[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”THE OPUS” subhead=”\/\u02c8\u014dp\u0259s\/: 1. any artistic work, especially one on a large scale; 2. early 18th century: from Latin, literally \u2018work\u2019” header_fullscreen=”on” _builder_version=”3.21″ title_font=”Montserrat|200|||||||” title_font_size=”80px” content_font=”||||||||” subhead_font=”Oswald|200|||||||” subhead_font_size=”24px” subhead_letter_spacing=”1px” subhead_line_height=”1.4em” background_image=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/blacknoise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/04\/opus_header_full.jpg” text_shadow_style=”preset3″ custom_css_subtitle=”width: 700px;”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″ custom_padding=”50px|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”|300|||||||” custom_padding=”||0px|||”]<\/p>\n
As a student in the genetics program at Western University, Chris Oday says he wasn\u2019t the best when it came to the hands-on work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would do experiments badly,\u201d he says. \u201cI was like a liability in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at an R&B showcase at The Baby G on Dundas Street in Toronto, Oday demonstrated that his hands are quite adept when holding a guitar.<\/p>\n
It was the 22-year-old\u2019s second time performing at the Toronto R&B Sounds show. He didn\u2019t dedicate his entire set to the genre, deciding instead to pay homage to John Mayer with a cover and featuring some of his own pillowy, guitar-laden originals.<\/p>\n
He seemed comfortable on stage, cracking jokes into the small, crowded space in front of him.<\/p>\n
The Mississauga native has only been performing live for about a year at this point and his budding career started with a drunken application to a singing competition at Western. Though his competitors were more technically skilled, he says he was shocked when he \u201csomehow\u201d won.<\/p>\n
Since then, he\u2019s been working on building his identity as an artist through live performances like the R&B showcase and by working as a guitarist for Del, an Oakville-based rapper.<\/p>\n
His relationship with music started, however, in his youth being raised by a Nigerian father and a Nigerian-Barbadian mother. He remembers listening to Alicia Keys in his parents\u2019 car so often he memorized the track list. Oday says his parents initially put him in piano lessons and he didn\u2019t take to it, saying the rote memorization didn\u2019t gel with him.<\/p>\n
It was only about three years ago when he started playing the guitar, teaching himself to play by ear. Now, he\u2019s working on his songwriting process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m an instrumentalist first. I\u2019ll play guitar or piano and then … I’ll start with some melody,\u201d he says. \u201cIt just needs to hit your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oday says that while not all of his musical obsessions inform his sound, some of them include John Mayer, of course, but also R&B\/soul artists like Anderson .Paak and Masego, pop artist Billie Eilish and rappers like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.<\/p>\n
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