Call him a weirdo, Denrele Edun has distinguished himself as a fantastic professional and an exceptional human being. He seems to have little or no less worry but he can be firm in his convictions and dealing. At some point, he referred to himself as a ‘BITCH’, an acronym for, Boy In Total Control of Himself. With an alter ego and an impressive career in the entertainment industry spanning over two decades, Denrele sat down with The Nation’s TUNRAYO ILESANMI to discuss his life, career and more.
A lot of individuals, colleagues and industry people have a perception of who Denrele is. I would like to hear from the horse’s mouth, who is Denrele Edun?
I’m extreme, I’m a million contradictions. Sometimes I’m perfect, sometimes I’m a mess. But I think what a lot of people would be surprised to discover is the fact that I’m a disciplinarian. Now I would bring this to home and make this as practical as possible. So, there can never be a time when I would walk into a club in Lagos back in the day, give or take five years ago and my younger sisters would still be there, dem no born dem well, they will leave immediately. Another scenario I remember so well was a time my sisters went to Silverbird galleria which was like a hub. It was a hot spot back then and my sisters were there. Somebody just called me and asked if I saw what my sisters wore before they left the house, I was like why? Then he said he saw her at the galleria wearing a skimpy skirt knowing I would not allow her to wear such a skirt out of the house. So all I did was go to Silverbird and as I was walking in, their backs were turned to me while talking to two boys. The guys they were speaking with told them I was around and they knew they were in trouble, they left immediately, called a taxi and got home before me. Dem no born dem well make I reach house before them. I learned to become a disciplinarian when I was a teacher.
So, you were a teacher at one point?
Yes, I used to be a teacher at one point and this was when I had finished secondary school in 1997. At the time, I was also working with the NTA network show on Ahmadu Bello way, I was shooting Kidi vision 101 and Tales by moonlight which were very big youthful oriented driven shows at the time. I had cameos on Tales by moonlight, but I was more on Kidi vision 101. And on Kidi show 101, I played the role of a loquacious reporter named Dubem who was always getting himself in trouble and would get himself out of every situation too. It’s surprising now that I can relate traits of my character to that particular character role I played. By the way, let me not digress, so back to my siblings , I’ve always been the father, mother, uncle, brother, aunt, guidance counsellor, lexicon sounding board and overall therapist plus disciplinarian with my siblings. Even till date, there’s even an unspoken disciplinarian spirit that is hovering around us all. My sisters know how to maintain boundaries with me and I think it’s good.
How about your mum ?
She’s been out of the country for about two decades and she’s not been back. I just thought to myself that now it’s time to not only change my family’s history but also switch the script on the hardship, the chaos, tsunami and pandemonium we faced growing up in our family house with our cousins and family members. For some reason, for every family member I stayed with, I was always thrown out of the house. The last one, I remember they threw me out and said that my hair was the reason why God wasn’t answering their prayers. But as unserious as I might seem and outlandish as my personality might come across, I am very well grounded when it comes to family oriented values. Family is the best gift anyone can have. I don’t play with my family and I know when to draw the line very clearly.
You’ve been in entertainment for more than two decades and you’re still active, how have you been able to be that consistent?
That’s a beautiful question. Consistency is my only currency. I started out in 1994, so this year 2024, by March is going to make it three decades and it just feels like yesterday. I would say my brand is tilted towards self definition which is very key for me, transparency. I’m as transparent as I can be, accountability – I would like to think that I’m the most accountable person ever, authenticity – I am very authentic in my dealings with people. I’ve travelled far and wide, but I retain my Nigerian accent. Let me also mention longevity, and this is related to God’s grace in my life because I’ve been through a lot. In one of the documentaries that I am going to share pretty soon, I feel like the portfolio of my work is undermined, undervalued and unappreciated. I can’t do anything about it. I’m not a clout chaser. In my three decades of working in the industry, I’ve never had a personal assistant, a manager , I’ve never had to pay for any awards, I’ve never had a PR consultant. I’ve done everything myself and I’ve been a one man army. So imagine all of these people at my beck and call, I would have been on a different wavelength now. I like where I am and I’m at peace with myself. People look at me and think I never fall sick and my energy is always at a hundred, but the past year was one of the hardest phases of my life. First, I had a stroke on half of my face, so when Chidi Mokeme said he was off the scene because he had cerebral palsy, I just smiled because I had mine and I was still working.
This was late 2021/2022. If I had to drink water, it would always spill out of my mouth. My face was numb but I always did hairstyles that covered my face. The only thing that could give me away was that I was always out of breath which is unusual for me but I managed to cover up.
