Iyabo Olabuju-Afolabi:We need to be moralistic about music
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- Category: Entertainment
- Written by Adie Vanessa Offiong
- Hits: 535
Princess Iyabo Olabuju-Afolabi, the only daughter of the late Regent of Ikogosi, Olubunmi Olabuju, is making a name for herself in the music industry. She is following in the footsteps of her mother, who was the voice behind the 80s hit song ‘Bata re adun ko ko ka’ (a philosophical piece encouraging reading culture). In this interview, she speaks about her just released album and shares her views on the music scene in Nigeria as well as her mum’s influence on her.
How long have you been into music?Well, I have been combining music with business and other things. But I took it seriously about two years ago.
What is the focus of your new album?
I’d describe myself as very moralistic and an inspirational singer. By inspiration, I mean gospel. I say moral because my song ‘Aye le’ is philosophical and moralistic. I was inspired by the goings-on around us. The unusual occurrences; people’s drive and what they’ll do for money and how delicate the world is as a whole. We hear issues of fathers sacrificing their sons because of money, a mother giving out her children to witchcraft because she wants to be powerful and all that. Strange things you can’t imagine all for power and money which is vanity.
I want people to have foresights to the end of life and our hustle and bustle. When we die, we go with nothing. That is what ‘Aye le’ is talking about. With my song, I am trying to educate people, re-orientate our minds especially the youths. I believe people should listen more to music that can help mentally, and have positive value.
I remixed my mother’s song ‘Adura Mi’, from her ‘Save Nigeria Today’ album. She did it in low tempo which isn’t quite danceable for today’s generation. I have modernised it and made it more danceable. The lyrics and message I’m passing on with this particular track is, ‘you can still dance and feel funky with moralistic lyrics’. Danceable songs don’t have to be those that promote a decline in moral values.
The third is a worship song in a sober mood because I believe we all love to worship God no matter what we are going through. Regardless who we are, we still have to give glory and praise to God that was why I wrote ‘Glorify Him’. I believe people will be inspired when they worship with the song because of the lyrics.
Most of my songs are written in Yoruba language, I have other songs written in English but they will be coming out in the main album by next year.
‘Aye le’ was written in Yoruba and Hausa. I have three languages for now in the song. I have other songs sang in about thirteen Nigerian languages but we are still working on them.
In combining music with business would you say music is another venture for you?
I don’t relate with music as a money making venture. Music is a passion for me. It is something that has to do with talent God has given me. It is also something that has to do with my mother’s legacy because writing a song as an artiste, I know what it is to make an album.
I really appreciate my mother because I can now see and understand how difficult it is to have intellectual asset.
I believe my mother’s music should not be a thing of the past. While alive she encouraged me but at the time I didn’t take it seriously. Since she has a talented child, I believe this is the right time to bring back her legacy and make her name more renowned.
Do you have any marketing plan to protect your works from the pirates?
Piracy is not something an individual can handle in this country. But I think the PMAN (Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria) has a lot to do because they are the only body that can really fight the battle. If they can create something like a computerised logo inscribed into each artiste’s job so that nobody can make a photocopy, it will help. If there are no such inscriptions on the product people will know it is pirated.
I’m hopeful that there will soon be a change.
Some artistes usually before releasing their album have live performances where they sometimes market the album themselves, are you also following that path?
I wouldn’t like to market my album directly because I am too busy for that kind of obligation. When it is time for me to sell my album, I will definitely do that through a marketer.
Mind you, even when you sell the album directly, you can’t reach out to many people. You will be limited to only your environment. But the marketers know how to go about it properly, if you have to do it alone, how far can you go?
I believe most people who hawk CDs on the street are amateurs, if you are a professional singer you don’t have to hawk your work on the streets by yourself. Marketers have their values and they have a big role to play here. I intend to go through them when I’m set.
Would you say the Nigerian market is well saturated with gospel music?
Gospel music in Nigeria is not encouraged. Secular songs seem to have an upper hand. I think that is where we are having problem.
