Family comes before showbiz – Di’Ja
Nigerian singing star Di’Ja, born Hadiza Blell, also writes and produces. She is currently signed to Mavin Records, where she released her first big hit, ‘Yaro’, featuring Ice Prince. Weekend Magazine caught up with the Kaduna-born mother of two for a chat on how music found her, the joys of motherhood, and what keeps her […]
Nigerian singing star Di’Ja, born Hadiza Blell, also writes and produces. She is currently signed to Mavin Records, where she released her first big hit, ‘Yaro’, featuring Ice Prince. Weekend Magazine caught up with the Kaduna-born mother of two for a chat on how music found her, the joys of motherhood, and what keeps her going in the industry. Excerpts:
Weekend Magazine: How did you venture into music?
Di’Ja: It was by Allah’s grace. I have always been very musical. I grew up on things like the movie ‘Sound of Music’ and many other things, and I think it just had an impact on me. Music chose me, I did not really choose it. I feel like, if I had chosen it, with some of the adversities that came with it, I would have quit. I just kept going, and my mother’s encouragement really helped a lot.
One of the reasons why I like the language of music, is that whether you speak English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo or any other language, people don’t really hear music, they feel it.
WM: You’re married, with two kids. How do you juggle family and a showbiz career?
Di’Ja: I think you just make time for what is important. No matter what, in life, family comes first. But music is also family, and I put everything in prayer. I believe in prayer, so I always beg God that people understand what I am doing and make it easy for me. I also ask God to let me succeed if what I am doing is the best for me. My husband is very supportive, obviously, and our children come first in everything.
WM: How would you feel if your kids followed in your artistic footsteps?
Di’Ja: Everybody says do as I say, not as I do (laughter). But if that is what Allah has ordained, there is nothing I can do about it. Other than that, I will try my best to guide them if that is what they decide. The industry is a place where you have to keep your eyes open, or get lost. You always have to remember where you come from in order to know where you are going. That is really what I try to instil, even in my fans.
WM: Every artiste tries to create a unique sound. How did you come about yours?
Di’Ja: Mine is very, very quirky. To be honest with you, every piece of me goes into my music. I speak Creole, Hausa, and English. I just bring it from the heart, I don’t know how it comes through.
WM: Do you have any regrets venturing into music?
Di’Ja: None at all. The thing about music is that you can either do it forever, or you can turn it into something, your legacy, and live forever because even after you are gone, your music lives on. I believe music is where I have been put and until then, I just hope I get better and better within my heart, and God continues to guide me.
WM: Your label, Mavin Records, is known to be a tightly-knit family. How is your relationship with other musicians?
Di’Ja: I try my best to keep it positive. As long as it’s a respectful relationship, I’m good. And that is what I try to have, because if you don’t know somebody and you don’t know what they’re like, at least the one thing to have in common is respect.
WM: What new material are you working on?
Di’Ja: I’m about to release ‘Save Me’, a song off my EP (extended play), for my awareness campaign targeting the youths, making them realise the power to change lives for the better actually lies in their hands. There are so many things going on with women, children and men. I just want to create awareness and tell people that we can lend a helping hand to each other.
WM: Speaking of advocacy, tell us more on what informed your recent decision to start the ‘Save Me’ campaign in Kaduna?
Di’Ja: I know that I did not get to where I am by myself, so I just wanted to talk to youths, especially my fans, because they are the ones who keep me going. Without my fans, my music is irrelevant. That is why I came here, to tell them ‘thank you’. And next year, the election is coming, I want to talk to the youth because we don’t have to always wait for people to do things for us, we can pull ourselves together and we can call upon each other. The one thing I said is that we are always complaining about a broken gutter, but we can put wood on it as a way of fixing it, and not waiting for government to come and fix it. The idea is for us to be accountable for our environment.