HOW will you describe your grass-to-grace story, when considered against the backdrop of the fact that you grew up in Ajegunle, a ghetto, in Lagos State?
Ajegunle is the exodus; it is the movement of the Jah children as Bob Marley described it. They say the world is like a circle that moves around. Ajegunle is a part of me and it is from there that I get more of my inspiration. Sometimes, I still go back to Ajegunle to wine and dine with some of my friends. In fact, I still maintain an apartment at Ajegunle, where some of my friends live. So, it is not as if I have finally left my root. But in life, a man must keep growing. So, if you don’t know how to take a step from one place to the other, that is where the problem starts from.
After the emergence of stars like Daddy Showkey, Baba Frayo and a few others, no new talent came out of Ajegunle for a long time. But suddenly, you surfaced on the scene and literally sang your way into people’s hearts. So, could you tell me the secret behind your rising profile?
First and foremost, I would attribute it to hard work. Apart from this, you must know how to diversify because the world, in general, has changed dramatically. Therefore, as things change, it is expected that there will also be a transformation in music. As a result, you must be flexible to change with people and move with the new trends. Presently, Afro-hip hop is the in-thing in the music industry. For instance, if you play Fuji, Raggae etc, you must include Afro, which was created by the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti. If you listen to Fela’s music, you will find out that he infused so much pidgin in it.
So, you must infuse pidgin and hip-hop in your music; and that is why you will always find it in my music. Apart from this, I will mention the need for you to be unique in whatever you do. I have found my unique selling point, which serves as my identity anywhere I go. In particular, my vocal stands me out. Whenever I sing, people easily know that it is me because of the way I sing. Having said this, I try my best and ensure that I put out very unique lyrics. So, I infuse all these into my music and it has been working for me. I make sure the contents are beyond ordinary reasoning.
Another thing that we (I mean those of us from Ajegunle) lack is publicity. My boys will say things like “Na lie, dem no go play our music for radio.” They have the mindset that they won’t play their music on radio. But I keep asking them whether they have gone there before. I encourage them to go to radio stations because the Nigerian music industry now is full of competition; so, you have to promote your songs. I always try my best to meet up with that competition; so, this explains why I am still relevant.
When you dropped that song, Mercies of Da Lord, a lot of people thought it was from a gospel artiste. So, could you tell me the inspiration behind the song?
I wasn’t in a good time then. Also, my mum, a Cameroonian, is a good Christian and she was with me then. When she came back from Cameroon, she brought back the spirit of God in me then. When she came to live with me, the spirit of Godliness was revived in me. Actually, I was born and brought up in the way of the lord. But because of worldly things, I derailed. Luckily, my mum brought it all back.
We would wake up and say our morning devotion. Besides, my mum would preach the word of God to me and tell me some certain things that elevated me, spiritually. So, that was how I got the inspiration. Actually, that song was the last I did in my album. I had already rounded off my album, but I just needed an intro to the album. So, when the producer, Ben Droze, heard the intro, he said what I just dropped could be a track; so, we now completed it, making it a full track. Honestly, that song just has one verse and that verse is just eight bars. It is very simple and short; and it has 106 billion meanings. So, it’s like a biblical verse.
Initially, how did you feel when things were not working the way you planned?
Definitely, I felt so bad, but I didn’t allow it to hold me down. Without exaggeration, I had been in the industry before God brought me out. I was once in a group called Junglists and our first album was entitled Boys Dey Binu. Luckily, we made a very good impact then. So, we did another album called Money Na Time, which included that very hit song, Tell dem say our eye don clear; tell dem say our eye don open o.
It was a great hit then. But trust me, there was no money because the foreign music had overshadowed us then. We had some of our colleague likes Danfo Driver, African China, Showkey, Baba Frayo and Marvelous Benji buying the latest cars. But we, the Junglists, could not afford anything. With that, people started insulting us. So, those things started weighing us down a little bit. But I tried my best never to be intimidated by the challenges we were going through then. In fact, there was a day someone called me and said ‘Oritsefemi, you guys have gone into relegation.’ I was so saddened by that statement. You see, our music was everywhere, but they were not seeing the star in us then. I started thinking of how we could do it better and I kept my head straight. But my other colleague allowed the experience to weigh him down. He started doubting if music would truly pay off one day because he is an Igbo boy. He wanted to delve into other things, but I kept doing my thing. Sometimes, I would tell him we should go to studio, but he would always come up with excuses.
However, it was not his fault. I would say it was largely due to what people were saying then. Prior to that, I went solo and that was when I dropped that my first hit single, Elewon, which is a very popular song on the streets. That song actually brought me to limelight. I remember that whenever I was performing it on stage, people would shove and push one another. So, I was encouraged to go back to the studio to do more and that was when I dropped my full album titled, Flop Politician. From there, I got a marketer. You know, when you are successful, people want to associate with you. The album was off ‘Da hook’, as I started reaping the fruit of my labour. Did you know what I did? I then remembered those guys who used to curse me that I didn’t even own a car and all that.
So, immediately I got the money, I bought two cars at once. I took them down to Ajegunle, bought drinks for my people and the noise was everywhere. The moral of this story is that, when people criticize you, it will make you to do more. If someone walks up to you and criticizes you over one major thing, it is because he or she wants you to get that thing. If they didn’t tell you those things, you would still be relenting. So, because they said I didn’t own a car, I, therefore, bought two to shame my critics. In truth, I learnt a lesson from that.
It seems you are the only one playing this genre of music, particularly because African China has not been very active lately and Timaya seems to be diversifying. So, what are you doing to support the other guys?
Yeah! I’ve had so much about that and what I believe is that, we are all players. For instance, in a football match, we have everyone playing different wings; so, everyone must be noticed in his or her own position. Even if I am playing the defense role, I will try my best to be noticed. So, that’s why I keep holding that place that I am. I don’t want to talk about other people, but Timaya is a good friend who has always seen me like a counterpart. You know, sometimes, someone can be your friend and you still feel the guy is the only problem you have in the industry.
Yes, we can come together and do songs together. The last time I called him that we should do a song together, he said it was okay. But he has kept ‘posting’ me because he sees me as a threat. He doesn’t want a situation whereby people will be comparing us together. Timaya is good artiste, he has his own energy and he keeps doing what he knows how to do best. I can compete with any artiste in the world. For instance, I might be called upon to come and represent Nigeria on the international platform. By then, you won’t be comparing me with Timaya. Basically, I don’t want anyone to see me as a counterpart. It’s like a football pitch, where everyone will be noticed.
When precisely do you want to get married, since you now have everything you have been craving for?
It will be any moment from now because I have a fiancé, Blessing, whom everybody knows. By God’s grace, I will get getting married this year.
Are you under any management at the moment?
Yes, I have an international manager in Moscow and I’m planning to have an apartment in Moscow, Russia. They are working on my collaborations with international artistes any moment from now.
What are you planning for the New Year?
Actually, I was supposed to do some ‘collabo’ with Rihana sometime ago. There is a friend of mine that is very close to her management. Next year, a lot will be seen and heard from me.