People who write inspirational songs need a lot of encouragement from the media and the public. It will be great to attribute to the progress of the gospel song writers.
Though I think there is a little bit of recognition right now because while I was in Lagos last week, I saw situations whereby some people brought CDs to a radio station and the guy asked if the CDs were gospel or not. He simply told them if it wasn’t gospel he was not going to broadcast that music on air because the station wants to preach moral.
We need to be motivated because if you are not motivated by your work, you are definitely going to be depressed. This way there is no inspiration to write.
Generally, how do you view Nigerian artistes and their attitude to their work?
My promo/single album has just three tracks and I spent two years working on them. Once a producer told me, ‘the job is good we can just release it like this’. I told him no, this is not what I want. This is not the standard I want my work to come to.
It depends on individual. Also, the financial status of the singer matters a lot. Nowadays, people are desperate; everybody wants to make quick money. In such situations the person will just want the job done and off he goes to the market to make his money.
For me, these are the major reasons we have some poor quality albums and songs in the market today.
What kind of influence did your mum have on you and what kind of mother was she to you?
She was a very sweet mum, though no child will say her mother isn’t good but, to be honest to you, I had a wonderful mother. She cared so much about us and everybody around her; she was a woman of many parts. She wanted us around her all the time.
We used to go with her to the studio during her recordings so that we understood she wasn’t just leaving us at home but she had a job.
I learnt a lot from her. Through her I learnt to be happy, cheerful. She was a very cheerful woman, ever smiling. Even when mum was going through difficult periods she would put up a smiling face, she was so accommodating, and she was passionate about children. I miss her not being around me at this time.
Which of your songs was the most difficult?
That would be my mother’s remix, ‘Adura Mi’ because I didn’t write it. At a point I couldn’t pick it. There were some parts that took me about two weeks to grab. It was then I realised how great a singer my mum was.
We struggled with the song when we were making it. In fact I had to re-make some because they were too difficult for me. But you know as a singer, we always claim that no song is difficult because we can manoeuvre it and that is what it takes to be a professional.
That was the only song I had issues with because I wanted to change. It isn’t easy to emulate somebody’s intellect. That was a big lesson for me.
How would you rate the entertainment industry presently?
Well, the industry is improving, there is a lot of recognition now but we need to be more moralistic about it because some of the youths are being affected by what they see and hear every day. We therefore need to add more morality to it.
What’s your take on the dress mode on music videos?
It has to do with individuals and their orientation. There is this popular saying that charity begins at home. I remember when I was growing up there were things my mum never allowed me to wear.
I spent my ninth month to my twelfth year with my grandparents in Ekiti state. My grandfather was a king; you know what it means growing up in the royal palace.
As a princess, there had to be a lot of decency attached to my ways of doing things. I can remember vividly when my mum would be coming to see my grandpa; she would have to take off her artificial nails because if that man saw those artificial nails, there will be trouble.
You dared not give papa anything with artificial nails talk less of putting on cloths that would expose your body.
Parents have a lot of work to do because if a child is scrutinised and educated on how to dress properly and decently I strongly believe he or she is not going to depart from. Even if she sometimes deviates from it due to peer influence I can tell you that when he/she becomes more mature and reasonable and more aware of what is happening in the society she would abide by the decency she was taught earlier in life.
Can you say that the censor boards are doing enough in this regard?
I am sorry to say this, but I don’t think or I don’t know if they are doing enough. If even they think they are doing enough, their enough is not enough yet. They have to do more to make it enough because things are really happening. I have heard issues in Lagos that children are dropping out of school nowadays, to pursue things that have influenced them from television.
There is one thing about music, music is very spiritual. When you recite a song regularly, the wordings become a part of you and before you know it, you will be acting it out. The censor board needs to screen a lot more than it is doing of the kind of films that are being broadcasted, the kind of music that is being played on the radio and television. As Africans we have culture and ethics. We should reflect them even in entertainment.
I have travelled widely and I can attest that even abroad, some of the things our so called artistes write now are not written as songs abroad.
