Oluwaboriogun “Bori” Afolabi was born in Ogbomosho, Nigeria and moved with his family to Canada in 1984. His first musical memory of Keith Green’s ‘Easter Song’ inspired him to learn drums and guitar at an early age. He soon joined with fellow schoolmates to form his first band, Starchild; his contribution to the group’s song writing and live performances led to a record deal with EMI Music Canada. As a member of Starchild, Bori worked with Canadian producer Gavin Brown (Metric, Billy Talent, Three Days Grace) and formed a friendship with Toronto-based producer Karsten Shreve (Sample Stars, Bori and Karsten’s current collaboration, is a music production duo that creates original arrangements, sounds, and samples backed by 15 years of professional musical experience).

After Starchild disbanded, Bori, in his late teens, formed Running For Life. As co-writer for this eclectic band—coloured by Nigerian and Italian influences—he continued to develop as a bandleader and studio/stage musician on drums, guitar, and bass and eventually transitioned musically as lead singer and principal songwriter to form Windsor-based rock/pop band Firelife. In addition to writing and performing with Firelife, Bori completed a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, which is a secondary educational merit that compliments his diploma in Audio Production and certification in Recording Engineering from the Recording Institute of Detroit.

Following his university graduation, Bori experienced a divine change in his life. Years of work in the music industry had distracted him from his spiritual life and, being a creative-type, he hit mental and physical lows. He knew he had to make profound changes, so he submitted his life, hopes, and talents to God; now, his strengthened spirituality is what inspires his creativity.

In 2010, after penning dozens of songs for talented artists worldwide, Bori became a #1 Billboard charting songwriter; he co-wrote “Save Your Life” for the Grammy nominated and six-time gold record-selling band Newsboys. Early in 2014, he won an international song writing award in the “Christian Songwriting Competition” contest for “Whose Somebody,” which he wrote, produced, and performs, and “Best Song Of the Month” for his single “Love Isn’t Waiting” in Song Writer Universe Magazine.

As an independent artist, Bori enjoys creative freedom over his musical compositions and autonomy in his career direction. He is married with three children and lives in the Greater Toronto Area.