Books inspire me to write rap lyrics – Mode Nine

Born Babatunde Olusegun Adewale in London on the 14th of June, 1975, he would soon become better-known as Mode Nine, the ferocious-yet-nimble rapper widely believed to be the greatest in Africa today. Along the way, he has snagged numerous awards, released some hit singles and well-received albums. The artiste has performed alongside – and opened […]

Born Babatunde Olusegun Adewale in London on the 14th of June, 1975, he would soon become better-known as Mode Nine, the ferocious-yet-nimble rapper widely believed to be the greatest in Africa today. Along the way, he has snagged numerous awards, released some hit singles and well-received albums. The artiste has performed alongside – and opened for numerous visiting internationals – like Wyclef Jean, Akon, Kanye West, T-Pain, LL Cool J, Nas, and more. Outspoken as he is talented, Daily Trust cornered him for an interview, and herewith, are excerpts:

Daily Trust: One of your 2015 singles, ‘My Country’, focused on the war on Boko Haram. Why did you write and record it?
Mode Nine: Soldiers serving in the North East told me of the situation on ground then, that they didn’t have enough hardware to face Boko Haram. I understood where they were coming from, as they were willing to fight. I could see clearly that Nigerian soldiers are very brave. I wrote those lyrics when things seemed to be falling apart.
It wasn’t only about Boko Haram and the fighting in the North East. I also talked about materialistic people. A lot of artistes sing, but nobody is actually making songs that will make people realize what is happening. Most artistes are just worried about their gold chains, cars, and so on, and Boko Haram is wreaking havoc a few states away and people think it can’t come to wherever they are. People don’t have knowledge or are not aware, so I decided to write the song.
When I was writing [the song], I said I was not only going to try to speak my mind, but also try not to be offensive. The aim wasn’t to affect people directly, to accuse the government. It’s to speak about our then-current reality.
DT: For someone as vocal as you are, it is unusual that you haven’t been critical of government lately. Why?
Mode Nine: You can’t be an artiste and try to do political songs without knowing how the system runs. If you don’t know this, you are like an outsider looking in, you will never really be able to say what is happening. A lot of people are accusing the government of many things. I can’t really come out to say anything because the truth is, we have to give the president more time, even if people are not patient.
Think of this, if the gasket of your car gets destroyed, in order for you to replace it, you have to take the engine apart. Things are going to worsen before they get better. You don’t just get a new president, and immediately, everything starts working. It doesn’t happen like that, so before I start to say anything, it will be after some time.
Before I start attacking anybody directly, I will have all the facts. If you don’t have facts, you will be talking like a lay man and those who know about politics will just laugh at you. From the song, they will know you don’t know anything about politics. I personally have always tried to stay away from controversial political issues, or being partisan and so on. I don’t go out and condemn one party for the other. If I’m voting, I vote for the person I want and don’t have to share the info with anyone.
DT: There are more rappers strutting their stuff in native languages today. Do you intend to record anything in Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba anytime soon?
Mode Nine: I don’t speak Igbo, my Hausa is not that good, and even if I am Yoruba, I don’t rap in Yoruba. I have learnt to put my best foot forward always, and that is me speaking and communicating easily in English. If I need any language in my song, I will feature someone.
DT: You’re famously cautious about collaborations with Nigerian artistes. How do you feel about that today?
Mode Nine: I do collaborations. If I am making a song and I listen to the song, and know how the beat goes, I could say we need somebody in the song and won’t care if you are popular or not. As long as you can do the job, I will reach out to you. My last album featured Don Jazzy, Reminisce, Ice Prince, Ruby Gyang, 9ice and more.
DT: One of your biggest hits, commercially, is ‘Cry’, on which you feature Nigerian singer Nnenna. Should we expect similar pairings in the near future?
Mode Nine: ‘Cry’ was released in 2006, and it was a hit then. Maybe it – or something like it – won’t be a hit now because people’s minds have migrated to other styles.
DT: Why is your upcoming album titled ‘Insulin’?
Mode Nine: Insulin breaks down glucose and converts it to energy. In this case, it is what I call musical diabetes inside the musical concoction, so my ‘Insulin’ has come to break the glucose in the sugar and change it to positive energy. It means in my own way, a break from the norm. I did over twenty songs, but not all of them will be chosen for the album. I have some super-talented producers working on the tracks.
DT: What’s your creative process like, and how do you get ‘in character’?
Mode Nine: There is no characterization, it’s just me doing my thing. What I do is that my writing process is sometimes sporadic, sometimes planned. It’s just me doing music.
The title-track ‘Insulin’ itself has Jimmy Jatt on it. Another is called ‘Jiu Jitsu’, which is more like me against the industry. One of my interests is Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), so I used a lot of MMA terms in it. I also have a song featuring Mike Aremu, who played the sax and Tony, who played the guitar. There’s another called ‘Police’, ‘Bird Skin’, ‘Same Girl’ and more.
DT: You’re known to be a voracious reader. Can you share some of the most interesting books you’ve read?
Mode Nine: There are books I call recurring books, because I always read them. Like ‘48 Laws of Power’ and ‘33 Strategies of War’, both by Robert Greene. Then there’s ‘Mein Kampf’, ‘Cleopatra’, and right now I’m busy with ‘Bushido: The Way of the Warrior’. I just read part of it and I got carried away to start writing a track about justice. I get inspired by the books I read.