She had tasted the waters with a release of a single ‘Let it Go’ which may very well put her on the gravy train to fame.
But unlike most gospel
singers, the English graduate of Madonna University doesn’t intend to carry
herself with the air and style of Mother Theresa, she’s ready to unleash a bit of
her womanhood, without going overboard or flaunting her sexuality. How would
she do it? Hear her story and how she intends to sell her gospel to the secular
market:
Why
did you choose gospel music?
It’s not just gospel music.
I just do positive, meaningful music with meaningful lyrics. There are so many
things to talk about; Love, peace and so on. I just want to inspire people.
What
are you working on now?
I just released a single,
Let it go. It’s been out on the blogs and right now, I’m doing radio promotion.
What’s
the song about?
Let it go as the name
implies is a feel-good song for people to let go of their worries, be happy and
trust God to take care of all their troubles.
What
is going to distinguish you from other artistes?
A lot of people see gospel
music as boring and that’s why it’s not really selling, especially in Nigeria,
because Nigerians like party songs. I want to instruct, educate and entertain
at the same time. I’m going to put the Nigerian market into consideration by
giving them something they can dance to, but the lyrics will be gospel.
Does
that mean you will be doing more of the fast-paced songs?
I’m versatile, I can do the
slow songs, but I want to consider Nigerians and the Nigerian market. Nigerians
like danceable songs. Personally, I like slow gospel songs, but to be
considerate, I’d like to infuse the party songs with good gospel lyrics.
Don’t
you think that by so doing, you won’t be staying true to yourself, doing songs
for the Nigerian market and not what you really want?
The fact that I’m doing
gospel and inspirational songs is being true to myself. If I wanted to totally
please people and not please myself, I won’t even do gospel, because gospel
music doesn’t sell in Nigeria. I’m doing gospel because I want to be true to
myself, but at the same time not to be totally selfish. Make everybody happy.
A
lot of gospel artistes do dance tracks, what’s going to be unique about your
own kind of songs?
I don’t think there are a
lot of people doing gospel dance tracks in Nigeria. But even if there are, I’m
going to be different and I’ll stand out. I’m going to bring my uniqueness to
the table with my lyrics and style. There are things that are not considered
gospel that I infuse in my lyrics. I use the word ‘Baby’ and other side
attractions to spice it up so it’s not boring.
Is
this your first song?
Yes, it’s my first single.
I’m promoting it now. I may shoot the video now or just go straight to do
another song. But right now, I just want to use the song to introduce myself.
What’s
the motivation, is it a calling or a career choice?
Right from childhood, I had
always wanted to do music. Music is my passion. I recently decided to do gospel
music because there are a lot of issues to talk about. I grew up thinking I was
going to be an RnB artiste, because I was inspired by Maria Carey, Whitney
Houston and Michael Jackson and I thought I’d be doing their kind of music. But
as I grew older, I discovered that I want to talk about meaningful things, do
positive, peaceful music that will inspire people and so I chose to do
gospel/inspirational music.
By
inspirational, how do you mean?
Inspiration can come from
anywhere. You can be an inspirational artiste and sing love songs. You can
inspire people in different ways and with different things. You can inspire
people to be good, to love and do different things. As an inspirational
artiste, every issue is worth talking about. It’s broader than gospel, that’s
why I don’t want to be classified as just gospel.
Can
you feature a secular artiste in your songs?
Yes, provided the lyrics
are good and decent. It all depends on what they say in the song. The fact that
they do secular songs doesn’t make them devils. Most of them have gospel
tracks. They’re not anti-gospel because they do secular music.
Besides
doing music, do you hope to do other forms of entertainment?
Yes, I’m an aspiring
actress. I’ll love to do a few movies along the line. Acting is my first love.
I fell in love with acting years before I knew I could sing.
What
if you were required to interpret some sexually explicit roles?
No, I won’t accept that. As
a gospel artiste, I don’t want to confuse my audience by doing gospel songs and
then doing a different thing elsewhere. I’m going to be very selective as an
actress.
So
where will you draw the line?
I think I will know where
to draw the line. Kissing is make-believe and it’s okay. But there isn’t going
to be any form of nudity.
Are
you in a relationship at the moment?
No.
What’s
your ideal man like?
It’s normal to be attracted
to the physical appearance. I like good-looking men, it doesn’t matter if he’s
tall or short, as long as he’s good-looking and God-fearing.
Won’t
you consider the size of his purse?
If he’s good-looking and
has a bright future, that is, if he’s educated and there is hope that things
would get better in the future, then it’s fine. But if there is no hope, then
it’s a No-No.
Where
do you hope to see yourself few years from now?
I hope to be very popular
not just within, but outside the country. I hope to have a very strong fan
base. I want to fall among the top ten artistes in Nigeria. I really want to be
relevant in the industry.
If
you were invited to perform in a club or a secular show, would you go?
The fact that I do
gospel/inspirational music doesn’t mean I’m a saint walking on earth or an
angel. I have my own shortcomings. If I’m invited to a club to do my gospel
music,why not?
Don’t
you think that would contradict what you represent?
In the Bible, Jesus Christ
said he came for sinners, not the saints. He was always seen with tax
collectors and prostitutes. Why will I not go to the club to do my music, if
Jesus Christ could mingle with such people? At the end of the day, what you
want to achieve is to reach out to people. So, why will I reject an opportunity
to do that? As long as I’m going there to do my song, I don’t see why I
shouldn’t.
A
lot of artistes started out doing gospel and along the line, they got
distracted and started doing other kinds of songs, how do you intend to remain
on the path you’ve chosen for yourself?
I’m passionate about it. I
thought about it very well before going into it. While I was growing up, I was
mostly inspired by meaningful, positive and inspirational music. There were so
many times I was down while growing up as a young girl. These songs motivated
me a lot. So I said to myself that I wanted to use my music to help and
motivate people. There was a time I felt like committing suicide, just giving
up and I listened to a song and it was as if the singer was talking to me and
it helped me from such depressing moments. I want to do that for someone else.
Could
you share some of those moments when you felt like giving up
While I was growing up, I
was bullied a lot because I was ugly. I didn’t know how I was transformed, but
I knew and I was also told that I was ugly. I was teased a lot at school and I
felt there was no hope for me, because I was very big and very ugly. I hardly
went out and was under house arrest most of the time and my sister was so
beautiful and slim. I felt like killing myself, but when I listened to these
songs they really motivated me.
How
were you able to conquer that feeling?
I was growing and I guess
my appearance began to change and I started working on myself. My self-esteem
also improved. Even if I go back to whatever I used to look like, it won’t be
that bad. I was a kid then, I didn’t know how to handle issues, but I’m grown
now.
Are
you related to the 70’s, 80’s singer, Dora Ifudu?
Yes, she’s my aunty, my
dad’s younger sister. She was really great. She was popular those days
alongside the likes of Christy Essien Igbokwe and Onyeka Onwenu.
What
should people expect from you?
They should expect positive
songs with good lyrics which is really lacking in Nigeria.
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