For sometime now we have noticed that you have transformed the old Apala music that you inherited from your dad. You have added a lot to it to make it more danceable and appealing. What are the specific things you added to it?
The first thing is that if you remember our late father, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister sang one song. He said in it, who can tell me the full meaning of Fuji sound? He said Afro, Juju, Apala & Co. If Fuji had remained the same way that our fathers were singing it, the young ones who are just coming up won’t be able to sing it. Me too, I decided that this old Apala music, let us add something to it, something new and innovative. Let me also say that I didn’t add anything new to Apala.
It was Baba Haruna Ishola, my late father that began to add new flavour to it, before he passed on. Before he died, he did a record which he called Apala Disco. Baba added Jazz to Apala.
I now decided that since Baba has added Jazz to it let me also add keyboard, saxophone, guitar, and a few other instruments to it. That was what I did and I now realise that it went well with it.
That was why I sang this song that we should move the way the world is going. I sang the song Baye ba se nyi ki a ma ba won yi, opon Apala ti sun finally o ti kuro ni t’aa ti jo. I am moving with the times.
So what is the latest thing you have added to your music to make it sweet?
I can’t say this or that. Its my fans that can say. I can say my music has become sweet. The way it works is this. When we sing and people dance to it and they say it is sweet. That is when we can know its sweet. When we are singing it we can’t know whether it is sweet or not.
When we compose it or turn it into album, we would not know it is sweet, until our fans begin to listen to it and make comments. The fans are the ones who will now say the album or song is good. That is how we usually know that our song is good or not. It is not that we know how to do it. It all belongs to God.
There are so many songs that your father sang then that you have not made use of. Why have you slowed down on using Baba’s music?
I have not slowed down. Let me tell you today that all the songs I sing and all my music belong to my father. They are all Baba’s music. All the songs I sing, totally, belong to Baba. I have not done one single composition. All I do from time to time is to change names, from the name Baba put, to the name I put in, to replace it.
If you look at Soyoyo song, it was Baba that first sang it. If you look at Fireblast that I sang, Baba sang it. The song ina tiran efe ti sibi, ebere ke mujo ina ran was sang by baba. Most records that I have done are all babas songs, like Ori eni la wure, ti mo baji lo wuro ma fi owo gba ori mu which is the current one that I have just done, that is making waves right now was done by Baba.
It is baba’s song. All I do to his music is to remove old rhythm and I put new rhythm: That is why people think I am singing new songs.
Wherever you sing now, what you sing is new fast paced Apala music with all the new slangs, like Gbe Body ee. You have added the current dance steps and beats. Why is that so?
Its for us to remain current. We have said that in one of our songs that we change with the new things in vogue. We have to add all that to it because of these young people. We have to blend the old and the new songs.
We want both old and new to enjoy our Apala music. The old people now carry their body. Gbe body eee. What is reigning in town now is Apala Gbe Body. So people must dance to it
What is your most current song makig waves?
Ori. I released it last year online. I did one for Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde when he celebrated his 60th birthday. I released it online. I did one for Baba Eleganza. I released it Online.
The good thing about releasing it Online is that at least you will get something back in return. It is better than doing CD. If you do CDs, the marketer will tell you, it didn’t sell but if it is Online, every year, they will pay you something.
They will pay something into your account. It might be a small amount but it will be paid. The money I make Online is much more than the ones I have collected before. I make money from MTN, Zain, Etisalat, Glo.
I am collecting money from them and for my music that is on Youtube, I make money annually. I made money from Veronica who made use of my song in America, I made money from her.
She paid me. Nobody can use my music in either Nigeria or abroad and not pay me for it. Angeliqe Khidjo used my song. She came to Nigeria from America to see me to get my permission to use my song, through Mrs. Yewande Amusan, who was a Commissioner under Gov. Amosun.
When she met me, she said she wanted to give me something, I said no need. She insisted on paying me for it and I collected it. That made me know that our work is becoming globally recognised.
Before a musician in the US can travel down to Nigeria to look for me to take my permission to use my work, it means she values my work. It means my music is making sense.
That is why I am thanking God. The Veronica lady I told you about earlier said she went to a party where they played my music and everyone was dancing. And she asked them: what is this person saying that is making all of you to dance?
They told her and she decided that I want to use his music exactly the way he sang it. She confessed that she tried to translate it to her langugage it didn’t work, so she injected my music into her music exactly the way I sang it. She put it like that in her record.
If you go Online you will see it there. She congratulated me a lot Online. She praised my daddy a lot. She said she is happy I didn’t let my dads music to die. And do you know that I didn’t know her before. It simply means God has blessed my music (Alubarika) that is why I keep thanking God. Its not by my power or my might. There are so many Apala musicians who can even sing better than me. But God has sustained me. He has continued to bless me and my music.
That was why I sang this song that we should move the way the world is going. I sang the song Baye ba se nyi ki a ma ba won yi, opon Apala ti sun finally o ti kuro ni t’aa ti jo. I am moving with the times.
So what is the latest thing you have added to your music to make it sweet?
I can’t say this or that. Its my fans that can say. I can say my music has become sweet. The way it works is this. When we sing and people dance to it and they say it is sweet. That is when we can know its sweet. When we are singing it we can’t know whether it is sweet or not.
When we compose it or turn it into album, we would not know it is sweet, until our fans begin to listen to it and make comments. The fans are the ones who will now say the album or song is good. That is how we usually know that our song is good or not. It is not that we know how to do it. It all belongs to God.
There are so many songs that your father sang then that you have not made use of. Why have you slowed down on using Baba’s music?
I have not slowed down. Let me tell you today that all the songs I sing and all my music belong to my father. They are all Baba’s music. All the songs I sing, totally, belong to Baba. I have not done one single composition. All I do from time to time is to change names, from the name Baba put, to the name I put in, to replace it.
If you look at Soyoyo song, it was Baba that first sang it. If you look at Fireblast that I sang, Baba sang it. The song ina tiran efe ti sibi, ebere ke mujo ina ran was sang by baba.
Most records that I have done are all babas songs, like Ori eni la wure, ti mo baji lo wuro ma fi owo gba ori mu which is the current one that I have just done, that is making waves right now was done by Baba.
It is baba’s song. All I do to his music is to remove old rhythm and I put new rhythm: That is why people think I am singing new songs.
Wherever you sing now, what you sing is new fast paced Apala music with all the new slangs, like Gbe Body ee. You have added the current dance steps and beats. Why is that so?
Its for us to remain current. We have said that in one of our songs that we change with the new things in vogue. We have to add all that to it because of these young people.
We have to blend the old and the new songs. We want both old and new to enjoy our Apala music. The old people now carry their body. Gbe body eee. What is reigning in town now is Apala Gbe Body. So people must dance to it.
What is your most current song makig waves?
Ori. I released it last year online. I did one for Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde when he celebrated his 60th birthday. I released it online. I did one for Baba Eleganza. I released it Online.
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