•Project Co-ordinator, SEGUN LASILE, Reveals Details
A new talent hunt project is coming to rule the airwaves in Nigeria’s entertainment industry soon. Tagged: “Oba Orin Music Challenge”, the show would be staged across the South-Western parts of the country and would be broadcast on TV, Radio Stations and Internet. Mr Segun Lasile answering questions from City People’s SAHEED OJUBANIRE recently, the project coordinator said the reason for the show at this material time, was to discover raw talents and make them shining stars, while Fuji music star, Saheed Osupa, is the Project Ambassador. Several other things about Oba Orin Music Challenge were revealed. Read on please, it is quite interesting:
You are the brain behind, or one of the people behind “Agodo Asa”; what is Agodo Asa all about?
Well, Agodo Asa is a trade name registered at Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). And what we do at Agodo Asa is promoting culture and talents. We are into so many things: Radio, TV. , Event Management, Jingle Production and the likes. We do media business generally, and that is Agodo Asa. So, we now have so many things coming from Agodo Asa as a name and one of them is what we tag: “Oba Orin Music Challenge”.
What is Oba Orin Music Challenge all about?
The music challenge centres on discovering new talents and providing big platform for them “to blow” to use the language of the guys now in vogue.
Can you expatiate more on what the project entails?
Okay. Now, we have like minds, like I said under Agodo Asa as a brand, working together to promote the talent hunt. And the talent hunt is about discovering new Fuji artistes to fill the vacuum in the industry. The project is going to cut across the South-West States. And by the South-West, I mean, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States. We are going to have participants from those 6 states; no gender discrimination. They could be males, or females. No age limitation, no colour restriction. So, we are going to have one by one state preliminaries. We are going to go into the 6 states, then go into recording for TV Show aspect. It is going to be a radio, TV and online show. We have partners like Radio Nigeria Ibadan Network Station; they are the major partners with us. And for your information, we are having City People as one of our print media partners too. So, that is in that area. Now, the Ambassador of the project, the face of the project, is King (Dr.) Saheed Osupa. We all know him very well.
Why the choice for Saheed Osupa?
That is a good question. Now, from the concept of Agodo Asa, we discovered that Saheed Osupa gives what it takes when it comes to cultural songs; creative ones for that matter. And we too, are very creative at Agodo Asa Ventures. So, we now see what we can work together with King (Dr.) Saheed Osupa and we picked him as our Ambassador. And ever since we picked him, people have been hailing us that, look, you have made a good choice in picking King (Dr.) Saheed Osupa as the Ambassador for the project.
Now, as the Ambassador of the project, what are some of the roles Saheed Osupa is going to play?
Good. Now, the role of King (Dr.) Saheed Osupa is very huge in the project. He is going to be an In-house Coach for the contestants. Don’t forget we said that the music he is churning out is very rich in cultural content, and we want him to inculcate such into the young ones.
Are you going to be assembling all the contestants somewhere for him to meet them or what?
Yes. As I said, it is going to be a pre-recorded show. That means we are going to have a studio where the first, second and third from each state are going to be converging for King (Dr.) Saheed Osupa to tutor them on how to compose, to arrange, to praise songs and the likes. As well as delivery. Studio is different from stage. When you are on stage, you have to take cognisance of one thing or the other. That is Osupa’s own beat, I’m not good at that. So, he is going to take them on that. And by the time they will be leaving that tutorial, they will never remain the same. Because, as he must have taught them so many things. And they would have gained a whole lot from him.
Why the preference of the project for Fuji music as against other genres of music?
We are not against any other genre of music. But as I said, the name that we are using which is Agodo Asa has to do with the South-West roots…
(Cuts in) What about Juju music?
Well, Juju is part of it. But you know, Juju is an arm that was detached from the real Fuji music per se. Fuji music has been there for many years. It started from “Were” a long time ago. From “Ajiwere” to “Ajisaari” to “Awurebe”, then to Fuji. So, if you trace that history down to inception, Fuji is more of age than any other genre in Yoruba Land. So, we are picking Fuji to start with for now. In our Season 2, who knows, we might fuse Fuji and Juju. A little bit of Hip-Hop, but not losing that trend of that indigenous tone which is Fuji.
This seems to be a capital intensive project. How are you planning to source for funds to finance it?
We are already discussing with like minds in terms of Corporate Sponsorship. We have reached out to many of them who I won’t like to mention for now. But very soon, we are going to unveil some of our sponsors who are supporting us. We are at a very high gear level. We have been sealing the deals.
So, it is going to be sponsorship based.
Yes, it is going to be sponsorship based.
Who are the other members of the team working with you?
We have so many of them. And one is, Wole Osikoya. A well-known face in broadcasting. They call him Shoshogirisho. He is one of us. I have Shina Adeyemi, a seasoned broadcaster, and an excellent voice in terms of voice over. I have him. Lanre Ogundeji is there. A good marketer. I have Desola Elegbede. I have Toyin Adeboye and the likes. And other team members from the area of Radio Nigeria, Ibadan, because there is a committee there that is working with us.
Is there any other thing you think the public should know about the project?
Yes, what I just want to pass across is that we want these young ones who are yearning for opportunities to come on board. Because as the Yoruba would say, “Orire Ko si fun oke” (Nothing good comes easy), you need to take a bold step. So, come on board, obtain your form, and come and showcase the talent you have, and let us provide you with the big platform you have been yearning for. Let’s give you a big platform for the world to see you, and you can begin to live your dream in stardom.
On a final note, what is your message for the teeming Fuji music fans, especially TV viewers, who this project is also meant to entertain?
I want to assure them of something, they have been watching talent hunt shows before now, but I want to tell them this is a talent hunt like never before. So, many things that are there, they have never seen anywhere before. They are going to enjoy us on radio, on TV- we are going to be on DSTV, GOTV and Startimes—and online too. So, it is a 3-in-one channel of transmission. And I’m assuring them that there is would never to be a dull moment in the show. Once you are hooked, you would never think of standing till the end. That is our assurance to them.
For the purpose of this interview, can you give us your name?
My name is Olusegun Lasile.
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