At birth they named her Ndidi (Igbo name for patience), but none of that patience is visible when the songstress walks to the stage. There is a playfulness in her repertoire, a sense of adventure that shines through her eyes as she engages her audience, sharing one story after the other.

And the music word has British Columbia to thank for that.

“I did grow up in beautiful spaces. I grew up in small towns in northern and the interior of British Columbia which is very beautiful.... I spent a lot of time outdoors so I am really very close to nature. I feel at peace in a dark forest for some strange reason. There were always a lot of adventures.”

Ndidi Onokwulu was born to a Nigerian percussionist father and East European mother. While she has friends doing hip-hop and R’n’B she admits she was drawn to roots and blues.

“I was never an avid music fan (of hip-hop and R’n’B)….I write with a piano and guitar,” she says.

Her first effort “No I Never” was released on Jericho Beach Music. The CD and announced the arrival of a silky new voice on the Canadian music scene.

Her latest release, “Contradictor“ earned her a Juno Best Roots & Traditional Solo Record of the Year nomination. It includes songs such as the revivalist Move Together and the soulful Cry All Day.

On the CD, she continues her refusal to be neatly pigeon-holed as she explores varying styles.

“I don’t believe in genres. I think an artist is always discovering who you are,” she says.

“None of us know why we are so we are constantly figuring it out,” she adds.

It is certainly the constant search and yearning that will serve her well as she debuts in Europe. Her new CD “Move Together” will be released on Naïve, a French label.

She is excited to be heading to France for the next few months. She says there is a bigger attraction for art there.

Importantly too, she is not likely to lose her patience when people ask her where she is from on account of her name.

“Usually when people hear my name they immediately ask me where I am from, where my name is from...and I say I am from Newwestminster, BC. I am as Canadian as Canadian can be. “

Maybe she won’t feel strange answering that question in France.