Then last year I had this attack, I didn’t know where it came from. Despite my agility, I couldn’t walk. If I had to get into a car, I had to raise my right leg and put it in the car. I had sores on my tongue and in my mouth, the only thing I could eat was Amala. I also couldn’t hear anything, it was like a buzzing sound and I lost a lot of my hair. I had sores on my palms and on the soles of my feet. Eventually one of the doctors told me it was monkeypox and I was shocked. I also had a lot of sores on my genitals so when it stuck to my underwear, it was always a pain to take it off. I had never seen anything like that in my life. I’m one of the healthiest people you can ever find so I just knew it was a phase. I couldn’t explain to people what was happening to me but I went into intense prayer. A lot of people who want to come into the entertainment industry do not know that the entertainment industry is spiritually driven and we get these attacks left right centre. As long as you’re in tune with your spirituality, you’re strong in your faith and beliefs, you’d be fine. The place I sought solace in was NSPPD. I feel that’s a testimony that I need to share.
So, how did content creation, event hosting, red carpet hosting make the most impact on your personality?
That’s a beautiful question, I think that there’s really no time frame to it. I started out my hustle in the year 1993 on Speak Out. If you remember Speak Out, it was tilted around social consciousness for young people. But in 1994, I got on Kidi Vision 101 where I played the role of an investigative reporter. All these happened while I was still in secondary school, SS1. I had no one, no PR, It was just me. I had the capability of reading everyone’s lines and making it into mine in a matter of minutes before we shoot. So if they were not available, I could also take their place. I was very indispensable to the brand at the time. There was a show called After the Storm that was like a very big soap opera and they wanted me to play a role but the producer of Kidi vision 101 didn’t want me to play the role. Then I got to a point where I was the highest earner, I started writing scripts for the show as well. I was the scriptwriter at the time, so I was very hands on deck with the show.
So how did you get into acting and how has your journey been?
I discovered that I could memorise scripts in a matter of seconds and everyone just saw me as a very smart and sassy talkative student, very young too. I was about 12 years old then. There were so many students from different schools on the island at the time when I went for auditions. When they gave us scripts, I would read mine flawlessly and effortlessly very eloquently and articulated. When they gave us scripts, I learned the entire script. So while recording and some people miss their lines, I’ll be shouting from the back, “No, that’s wrong, that’s not it”. I didn’t know you had to be quiet on a set. I’ve always been a confident kid. My first paycheck with NTA on Kidi Vision was 150 naira for an episode in 1994. Then in 1996, my career trajectory grew from being a minor character to a major character. I was the highest paid. I was earning 800 Naira per episode.
Who would you say is that person that has influenced you a lot as an entertainer?
Funmi Iyanda. I will say this any day, anytime for me. I did everything in my power to meet her and I was always blocked. I would wake up every morning and watch New Dawn by 10am and she related with all the guests seamlessly. I thought to myself how this woman knows all these people and how she was very knowledgeable around the subject matter. Also her fashion sense was good. A person I knew was interning at the company she worked for and I begged to meet her, but I was always told she was too busy. But eventually I did meet her when I was invited as a guest on her show. Also, another important person is Frank Edoho, a timeless and ageless person. He was also a guest on the show and he reminded me of how far I’ve come.
So Aunty Funmi invited me on her show four times before she eventually wrapped up the season. Another person that I respect and grew up watching is Yemi Pratts. I just love her sassiness. We met in church and she was fearless and a non conformist. She’s someone I idolise and we’re still friends till today. I don’t end friendships, relationships, even situationships. Even my ex that I was going to get married to, a popular media personality till date, we’re still friends. I might not forget easily, but I forgive. I’m a forgiving person.
I’m sure you’ve heard several rumours around your person. Which of those rumours have shocked you the most?
I’ll give you three. First, anytime that I go to visit my friend’s graveyard, Goldie, it’s for clout. A lot of people came after me for the tribute I posted on Instagram for her, saying I was making the whole incident around me. However, when my friend, Goldie, died, I was angry at her unachieved dreams and ambitions. I even wanted to have a concert for her, but my intentions were misunderstood. People thought I wanted to use my dead friend’s name to make money for myself. I’m Yoruba and my friend was yoruba too, and we interpret things in different ways. The only person that kinda came through in a way was Tiwa Savage. She reached out to me. She was the only one I saw that made an attempt. She assured me she wasn’t coming around to get access to a certain gist or anything, contrary to what every other person was trying to do. I remember I carried my friend’s lifeless body in my arms, and I ran barefooted with a tank top and track suit in Park View. Now I’m not saying this for everyone to think ‘oh, Denrele was a good friend bla bla’…my friend was a shining breathing miracle and I would forever uphold her legacy in the best way that I can, even if it means going to the graveyard for people to remember her and continue playing her songs.
