Harrysong Nigerian Singer Born 1981 in Warri

Early life

Harrysong, whose full name is Harrison Tare Okiri, was born on 30 March 1981 in Warri, in Nigeria's Delta State, to Ijaw parents. He spent part of his early life in Port Harcourt, where his involvement with music deepened, before relocating to Lagos in 2007. His musical start was in church: at eleven he began singing in the congregation where his mother served as music director, and from there he moved on to contemporary gospel.

Career

In Lagos he worked as lead singer of a live band that played in night clubs. Through those performances he met the singer Kcee, who introduced him to prominent figures in the Nigerian music business and helped him get signed. His wider audience came with the singles "I'm In Love" and "Taiye & Kehinde"; the video for "I'm In Love" reached the top of music video charts, including Trace TV. A remix of that song featured Olamide. In 2012 he released his debut album, Testify, through QuestionMark Entertainment.

Further albums followed: Kingmaker in 2017 and God Amongst Men in 2023, with the EP Right About Now in 2020. Among his other singles are "Beta Pikin", "Kolombo", "Ofeshe", "Reggae Blues", which brought together Olamide, Iyanya, Kcee and Orezi, "Baba for the girls" with Kcee, "Arabanko", "Happiness", "Tekero" and "Report Card". Shortly before the pandemic reached Nigeria he released "Bumbumbum", recorded with Davido. Other collaborators include Zlatan on a remix of "Chacha" and Rudeboy on "Kona".

He is described as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. His listed genres are rhythm and blues and dancehall, and the instrument he plays is the guitar. His YouTube channel had around 92,400 subscribers as of April 2025.

Recognition

Harrysong first drew attention in 2013 when his tribute song to Nelson Mandela took the Most Downloaded Callertune award at The Headies. He was nominated at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in the Best Pop/R&B Artist category after "Beta Pikin", and the awards body lists him with two nominations in total, in 2013 and 2016. In 2021 he won at The Beatz Awards. Altogether he has two wins and two nominations on record.

Personal life

Harrysong and his partner Alexer Perez Gopa announced their engagement in February 2021, and they married in Warri on 27 March 2021. The couple have twins, born in 2017.