HOW would you describe your kind of music?
It is a fusion of rock soul and African rhythms. I call it Afro-rock soul.
What have you been up to in recent times?
I have been up to a lot. I have been creating avenues for people to feel GT live aside what people do normally like dancing to their songs on stage. I started with Soul Arrest concert which kicked off last October with my band. We started with a show in Festac.
We held another one in November at Ilashe Beach; we had one at Yaba in December. We also started Soul Therapy, a free event. We did a Soul Therapy gig last month. We just want people to have a feel of GT without paying a dime. I have been doing some stuff, releasing singles anyway. I released a single Ejika which has been doing so well. It was released in February for the valentine period. GT is exploring new angles of his sound on an EP that will first be promoted on a tour which I will embark on with my seven-man band.
What has the response been like?
It is been amazing. The response, we’ve been getting has been amazing. We shot the video recently and it did pretty well. We thank God. People should watch out for more singles and more avenues for people to feel GT and understand that music is beyond just dancing. There is a soul in music which people have to also listen to. They have tagged Nigerians as lazy listeners to good music and I think that is a lie. It was a strategy brought by people who can’t sing, people who don’t have so much to offer. So, basically, we are trying to push harder. It is hard for people to appreciate good music these days because music appreciation comes from music knowledge. We are trying our best to connect to the grassroots and show that there is an alternative. I am not just doing it for me. I am doing it for people who do real music out there.
After your single “Dreamer” you fizzled out. What happened?
I have been in the music industry for 8 years and for the past three years, I have done so much. I left the label, Storm Records I was working with and started my own label called Ember Entertainment. So it’s been challenging, that’s why it took so long.
What informed your decision to leave Storm Records?
It was actually no big deal. I signed a contract, it expired and I opted out, though I had an option to sign again. I released an album, The Truth but it was not properly promoted and so many people don’t know about it. I had an option to renew or leave so I just decided to start my own thing. My album was released 2009 December. I can’t say how the album is doing because I left everything with them.
With a career spanning eight years, do you think you are underrated?
I think so many people are underrated. I am not just the only one. In Nigeria, we are all underrated. We work so hard and we get so little pay. That’s what it is. I really don’t see it that way. It is a Nigerian situation. It’s not just the music industry. We don’t have structures in Nigeria.
If you really go into music business, you’ll know that it’s a game that is being played by people who really have money. There are no available structures. We are 160 million in Nigeria and we cannot boast of a market that you can sell our CDs. Piracy is there, royalties are not being paid. To perform, you have to beg to get a show. All these things put together make it hard for talents to pop up.
Your song is Jazzy and the genre of music is not that appreciated in Nigeria. What keeps you going?
I disagree with you. Anytime Asa performs at the Shrine it is a sellout crowd out there and it is a good place to judge the level of appreciation of good music. People know what good music is when they hear it. I will disagree if you say people don’t know what music is. Nobody will prefer someone dancing to a song to someone doing live music. That is what differentiates some artistes from the others.
Do you regard yourself as an activist especially as you are one of the very few artistes that churn out conscious music?
I am just being an artiste. If you are an artiste, you’ll be inspired by things around. If you look around and at what we are daily faced with, the easiest thing to sing about is the traffic, fuel scarcity, power failure, and the fact that our friends and families end up graduating and they don’t get jobs.
The fact that there is so much corruption and our leaders don’t know what the grassroots people are going through. I can’t see all these things and be talking about someone drinking, shaking her bum-bum. It’s about being true to your heart. We all have sex, common! I don’t see that as an issue or something to put in a song for now. There are more important things to talk about.
What is your relationship with Omobaba?
He is my mentor. It was when I left my last music group, Pairs of Gloves and I started my solo career that I met Omobaba. I met him at an event where I was pasting posters and fortunately for me, I got a big opportunity to perform. But before then, the first music group I joined was called 4Generations. After then I left for Tempo & Excel before joining Pairs of Gloves.
After leaving Storm Record, why did you not sign for another label?
I left because I wanted to start my own company, Ember Entertainment. Everything starts from small to big not the other way round.
Don’t you think if you had signed up with a more established record label your career would have better for it?
The video for the song “Ejika” which was released under Ember Entertainments remains my best video ever. Besides, if I signed for another label, it means I will have to wait for about 3 years to start what I have now. The problem youths have is that they are scared of challenges. Hence they opt for the seemingly easy life. The best decision I have ever made was starting Ember Entertainments and the sky is the limit. We choose the life we live because of the reward we hope to achieve. We navigate this way because we are going that way, the purpose driven life!
Based on current trends will you be tempted to sing love songs and party music?
I do love songs but don’t forget it’s not just about the business. True art is not financially driven. It is an expression of your deepest thoughts.
Which musicians inspire you?
There are so many of them like 2face Idibia, Sunny Ade. I am also inspired by foreign artistes such as Baby Face Edmonds, India Irie, Boyz II Men and West Life.
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