Imagine doing the things you love, infusing your career path and your passion so they become peas in a pod. Star Doc has successfully done this as he emphasises that it is his passion. He says, “I’m very passionate about these three things … being a doctor, I’m very passionate about music and I’m also passionate about poetry – and so they come to me naturally.”
Who is Ibe Chiemezie Chukwuma, the Star Doc
Ibe, Chiemezie Chukwuma, monikered Star Doc, is a medical doctor, rapper, poet, and public health advocate who infuses his advocacy in his music. “The name Star Doc was given to me by my classmates” he explains.
According to him, the reason he was inspired, and this idea came to him was the level of deaths that could have been avoided if people were more aware of their health.
In his words, “I started using music to educate people about pertinent health issues for two reasons. First, I was greatly disheartened by the gross degree of ignorance and the avoidable deaths that happened because people were not aware of preventive measures for simple health issues. Secondly, I was not comfortable with the way a lot of health care professionals were passing out health information to the general public…”
He goes further to add that medical practitioners have made medicine boring to the extent that people hardly bothered to be sensitised about their health except there was a need to be. “People tend to see health information as boring and a lot of people listen to health care professionals talk about health issues using big words they cannot even relate to and these people end up being more scared than they were … being someone who is gifted in music and being a medical doctor, I decided to merge these things together, that way I pass out the information in a way everybody can relate to … people get the information and make effort to live healthier lives.”
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Star Doc has used his music to successfully change this narrative as he has been called upon by several health awareness groups across the nation to get this information across in a more effective manner. “In 2019 I was part of the biggest breast cancer awareness walk in Cross Rivers State, organised by Pink Africa Foundation … I was also part of the biggest breast cancer awareness walk in Nigeria, organised by Medicaid Cancer Foundation owned by the wife of the Governor of Kebbi State, Her Excellency, Dr Zainab Bagudu … I was also part of the International Day of the Girl Child celebration where I used my music to educate the girl child.”
His work has also received widespread recognition as his music was aired on China Global Television Network.
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Before he got this platform, Star Doc only just desired to put out his work as he was passionate about educating people on certain health issues. Hence, he started with social media. He was not bothered about acceptance as he was doing what he loved but to his surprise, his music received acceptance and “went viral”. This made him more motivated to improve the quality of the content he put out.
Star Doc reveals that he has been doing this for about two years. “I actually started when I was a house officer, I just got out of medical school … in 2018 … but I’ve been writing rhymes and rhythms music way back in secondary school.”
When asked if he has had any challenges navigating work life and creativity, he says: “Sincerely, I have not had any challenges navigating my work life and my creative life… they are two peas in a pod … a lot of the creative things I churn out are from the experiences I get from work”.
He seems to be very passionate about advocating and enlightening people on health-related issues as he makes music meet medicine. Star Doc admits that he is having fun and saving lives at the same time, as doing what he does makes him feel “like a superhero of some sort”.
To see more of amazing Star Doc, follow him on Twitter @stardocofficial, Instagram @stardocofficial_ and Facebook @Ibe Chiemezie
