‘My songs interpret me – Waje

How did music start for you? I discovered my talent singing in church but I went into full time music in 2005, doing free shows and singing at every opportunity that presented itself. What informed the genre of you music? I usually tell people that I cannot limit myself to just one genre because as […]

How did music start for you?

I discovered my talent singing in church but I went into full time music in 2005, doing free shows and singing at every opportunity that presented itself.

What informed the genre of you music?

I usually tell people that I cannot limit myself to just one genre because as you can see my first single was a neo-soul jazz kind of song, my second single ‘Kolo’ is a pop song and ‘Ada’ is half Afro R&B. I love real music, music that can interpret how I feel and most time such music come slow, in ballads, R& B. because that is the only way you can really express emotions. Basically I am an R& B fan, I love love songs.

How was the ‘Do Me’ experience for you?

I met P- Square in Enugu where I went for a show and after my performance; they appreciated my voice and came to meet me to tell me I could sing. Then I heard one of their songs ‘Omoge Mi’ and I wanted to do a remake of the song, so I did ‘Bobo Mi’ and sent it to them, which they put on their ‘Bizzy bodi’ remix album. When it was time for ‘Do Me’ they called me up to say they had a song which they thought I would be good on. Overall it was a great experience.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Everything in life inspires me. You smile a lot; who knows I might be writing a song about smiles. So anything and everything can inspire me. Basically, I want people to connect to me, I like to be inspired by real things, things that really happen to people.

What do you consider to be your challenges of being an artiste in Nigeria?

There are a lot because first of all, you have to identify what your consumers want. It’s not all about you. The only reason you do what you do is because of your audience and if you don’t give them what they hunger for, it becomes a problem. So it is one thing to give them and another to know what to give. Recently, I found out that there are two classes of people in the entertainment industry. The first class is the entertainment people themselves and the consumers.

Entertainers always tell you what they think the consumers want. In the end, you find out the contrary. Truth is most people who offer opinions do not even buy your CD. It’s the ones at homes who don’t know you that hear your song and patronise you.  You have to find out how to get the kind of music the people want to hear from you.

How do you rate the Nigerian music industry?

I rate it a hundred percent because we are very talented people who are capable of doing very good music. Once I was watching MTV Base and heard a song though I can’t remember which nor the artiste but I could swear the beats sounded like what we do here.

These people come from America and different parts of the world and listen to our songs, go back and duplicate it. But because we have already placed them as the standard, we do not even realize we are listening to our own stuff.

Another thing is that they are professional in everything they do than we are, because we tend to be unserious with all we do. Many of us here perceive music as a hobby and don’t think we can make a profession of it. But in all we are growing and are better than ten years ago.

As an artiste, what is more important, message or rhythm?

Both are important because just as the message cannot go without a rhythm, a rhythm cannot go without a message.

So what happens when there’s rhythm without message?

Everybody has a unique style and purpose. You have your fingers to help you pick stuff and your nose for smell like every other body part has its function.

There are different kinds of people in the world. There are those who do not want to listen to anything that will make them sober. They just want to know what’s going on, let’s go party and that’s alright. So there’s nothing wrong with it. Just do it the right way. You know when you sing and talk about ganja and all that, there is nothing wrong but my only concern is what will happen ten years from now when you have kids and they say my dad used to play a sing and he played that song ganja.

I just think people should be more careful because of the future but aside that, everybody has their own mission to fulfill in the industry so we all do what we came here to do regardless.

Do you think the Nigerian music industry is occupying its rightful position on the world music scene?

Not yet, though it’s better than where it used to be. Many like TuFace, D’Banj, PSquare, Nneka have represented us well and won awards.

We also have the Kuti brothers, Femi and Seun, taking over from his father; we have Lagbaja and others who are known the world over. We may not have gotten to that point where every single country or continent knows about Nigerian music and artistes but we will get there. It’s a gradual process.

Which artistes have inspired you?

A lot of them because I take a piece out of everybody’s life but musically, the person that has really helped me grow is Whitney Houston. I did a lot of Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton but Whitney was the foundation. I like Beyoncé a lot because she has a very strong voice, a position  which a lot of people disagree with me on but I know she can sing, and she is incredible.

In Nigeria, I love Onyeke Onwenu and when I was a kid, I saw a resemblance between her and my mother’s sister, Amaka who has also been a great source of encouragement based on how I grew musically. I started my career when I was living with her and she really helped me and supported me.