BANGOR – Prince Ogbonna worries about losing the melodies that come to him while he’s driving.

So when inspiration swoops in, he calls home, tells his wife not to pick up the telephone and sings into the answering machine.

The native of Nigeria, whose last name is pronounced “og-bon-a,” does not sing for himself but to praise Christ.

He recently released his second CD of original Christian music and a music video of the album. Both are called “Prince Ogbonna and his Abimo Praise Sound.”

This album, he said, was more heavily influenced by modern African music and trends than was his first CD, released six years ago.

“I want Americans to see different musical cultures,” he said of his new work. “I have been here about 20 years and, instead of hiding, I want to share my culture. People are very interested to see something different.”

Music videos are common in African-style music, said Ogbonna, 47, so he made one to be sold along with the CD. He wanted the video to be a blend of African and American scenes similar to the way the songs’ English lyrics and music blend with African musical styles and American mixing. The songs blend together without breaks in-between.

The video was shot in Nigeria, near Abia Umwaha, the village where Ogbonna grew up, in Washington, D.C., and in his backyard in Clifton. Ogbonna and friends appear in the video wearing Western and African clothing. They dance and sing in the various locales.

At times, the DVD looks more like a family vacation video than the highly stylized music videos played on cable television.

His first CD, “Brother Prince -I Want to Be There,” which was released in 1999, was a mixture of Western musical styles that pop, reggae, folk, rock ‘n’ roll, and gospel, intertwined with a sprinkling of his own native music.

“African music is more like the sound of people dancing,” he said in an interview about his first album. “In my country, we call it ‘high life.'”

When Prince sang during a recent service at his church, Glad Tidings in Bangor, he asked, “You don’t mind if I dance a little? You can dance, too.”

Christian missionaries converted Ogbonna’s mother when he was a teenager.

“My mom gave her life to Christ and that was it,” he told the congregation on a recent Sunday. “She started taking us, and that is when I gave my life to Christ. My brother did, too.”

The brothers recorded a Christian song that became a hit in Africa.

The royalties allowed Ogbonna to attend college in the United States. He arrived in Massachusetts in the early 1980s to study pharmacology.

After graduation, he went to work for Rite Aid in the Boston area. When the chain bought out Brooks and LaVerdiere’s drugstores in Maine, he was transferred to Calais, which his supervisor assured him was “only three hours north of Boston.”

Today, Ogbonna works at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Broadway in Bangor. He also has worked in pharmacies in Machias and Ellsworth.

“I’m very, very busy,” he said. “I love my work and I love the company and they love me. … To see my talent used has been very, very encouraging.”

Although he had decided to become a U.S. citizen while still in school, he wanted a Nigerian wife with whom he could share his life and his faith. To help him in his search, he turned to a fellow musician, who also happened to be in the medical profession. She introduced Ogbonna to Elizabeth, a physician, who would become his wife.

Theirs was not the usual courtship. They exchanged letters and photographs while she completed her internship at a Nigerian hospital. Ogbonna reassured her that his commitment to Christianity was sincere. He proposed and she accepted before they ever met. They spent just two weeks together before exchanging vows in 1992.

The couple have three children, Michael, 9, Adaeze, 7, and Sharon, 6, who were all born in Maine.

Elizabeth Ogbonna, 40, recently completed a degree in public health and plans to begin working in that field in the Bangor area in 2006.

Like many other Christian music singer-songwriters, Ogbonna listens almost exclusively to Christian performers.

Petra, Todd Day and Newsboys are among his favorites. Like them, he also finds inspiration in Scripture.

Inspiration for one of the songs on the new album, however, came to him from one of his pastor’s sermons.

“He said that Jesus is big enough to take on all of your problems,” Ogbonna said. “That’s how the song ‘Jesus is Big Enough’ came to me on the drive home from church. I called my home to record that melody.”

The dedication in both the CD and the video reads: “This album is dedicated first to God Almighty, who made it possible, and to Pastor Ron Morris for encouragement in the Lord.”

Morris, pastor of Glad Tidings, said he was honored by the dedication.

“His songs bring a culture from another society that complements the service like sugar,” Morris said. “It’s that diversity that is very interesting.”

Ogbonna laughs easily and often. His good mood is infectious, members of his congregations said.

“He adds so much to the service,” said Ielda Shaw of Dedham. “He’s always so joyful. It’s a blessing to me to see him so joyful.”

For [more] information, visit www.brotherprince.com.