•How He Dazzled Guests @ City People Real Estate Award
The recently concluded City People Real Estate Awards is still the talk of town amongst real estate players as over 100 top shots in the real estate sector stormed the event.
One of the highlights of the night was the entertainment segment which came from the band that thrilled guests. The band was led by Bonsue Fuji star, Adewale Ayuba and it was definitely a night to remember when he rounded off the show with live band performance which saw prominent players in the real estate industry dancing to the music of the prolific singer.
From the moment he walked in, you could tell he was a star, from the heads that turned and the whispers from guests, as the musician walked briskly to the band stand displaying his humility, a character he is known to possess in abundant quality.
Ayuba who had a short play on the stand for about 40 minutes midway into the show to whet the appetite of the guests present was all jovial and happy to speak with City People just before joining the band for his major performance that brought down the roof.
What has he been up to lately. The Fuji star said, “We are trying to digitalize Fuji music. We realized that the likes of Ayinde Barrister (May his soul rest in peace), Kollington Ayinla and other grand veterans in the Fuji sector have done so well. Fuji lovers now depend on the present generational Fuji acts like Ayuba, K1, Obesere, Pasuma and others to keep the genre going.
People are asking if the Fuji genre is dying, and if care is not taken it would fade out. Though, the biggest problem the genre is facing is piracy, reason been that we don’t generate back the millions we invest in making these lengthy music/videos. This issue doesn’t only concern the musicians, it also affects the movie industry and we need the intervention of the government to deal with such issue. So we are trying to digitalize Fuji music by recording 3 to 5 minutes singles, this would make the outreach of our music wider as radio and TV stations would be able to play the singles, compared to the long version tracks of over 30 minutes that we are known for.
The Bonsue maestro also revealed that he prays to God to be used as the instrument to popularize Fuji music globally. He also addressed the point that sine Fuji music is known to be rendered in our local dialect, it would be hard to popularize it outside Nigeria. The singer drew our attention to the likes of Awilo Logonba and Koffi who brought their music to Nigeria which was rendered in the French language and it was a chart topper for years in Nigeria, despite the fact that we knew nothing about French. Taking an excerpt from his response, he said and we quote; “Music is made up of the rhythm and not the language”.
Though the Fuji genre have been known to be the most controversial genre in the Nigerian music industry owing to the beef that the genre has created between acts, Ayuba was quick to point out that the Fuji genre was a peaceful music genre and that music marketers were responsible for influencing the beef amongst artistes of the genre just to enhance sales. He also revealed that he has been able to avoid controversies because he threads softly and try not to step on anyone’s toe. Ayuba stated that if the Nigeria media would focus more on the good things happening in the industry and neglect the negatives, it would help the music industry grow faster. One interesting point he raised was how 9 out of 10 music managers in the past had journalistic experience to guide their artistes but today, the story is different because most artistes don’t know the importance of an experienced journalist guiding them.
Adewale Ayuba can’t be missed when he walkes into any gathering. This is because his unique signature dress code, clean shaves and brisk walk steps capped by his humility always points him out. The singer, when asked what prompted his uniqueness in appearance revealed that he owed it to God and his father. He made it known to us that his father is so much a neat freak and could complained if a single strand of hair was seen on his hair.
Let’s take you back on how music started for the Fuji star. He was only 7 when the passion for music pushed him into the profession. He is the last child in his family and it was a tug of war between him and his dad. His father was so keen on him going to school to be educated but the young chap was keen on doing music. After so much persuasion from people around him to allow Ayuba go into music, with an assurance that he would also be schooling alongside practicing music, his father had to conclude to a terms of agreement. His father had told him he would allow him go into music if he would sign and agree to certain terms; He would go to school and excel, he wouldn’t drink, he wouldn’t smoke, he wouldn’t involve in illegal practices like drugs, he would finish school and marry only 1 wife amongst others. It might shock you to know that Adewale Ayuba has kept to all these terms and promises he made to his father. The singer was pleased to tell us that these terms have been his guidelines in the industry and he is still keeping them. He doesn’t drink or smoke, he only has one wife which is from the eastern part of Nigeria (She’s of the Ibo tribe). He doesn’t involve in illegal practices and he’s one of the very few Fuji stars who are scandal free.
