Read excerpts from the interview:
Some years ago, when you started
as a producer, did it ever occur to you that you would get to this point
where a national newspaper will honour you with an award?
The only thing I can say is that I have
never looked down on myself for one day. So, maybe I didn’t see myself
in that light but I am the kind of person that will say ‘oh yes, I can
achieve and get to this point one day’. I know when I stay back and
produce songs for people or when I try to record sometimes, and probably
it doesn’t sound right or it doesn’t come out the way I want, I always
have a way of keeping myself going. And I will probably tell myself
‘this is not the right time, when the right time comes, I am going to
get there’. So, that is exactly the way I see it right now. I guess this
is the right time (for the award), and that is why it is happening
right now.
A few days ago, Majek Fashek was
at the corporate headquarters of The Sun and he gave us an insight into
how he got inspiration for his hits. If I may ask you, how do you get
inspiration for your hits?
Big shout out to the legend, Majek
Fashek. I think every artiste has different ways of getting
inspirations. I do street music and I do it from the lowest part of the
street, to the mainstream. I interact with people a lot. There are
people you won’t even believe I hang out with, but I chill with them to
actually know what’s new out there and make it into music. So, when such
music comes out, people get along with it as well. It’s something
different. Doing the kind of music that I do is actually what I chose to
do. I keep on telling people that it’s a choice; it is not just because
I decided on doing indigenous music. No, it was actually a choice. I
know I can rap and sing in English, I know I can rap in Igbo but it is
like which one gives me exactly what I want; the fans, the communication
and the love I want out there? It’s singing in my native language and I
stick to it.
And this has to do with a lot of
interaction. For seven years, I have been based in Lagos and what they
speak around me mostly is Pidgin English and Yoruba. So, you have to
keep on with that interaction to actually know what’s new. I have a lot
of friends in the street whom I call and we interact. I can be sleeping
and at 3 am get particular vibes, I would just enter the studio and
start making music. So, it’s a different ball game from what it used to
be, to what it is right now.
What were the challenges of growing up in the ghetto of Enugu?
The challenges I faced as a producer
and-up-and coming musician were totally different. In 2000/2001 before I
started learning about production, the challenges were totally
different. Then, the people in the East were stuck to a particular kind
of music, which was like high life or gyration sound. At the time, if
you were playing music, it was like, you were not doing anything
reasonable with your life. But now, all that has changed. Today, I may
be working in the studio and wealthy parents would call on me to mentor
their kids. That’s something that would not have happened in those days.
You’re either a doctor or a lawyer before you can be called upon to
mentor a kid. But right now, parents have grown from what they used to
be. They now allow their kids to follow their dreams and heart desires.
And this makes the industry to grow more. Those were the challenges I
faced. I remember my dad never wanted me to be a musician. But you just
have to prove and show that you can actually do it for yourself. I am
not sure if I practice what I read in school, I will be happy with
myself. So, at the end of the day, I am happy doing what I am doing. I
love what I am doing, that is why I am putting in a hundred percent
effort.
Where do you see yourself in another five years?
I want to keep on what I am doing in the
next five years. But not like it is right now. In 2012, if I had told
anybody that in 2017, indigenous rap music, whether from my language or
Yoruba, which Olamide is doing or from the northern part, which Ice
Prince and MI are doing, will be something that people will appreciate
or associate with in Nigeria, I am not sure that people would believe
me. At that particular time, If you didn’t rap in English then you would
not be making sense. I wish to say that the Igbo language or the
indigenous rap music has now gone global. It is happening already.
Wizkid’s Ojuelegba has gone global. And Ojuelegba is a Yoruba word. So,
whether we like it or not, this thing will happen. It is growth. It is
development. As long as we are dedicated to the industry and to our art,
all these things would happen.
Who actually inspired you? Did
you hear about Junior and Pretty who rapped in Igbo and pidgin back then
or you just woke up one day and started rapping in Igbo?
I listened to Junior and Pretty, no doubt
about that. But to be honest, as I was listening to them, I was so deep
into English music. Talking about mentorship, I may say yes. But
inspiration, I will say no. No hard feelings about that because I wasn’t
into what they were doing back then. When I was a producer, I produced
for Nigga Raw. So, talking about inspiration, yes, he did inspire me
because at a particular point it was only Nigga Raw and I that were
being invited to the studio. Also, the late MC Loph and Slow Dog
inspired me. It was like they carried the Igbo rap music on their heads.
I equally got inspiration from people like Lord of Ajasa. He was
rapping in Yoruba but he was different.
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