What about the other rumours?
Oh, they said I was using Goldie’s death as a leverage, saying you never remember Denrele, until you see him at Goldie’s graveyard. That’s not my reality by the way. Another one would be I’ve been very intimidated, undervalued or short changed because of the rise of very expressive individuals in the present times. Now, there’s a clear distinction. I’m a media personality not an internet sensation. I started my hustle way before the advent of the internet, I have a job. I am booked round the clock.
Everytime I am consistently and consecutively compared to internet sensations, this gives them the leverage to say anything they want about me however incriminating it might seem. But what they don’t know is I’m a black belter. When people wanted to do anything to me, it was upfront and confrontational. Some people would meet me on the road and grab me, questioning my dressing. Then, public transport wouldn’t carry me, so I had to trek a lot. They used to stone me with pure water in traffic. So when I see young people stranded in a place where they’re ridiculed to no end, usually I come to their aid. The thing is they can throw and hurl all those insults and objects, but that is not my reality. I’m an acquired taste. For those that say they can’t understand Denrele or they don’t like Denrele, they clearly have no taste. Then, the last one, it always comes down to my sexual preference, I’ve been dragged left and centre. As a media practitioner, I had no training, I learned on the job. When I started out working for a TV, I was the lowest earner. Everyone was earning hundreds of thousands, but I was earning 45,000. I was the errand boy, I was the one who would go and buy food for people, write scripts, escort them to the airport as well. And the station was very reluctant to give me a show, because they were worried about how the media would receive me, if I wouldn’t be too much for them. But let’s be realistic, I revolutionised the red carpet hosting in Nigeria, I would say it anytime, any day. However my appearance was, there was substance. We had esteemed guests, government parastatals and they would always want to speak with me. One thing I’m commonly faced with is people saying I don’t have contents and I’m grasping at straws, but as I said, that’s not my reality. Some say I’m trying too hard to be seen, but I don’t even flinch. I was born for this. But I would not trample on anyone to get to where I am. One thing I’m going to address this year is that a lot of people have tried to ridicule my name and my brand and I would like to address it personally. I mean I’ve been 3 decades in the game, I’m not anyone’s mate. There are some people that I know are well respected in the society that have said horrendous things about me but will still see me in person and greet me, and I want to address it. I went to a birthday party recently, and a popular actress, a friend of mine, said to me and I’m going to say this , she said “Why are you not on the Real Housewives Of Lagos?” I was confused. She said they had to bring a flamboyant guy from America and I’m here. Then I said, ‘everyone on that show is my friend and we have history, I’m always supporting them and what not. That’s enough for me as it is. I don’t need to be on a show where I might have to change the narrative or cause discord or create chaos. It’s not my thing’. Then the person goes ahead and says all these internet sensations are really in the media space and you’re just there. This is a supposed friend. I corrected her immediately, saying you can’t be comparing my portfolio of work to content curators, not even creators.
You mentioned that people stoned you because of your dressing. So, how did your immediate family accept it?
My mom must have thought I’d grow out of it, it’s just a phase, while my sister would have thought, ‘oh it’s my brother, if this is working for him, it’s working for us’. I was more concerned about my dad’s reaction because he’s a proper Nigerian guy. My extended family members weren’t even taking it at all. I had different aunts that would fly from different parts of the world crying that Omo Alaba is running mad, that’s my dad’s name, Alaba. It wasn’t even about the extended families that would travel back, it was about the ones I was living with. They were the worst. They were malicious and evil. I am a very positive minded person, but what I went through in that house was horrible. We still talk till date, but they maintain boundaries. I remember my church taking me out of the service one time. I was in the choir, and they walked me out, with the ushers right in front of everyone. I had to start going to other churches, where I felt welcomed than tolerated. No family came to my defence, except my dad. My sisters were really young at the time, so they didn’t know what was happening. The only thing was they would get insults from their friends about me that their brother was mad. But my dad on the other hand, a Yoruba guy, rooted in culture, values and beliefs, allowed me to express myself. I knew whatever I was doing was going to help me get my family out of that poverty stricken place and change the narrative, it worked out in the end.
Do you at any time still want to get married and have kids?
I would always want to but I’ve never been lucky with love, never. They say love is war, easy to begin and hard to find. Overtime, I’ve come to realise that maybe it’s not for me, maybe it’s not really my thing. Everybody says there’s someone out there for you, but everyone comes into my life because they want something and I know. And I would just do the best that I can and move on. I’ve just resigned myself to taking care of my sister’s kids and spoiling them. I do that to all of my friend’s kids already.