Articles
Iyabo Olabuju-Afolabi:We need to be moralistic about music
Category: Entertainment Written by Adie Vanessa Offiong Hits: 535
Princess Iyabo Olabuju-Afolabi, the only daughter of the late Regent of Ikogosi, Olubunmi Olabuju, is making a name for herself in the music industry. She is following in the footsteps of her mother, who was the voice behind the 80s hit song ‘Bata re adun ko ko ka’ (a philosophical piece encouraging reading culture). In this interview, she speaks about her just released album and shares her views on the music scene in Nigeria as well as her mum’s influence on her.
How long have you been into music?Well, I have been combining music with business and other things. But I took it seriously about two years ago.
What is the focus of your new album?
I’d describe myself as very moralistic and an inspirational singer. By inspiration, I mean gospel. I say moral because my song ‘Aye le’ is philosophical and moralistic. I was inspired by the goings-on around us. The unusual occurrences; people’s drive and what they’ll do for money and how delicate the world is as a whole. We hear issues of fathers sacrificing their sons because of money, a mother giving out her children to witchcraft because she wants to be powerful and all that. Strange things you can’t imagine all for power and money which is vanity.
I want people to have foresights to the end of life and our hustle and bustle. When we die, we go with nothing. That is what ‘Aye le’ is talking about. With my song, I am trying to educate people, re-orientate our minds especially the youths. I believe people should listen more to music that can help mentally, and have positive value.
I remixed my mother’s song ‘Adura Mi’, from her ‘Save Nigeria Today’ album. She did it in low tempo which isn’t quite danceable for today’s generation. I have modernised it and made it more danceable. The lyrics and message I’m passing on with this particular track is, ‘you can still dance and feel funky with moralistic lyrics’. Danceable songs don’t have to be those that promote a decline in moral values.
The third is a worship song in a sober mood because I believe we all love to worship God no matter what we are going through. Regardless who we are, we still have to give glory and praise to God that was why I wrote ‘Glorify Him’. I believe people will be inspired when they worship with the song because of the lyrics.
Most of my songs are written in Yoruba language, I have other songs written in English but they will be coming out in the main album by next year.
‘Aye le’ was written in Yoruba and Hausa. I have three languages for now in the song. I have other songs sang in about thirteen Nigerian languages but we are still working on them.
In combining music with business would you say music is another venture for you?
I don’t relate with music as a money making venture. Music is a passion for me. It is something that has to do with talent God has given me. It is also something that has to do with my mother’s legacy because writing a song as an artiste, I know what it is to make an album.
I really appreciate my mother because I can now see and understand how difficult it is to have intellectual asset.
I believe my mother’s music should not be a thing of the past. While alive she encouraged me but at the time I didn’t take it seriously. Since she has a talented child, I believe this is the right time to bring back her legacy and make her name more renowned.
Do you have any marketing plan to protect your works from the pirates?
Piracy is not something an individual can handle in this country. But I think the PMAN (Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria) has a lot to do because they are the only body that can really fight the battle. If they can create something like a computerised logo inscribed into each artiste’s job so that nobody can make a photocopy, it will help. If there are no such inscriptions on the product people will know it is pirated.
I’m hopeful that there will soon be a change.
Some artistes usually before releasing their album have live performances where they sometimes market the album themselves, are you also following that path?
I wouldn’t like to market my album directly because I am too busy for that kind of obligation. When it is time for me to sell my album, I will definitely do that through a marketer.
Mind you, even when you sell the album directly, you can’t reach out to many people. You will be limited to only your environment. But the marketers know how to go about it properly, if you have to do it alone, how far can you go?
I believe most people who hawk CDs on the street are amateurs, if you are a professional singer you don’t have to hawk your work on the streets by yourself. Marketers have their values and they have a big role to play here. I intend to go through them when I’m set.
Would you say the Nigerian market is well saturated with gospel music?
Gospel music in Nigeria is not encouraged. Secular songs seem to have an upper hand. I think that is where we are having problem.
