‘My mother wanted me to become a carpenter’ – Julius Agwu
My mother originally wanted me to be a carpenter because she felt studying theatre art would not fetch me enough money, but the one thing that makes a difference in the business is for one to constantly reinvent himself and also to diversify. Artistes should not only learn the show aspect, but also the business […]
My mother originally wanted me to be a carpenter because she felt studying theatre art would not fetch me enough money, but the one thing that makes a difference in the business is for one to constantly reinvent himself and also to diversify. Artistes should not only learn the show aspect, but also the business aspect, hence the phrase ‘show business’. I also believe that aside from being a comedian, the artiste should be able to impact on his immediate society. I started out as a comedian but over time I have been able to blend between music and comedy which I call musi-comedy.
I am walking on an album with about ten tracks and lots of collaborations with the best voices in the industry. I have had interesting collaborations with MI and Jesse Jags in BBM meaning, “Brief Big Men”. I just concluded works on my album ‘The Genius’ and it will be sold alongside a DVD of some of my shows; all these innovations are in a bid to question what society perceives as the norm. I get inspiration for my jokes and music on topical issues like kerosene scarcity and other similar issues. So, somehow I never manage to run out of jokes or lyrics. Sometimes, I ask if animals from the North can interact with those from the South and if it will not cause a riot. Things like this are interesting and at the same time serious thought provoking scenarios.
What informs your style?
All I did was just try to be different. When we started out people in the industry didn’t pay much attention to their looks and in that way they weren’t taken seriously too and given my height I knew that if I stayed that way, I would be lost in the crowd, so I had to make a conscious effort to standout all the time in my comedy as well as my dress sense. I have fans who I inspire and I know I needed to be a role model to them especially those who want to tow my line. They need to be encouraged and to see that people who did comedy were also enlightened and fashionable. Also, as I am always in public eye, I have to look the best that I can and these days I am a bit more level headed about my appearances.
Why did you decide on the Festival of Love?
I have my annual Crack Ya Ribs show. This time around, there is a new brand which will be launched tomorrow February 13th which happens to be Valentine’s eve. I tagged it Festival of Love because Valentine is a time when we are supposed to show love and celebrate it. Internet has made the world a global village and Nigerians celebrate a lot of the events celebrated in the west and sometimes even more than the west. In thinking of the things happening in Nigeria, I put up an acronym BLACK. Let’s stop the blackness we bring into our nation. Black stands for Bombing. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop the looting, the attacks, the crises like what is happening in Jos and the Killings. Again, with the general elections by the corner, there are so many activities enlightening and persuading people to participate like in the registration process. But we know that there are people who will register but will not come out to vote for fear of insecurity and violence. I decided that we need to come together to combat this and the first port of call is Abuja being the centre of activities and capital territory.
This is the first edition which is a classy romantic evening for lovers and couples to come together and realize the need to show love for others. It will be featuring Waje, Iyanya, MI, Darey, Osama, CD John, AY and Onyeka Onwenu with me as the host. The idea is for people to dress glamourously with a touch of red.
Who is your target audience?
I am trying to build my audience around those who have money.
If love is what makes the world go round, why was a specific day set aside to celebrate it?
It is a Valentine show and Valentine’s Day is a day when the whole world celebrates love. I agree that love is what makes the world go round but the event is a way of encouraging people to extend love beyond their walls. There are many out there who do not feel this love. It is not possible for me to bring people together every day in this kind of gathering.
Going by your explanation, this show seems biased in that you have restricted it to the elite whom in your opinion already have abundant love.
No it is not biased.
These elite are not the ones who are on the streets with the weapons. What of those who need to be made to realize that they are being manipulated?
I have other events like Crack ya ribs and didn’t want this to be a replica of that. The elite are usually in the comfort of their homes. Even in the case of the recent barrack bombing, it was still the masses who were victims. I’m using this event to get them to realize that there are people out there who are suffering.
The jokes and entertainment pieces will be built around these issues.
You are in business to make money just as some of the victims who indulge in such crimes…
For the past seven years I have been involved in charity as a way of giving back to the society what it has given me. Every Valentine’s Day and my birthday I celebrate it with the Heart of Gold Hospice in Lagos. These are abandoned children with disabilities.
Aside from that, I just finished a ten-minute short film, titled ‘My vote counts’ under my foundation Jaffy. It’s a project by Youngsters Foundation run by Kingsley Bangwell. We are teaching youngsters how valuable their votes are. We are encouraging them to know their rights. We don’t know our rights; that is why a policeman can stop and ask you for the C of O of your car.