Rex Owusu Marfo aka Rex Omar was born on February 6, just like the legendary Bob Marley. From his humble beginnings in his birthplace, Kumasi, he has gained wide recognition in the West Africa and beyond.
Having performed internationally at a variety of places including Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Britain, France and Togo Rex is set to explode on the international market. Indeed his performance in Britain in October 2000 earned him a description by British promoters, Serious, as Ghana’s most exciting musical export with the London entertainment magazine Time Out.
Rex Omar is firmly rooted in his native criss-cross rhythms and melodic inflections. With this heritage plus the pervasive influence of western pop music and his personal love for jazz, Rex has plays a unique blend of Afro-pop and jazz music. His singing style portrays influences from the praise singers of Northern Ghana and Ashanti. Rex has pursued his own dream of a music career with single-minded devotion since he defied at an early age, his father’s desire for him to become a lawyer.
He first gain public recognition a member of the Trio, Nakorex and after the group broke up, he has established himself as a unique musician with his melodic inflections of jazz an Afro-pop. His recording career has spanned 20 years with a number of hits to his credit. His album, Dangerous which includes the hit song, Abiba has sold over 300,000 units and is still attracting audiences beyond Ghana’s borders.
Rex now has a twelve-Piece band, the nu-Ashanty that provides exciting renditions and backing to his music. In November 2002 Rex Omar and his band put up an excellent show at the Jazz a` Ouaga in Burkina Faso. Their performance in August at the 2005 Les Escales Festival at St Nazaire, France, was so sensational that they had the thick crowd actually chanting for more! A similar scene occurred at the Standard Joy of Jazz Festival in South Africa – August 2005.
Rex is the winner of several awards including the Ghana Music Award – Best Contemporary Song of the Year 2004. He was also a Kora Awards nominee in 2004. He is notorious for his controversial lyrics and stance on issues concerning the Ghanaian music industry. His recent comeback with the song, Da Di Da Da in 2006 proves that he is still a force to reckon with in the music business.