Adewale Ayuba popularly known as Ayuba, Mr. Johnson and the Bonsue-fuji maestro was born May 6, 1966 in Ikenne Remo, Ogun State Nigeria. He grew up as a child singer. At 7, he had already declared his intention to go into music to his father. By the age of 8, he started singing at Local Musical Competitions and fiestas in Ikenne. This led to his option for music as a career after his secondary school education at Remo, Secondary School, Sagamu, Ogun State.
Although he gained admission to read Architecture at the Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta, his music career took center-stage and in a bid to carve a niche for himself, he made his first album IBERE {Beginning} at the age of 17. His rise on the Fuji music scene was rapid. In early 1990, Ayuba was signed on by Sony Music (Nigerian) to record an album, Bubble. Bubble released in 1991, brought Ayuba into international prominence, for the first time in history, a Fuji Music album dominated the scene, topping musical charts for 6 consecutive months, winning multiple awards at the Nigerian Music Awards, (NMA). It bagged Ayuba the coveted Artiste of the Year Awards, Including the Album of the Year Award, Song of the Year Award and Best Fuji Album of the Year Award – 4 in all. It sold beyond expectations and made Ayuba a mega-star artiste. With the success of Bubble, it became obvious that Ayuba had hit it big.
Ayuba’s hi-tech instrumentation and distinct voice changed the face of Fuji music. For the first time in History, Fuji music which was hitherto ignored by the Elite was embraced by all. After the success of Bubble, Ayuba released Mr. Johnson Play For Me (also on Sony Music Nigeria label) and this also became an instant success in 1992. In 1993, Ayuba was signed to Premier Music (Nigeria) before embarking on his first West Africa coast tour, performing in several African countries. The success of this tour led to his first US Tour in 1993. Ayuba performed in over 10 states in America during this tour, a feat rarely achieved.
After his return in 1993, he released another chart topping album, Buggle D on Premier Music (Nigeria) label. If Bubble was tremendous success, Buggle D was a run-way success. It instantly became a hit, winning multiple awards and topping the music chart for several months. In 1994, Ayuba took a bold step with a vision to “Internationalizing Fuji Music” and embarked on a trip to the UK and US with his band. While he was in America in 1995, he recorded different feats, performing at various international concerts.
In 1998, he came back and released yet another successful album, Acceleration on the Corporate Music label. In 2000, he released a mega-hit album, Turn Me On which broke music records in Nigeria. In the same year, he toured several European countries including England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. He was awarded the Distinguished Son of Ikenne Remo, his birthplace, in 2001 in a colorful ceremony at the Ikenne Local Government, Ikenne, Ogun State. Also in 2001, Ayuba had a spectacular performance at Eko Le Meridien Hotel Banquet hall, Lagos in a concert tagged The Return of Ayuba. The Return of Ayuba concert made history in Nigeria as it had Executive Governor of Lagos and Ogun state, Federal and State Legislators and several commissioners, among other dignitaries, in attendance. With this, Ayuba took Fuji Music to another level as rave reviews by the media followed suit, proclaiming Ayuba as The most corporate Fuji musician ever.
He embarked on a tour of Austria with his band in 2001, performing in Graz and Vienna. In 2002, he once again took Europe by storm for 4 months performing at concerts in England, France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. He recorded a new album, Formula in England while on this tour.
Ayuba has also won numerous awards over the years at the prestigious City People Entertainment Awards.
Ayuba is married with 6 children. Ayuba met his wife Azukaego Kwentoh at a cafeteria in Queens Borough Community College where he studied and they got married in 1989. Azukaego Kwentoh is from Onitsha-Oke, Anambra State, South-Eastern Nigeria.
Ayuba lives by drive of being able to take Fuji music to the whole world as Bob Marley had taken reggae to the whole world.
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