled in the Music Business program at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), fresh off getting her Doctorate in Public Policy from Walden University in the USA. She enrolled in this program with the intention of acquiring the tools to navigate the music industry better, to “build a larger landscape and reach for my music, make it a life-long career, and gain a deeper understanding of how I can earn a living in the music industry.”
In 2024, she showcased her music at various notable platforms like the East Coast Music Awards (ECMA), Halifax Jazz Fest and Nova Scotia Music Week, to mention a few. She also got nominated for Five African Nova Scotian Music Awards. Her latest release “Prayer” (Released September 27, 2024) is available on all platforms now. She is also slated to perform at the Folk Alliance International Showcase in February 2025. She is an interesting addition to Halifax’s musical landscape, with enough uniqueness and appeal to expand beyond the region and break through globally. After this single release, Blessing’s goal is to release her third EP. Stay tuned and follow her journey, it promises to be groundbreaking.
“Blessing Tangban sings to preserve the heritage, melodies, and art through soulful Afro-folk music, and she is out of the ordinary. The distinct sounds that stem from her soul seem to come from a place of self-introspection, edging towards a throbbing appetite to create, impact, and preserve her heritage with the music rather than commercialize it. More intriguing, even when you do not understand the words sung in her dialect, you find your soul drawn to the rhythm and aura in the room.”
– Arshavin Ephraim, RADR Africa
“Drawing from the deep well of folk music, Blessing Tangban’s music leaves one with the feeling of encountering a mystic power.”
– Emmanuel Esomnofu, Native Mag
“Blessing Tangban is one Afro-fusion singer who continues to give hope to folk music lovers across Nigeria. With her recently released EP dubbed, “Out Of The Ordinary Feel”, the Cross River native returns to her element, dishing out a triple dose of introspection, soul and native vibes in a beautiful melodyies.”
– Juliet Ebirim, Vanguard News
“New crops of contemporary singers have emerged, reviving the beautiful genre of Afro-folk music, cooking it with all its harmonious, poetry-like lyricism and composition. And the young Afro-fusion chanteuse, Blessing Tangban, is at the forefront of this.”
– Chinonso Ihekire, Guardian Life
