If there is one person that knows his entertainment onions well, it is Alariwo of Africa. Originally named Rotimi Martins, he hails from Edo State and is married to Sola from Ondo State, with whom they have three children. Ondo people are a very cultural people and I love the state; it is a very peaceful place. I thought to do the show and see how interesting it turns out to be.
The show/event is called Laugh and Dance; so, it is a combination of music and comedy. It is better for me to take it to Ondo State so that they can have their fun. Also, I went on a visit to Ondo and realised that the entertainment setting is growing, so I felt that I should contribute my own quota to it as well.
What form is the show going to take?
It is a musical and comedy event and it will feature a lot of comedians like Ali Baba, Kofi, Omobaba, Lepacious Bose, Funny Bone, MC Abbey, and a lot of people in the movie and music sector. My friend, Sunny Neji will be there, Weird MC, Jaywon and LKT. There is also this new discovery of mine that will be performing as well. So, it is going to be interesting. It is about encouraging people to come out and have fun.
The logistics of organising an event over there must be very different from Lagos.
The logistics is heavy and expensive, but I’m getting support of the Almighty God and from people like Mayor Akinpelu, Dr. Seye Kehinde and a friend of mine, Steve Bayode, who runs Micro Plus Media. They are putting things together for me to ensure the event is a very successful one and I have a couple of friends there that are willing to support as well.
Does that include friends in government and is the state government involved?
Government is not involved, but I have invited the First Lady of Ondo State and know that by God’s grace she will honour us. My friend is the Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade and the Special Adviser to the Commissioner of Information, John Femi Adepoju. I am sure they will put in their own support as well. If the government supports, we will appreciate it.
You have been on the music scene for some time now, what would you say is responsible for this staying power?
What is responsible for the staying power is the grace of Almighty God because without God, nothing works and I always tell people, consistency matters a lot. If you are not consistent in anything you do, you fizzle out. By God’s grace, I have been in the business for a very long time. Some people feel I am a musician, but some people know that I am a complete entertainer. It is also good to be at the right place at the right time.
I studied Public Relations and I am a journalist; music simply took a part of me. Sometimes, people prefer that I anchor an event since I am good at it. I talk and find that people laugh when I crack jokes. It is all about entertainment, so why can’t I do it?
If you go to Lilongwe, Nairobi, Accra, Durban or wherever in Africa, music from Nigeria is playing in night clubs and on radio; but do you think we are going in the right direction?
Nigerian music has taken over, but the truth is that some of us are doing it right, some are doing the right thing the wrong way. A lot of them are not musicians, a lot of them are money makers, they just want to sing and smile to the bank but some songs are not making sense, while the ones that make sense are not really getting the cash, as it were. It’s funny that you have to sing about sex, drugs and violence before you ‘make’ it. That is not the way it should be; we all should appreciate each other, that we are all musicians, we can’t do the same kind of music. I appreciate the originality and creativity of a lot of Nigerian musicians but most of them are too fake, most of them are doing what they feel is right, but they don’t know it is wrong and 10 years from now, when you play such music, nobody will be standing.
I was in South Africa and went to a club. Immediately I got in, I was recognised and they played my song while everybody danced to Yawa go gas. I knew that the song was a monster hit and I thank God people still appreciate the song. It is good to put out a song for people to listen and appreciate it. The industry is a little bit polluted as it were, but there are artistes who are making us proud.
‘Yawa go gas’ was from the Boju Boju album?
No, it was, the second album. Yawa go gas was the first album.
You seem to have reduced the tempo of release since those two albums?
What I did was to cool off for a while and I released my album titled: Back on Track a year ago. But now, I have decided that the music should come into the market. The music is out, slowly and surely. My new album features Sunny Neji, 9ice, Pasuma, Yinka Ayefele, Yinka Davies, Waje and Lord of Ajasa. The new album is a mature one and it is meant for the young and the young at heart.
Like I said before, everybody cannot listen and appreciate the kind of music we play, but those who appreciate it are still giving respect to our kind of music. African music is very authentic and people appreciate it. If the likes of Jay Z can sample Fela, a lot more people can do that. There is this group in America called The Roots that is still negotiating with Alariwo of Africa; they want to sample ‘Yawa go gas’. They are still in negotiations with my agents and publishers in America. As soon as they conclude, the song by The Roots featuring Alariwo will be out.
That brings to mind the collaboration with UB40 you were supposed to have, what happened to it?
I was on tour in Germany where I opened for UB40. The connection was through a friend of mine called Bantu. UB40 featured on Bantu’s album. They appreciated my kind of music, but along the line, we lost contact and before we could rekindle our relationship, UB40 split and there is no way I can do something with UB40 since they are no longer together.
Another one was the issue of Lucky Dube, who, when he came to Nigeria, was so in love with my music. I was shocked when the manager called and told me that Lucky Dube died. We were supposed to do a duet a month before he died and it was a great loss to me.
I did a song which took me just 45 minutes to write and shot a video for Lucky Dube. I put it on air and it was everywhere. I am the first to do a tribute to Lucky Dube. Whenever people heard the song, they would ask; is that you or Lucky Dube?’ That is because I did it his way. I believe that when the time comes, we will do the right thing the way it should be done.
Listening to you talk about what you did for Lucky Dube calls to mind why you are the cross over king, you can do Afrobeat, highlife, reggae and you even write your own songs…
I write my own songs and I actually had 38 songs before I released my album. I still have songs. If it is not in you it can never be in you. I thank God for giving me the complete talent. I sing, I anchor events, I do comedy, package events, I write songs, I do voiceovers, I do anything entertainment. And by His grace, I am good at what I do but I don’t brag about it. Basically, I just try my best to do what I can.
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