People who write inspirational songs need a lot of encouragement from the media and the public. It will be great to attribute to the progress of the gospel song writers.
Though I think there is a little bit of recognition right now because while I was in Lagos last week, I saw situations whereby some people brought CDs to a radio station and the guy asked if the CDs were gospel or not. He simply told them if it wasn’t gospel he was not going to broadcast that music on air because the station wants to preach moral.
We need to be motivated because if you are not motivated by your work, you are definitely going to be depressed. This way there is no inspiration to write.
Generally, how do you view Nigerian artistes and their attitude to their work?
My promo/single album has just three tracks and I spent two years working on them. Once a producer told me, ‘the job is good we can just release it like this’. I told him no, this is not what I want. This is not the standard I want my work to come to.
It depends on individual. Also, the financial status of the singer matters a lot. Nowadays, people are desperate; everybody wants to make quick money. In such situations the person will just want the job done and off he goes to the market to make his money.
For me, these are the major reasons we have some poor quality albums and songs in the market today.
What kind of influence did your mum have on you and what kind of mother was she to you?
She was a very sweet mum, though no child will say her mother isn’t good but, to be honest to you, I had a wonderful mother. She cared so much about us and everybody around her; she was a woman of many parts. She wanted us around her all the time.
We used to go with her to the studio during her recordings so that we understood she wasn’t just leaving us at home but she had a job.
I learnt a lot from her. Through her I learnt to be happy, cheerful. She was a very cheerful woman, ever smiling. Even when mum was going through difficult periods she would put up a smiling face, she was so accommodating, and she was passionate about children. I miss her not being around me at this time.
Which of your songs was the most difficult?
That would be my mother’s remix, ‘Adura Mi’ because I didn’t write it. At a point I couldn’t pick it. There were some parts that took me about two weeks to grab. It was then I realised how great a singer my mum was.
We struggled with the song when we were making it. In fact I had to re-make some because they were too difficult for me. But you know as a singer, we always claim that no song is difficult because we can manoeuvre it and that is what it takes to be a professional.
That was the only song I had issues with because I wanted to change. It isn’t easy to emulate somebody’s intellect. That was a big lesson for me.
How would you rate the entertainment industry presently?
Well, the industry is improving, there is a lot of recognition now but we need to be more moralistic about it because some of the youths are being affected by what they see and hear every day. We therefore need to add more morality to it.
What’s your take on the dress mode on music videos?
It has to do with individuals and their orientation. There is this popular saying that charity begins at home. I remember when I was growing up there were things my mum never allowed me to wear.
I spent my ninth month to my twelfth year with my grandparents in Ekiti state. My grandfather was a king; you know what it means growing up in the royal palace.
As a princess, there had to be a lot of decency attached to my ways of doing things. I can remember vividly when my mum would be coming to see my grandpa; she would have to take off her artificial nails because if that man saw those artificial nails, there will be trouble.
You dared not give papa anything with artificial nails talk less of putting on cloths that would expose your body.
Parents have a lot of work to do because if a child is scrutinised and educated on how to dress properly and decently I strongly believe he or she is not going to depart from. Even if she sometimes deviates from it due to peer influence I can tell you that when he/she becomes more mature and reasonable and more aware of what is happening in the society she would abide by the decency she was taught earlier in life.
Can you say that the censor boards are doing enough in this regard?
I am sorry to say this, but I don’t think or I don’t know if they are doing enough. If even they think they are doing enough, their enough is not enough yet. They have to do more to make it enough because things are really happening. I have heard issues in Lagos that children are dropping out of school nowadays, to pursue things that have influenced them from television.
There is one thing about music, music is very spiritual. When you recite a song regularly, the wordings become a part of you and before you know it, you will be acting it out. The censor board needs to screen a lot more than it is doing of the kind of films that are being broadcasted, the kind of music that is being played on the radio and television. As Africans we have culture and ethics. We should reflect them even in entertainment.
I have travelled widely and I can attest that even abroad, some of the things our so called artistes write now are not written as songs abroad.