Congratulations for winning BET Award.
For me, it’s another history because we (D’banj and i) were the first Africans to win the prestigious BET Awards. So, we made history. It’s very prestigious and i appreciate it.
What does it really indicate, especially to the world, when two Nigerian artist won the awards?
It’s an indication that myself and D’banj are on the top of our game and we’ve worked hard to get to where we are today. I am sure that nobody would ever dispute our emergence because it’s an award well deserved for me and D’banj. So i will say, it’s a result of hard work.
How would you describe the on-going infiltration of African music into America and Europe?
I think it’s because our music is now appealing to our international audience. Before, what they did was to block out foreign music from their system unlike here in Nigeria that promote their songs. They’ve not promoted our music but in Africa we promote American , British music. That’s why we have to go there struggling to get their market and today, they’ve started embracing our music. Our music is now appealing to them except that they wouldn’t want us to overtake them. Unfortunately, we allowed theirs to take-over ours. I will use the opportunity to talk to the regulators to curb infiltration of foreign materials.
You’ve always been winning international awards with D’banj, what do you admire most about him?
I think D’banj is a hard working young man, very focused. He has charisma and knows exactly what he wants to achieve and he goes for it. That is basically what i can say about him.
How does it feel featuring in his forthcoming international album under Mo’Hits/G.O.O.D Music?
Yeah. We did a song together. It’s a long time plan to do a song together and we did the song sometime this year(early this year). It was a great experience working with him.
We learnt that Akon has also shown interest in you. Tell us more about it?
Its true and i have been doing some stuff with Akon but i can’t really talk on what we were working on.When it’s ripe, i will definitely let you know.
What do you admire most about Akon
I think he’s a smart guy. It’s not quite long he started his music and today, he is all over. He’s one of the greatest all over the world right now. I mean it’s great working with him.
Which other artistes will you like to work with in future?
All of them. On a more serious note, i will prefer working with Don Williams.
Does the type of music you do determine the choice of collaboration?
No, it dosen’t.
Let’s talk about the present state of the nation, what is your take?
The current state of the nation is the reflection of the weakness that pervades the nation. This is because there is no reason for Nigeria to be where it is today. Look at yhe level of public looting,total disregard to law by Nigerians, irresponsibility of the people in power, total neglect of infrastructure by the people in government. What we hear people saying now is, “if dey no go do, me too go follow dem chop,” that is why you see a gateman demanding bribe before you can see his boss. So, it goes down to the lowest person. Year in, year out, it’s the same road that our government keeps on repairing and buggeting huge money on. It’s a very serious situation we’re in this country and the most unfortunate thing is that if you abuse them, they would not bother. The few good ones among them are also prevented from making progress. Why is it difficult for our government to approve N18,000 minimum wage? How much is N18,000 from the money they’ve stolen? But to do that now is a big problem.
What do you think could be done?
We’ve been telling them what could be done but they’re not interested. I think it’s high time Nigerians showed their boldness and stop behaving like cowards.
We need to fight for our rights. You can’t just sit down, fold your hand and expect things to get better. Nobody said development is automatic but if people charge their leaders, everything will workout.
Being a musician, in what way do you think music can heal the wounds of our nation?
Music can do a lot but our leaders don’t have shame anymore. Even if you do the music, people listen to it and admit that he has spoken the truth, that dosen’t mean that they will do those things they heard.
So the music is not affecting them. What they would say now is “that young boy is funny, call am come,na hungry dey do am wey dey make am sing like that”. That is what they will do. They don’t have an iota of shame anymore. They’re not kids. They are disguised criminals as politicians. Everywhere now is
corruption.
Let’s talk about your current project?
I am in the studio recording some fresh songs. I am also working on my international movement and i am taking care of my family. The other things have nothing to do with music and i am not going to say anything about them.
source:
http:///encomium-magazineinterviews-2face/
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