+His Relationship With K1
Last week, we published the first part of our exclusive 50th birthday interview with Pasuma who recently turned 50. Below is the 2nd and last part of the interview he had with City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE. It is very revealing.
Your kind of Fuji music is different from that of other Fuji artistes. How did your carve yours out?
It was a conscious thing, I didn’t want to sound like others. I wanted to be different. One of my managers before now, Femi Davies, had advised me. He was my Manager then. He always says I should be different. He will say this is how K1` does it.
This is how Adewale Ayuba is doing his thing please try and move away from that. Be different. Do your own thing. I was lucky to be part and parcel of those who started hip-hop music in this country in 1995 when the Kennis music people said I should put pen to paper for them that I won’t sue them that their artiste is going to use my song E je ka keep on rocking… Orobo Kibo… So the Remedies used my song, as in my name and my popular song to start hip-hop in 1995, then.
And I said I won’t put anything on paper for you. I won’t sue you. Haba Kennis Music is everywhere. I am not going to sue you. Everything is okay. In 1996, when they wanted to do the next album, they now put me in the album as a featuring artiste, which they called Jealousy. You remember that song Jealousy… As I was working down the street of Lagos State. I can say I started Hip-Hop in this country with the Hip-Hop artistes. So, I tried to infuse Hip-Hop into my Fuji music and infuse Fuji into Hip-Hop and see how this will work out and what will come out of it.
Thank God everything has worked well and according to how I want it. I tried to stay away from what K1, Ayuba, Osupa and the rest are doing and do my own thing differently and it worked.
Most music stars get into trouble with 3 things: Money, Women & Fame. How did you handle the 3?
Money is just something that when you have got it you have to share it with the people around you. You can work very hard a lot but you can’t spend the money alone. People around you will share out of the money either at home or at work. Once mone comes you have to be happy with your people. Fame is not an easy thing that you can handle. Humility is good. When you get the fame, you have to be humble. Its Gods doing. God gives you wisdom, power, fame, grace. The wisdome he has given you is just for you to have the power to handle the fame. Thank God I tried to handle my own. I have remained my humble self despite the fame. I respect my elders and even those I am older than. I still show them respect.
I said thank you sir to them. Everybody is sir, sir, sir. That is why when people say I am so humble, cool and calm, some people don’t believe it. This is because the kind of job I do does not make me look like a calm person.
People generally believe that Fuji musicians are arrogant, they play gutter music. But by the time they see you and hear your music, they will say no. Is it Fuji music that this one is singing? I try to the deal with fame. I try to deal with how I am going to handle my money and the people around me.
As per the woman aspect, you can’t run away from them. They are part and parcel of this game called Music. You need them to watch you perform. You need them to you. They flock to you, you can’t avoid them. It’s not everyone that comes around you that you go out with or sleep with. No. Some will come and say Alhaji I like you, you will just relate to them. I try as much as possible to play along with them.
How come Pasuma is still single? How come Pasuma has not been able to marry one of those pretty babes that flock around him?
(Laughs) haa! I don’t like talking about that now that I am 50, I focus on my children to make them great.
How many kids do you have?
Yorubas don’t count kids. Many of them are abroad, I try as much as possible to educate them, make them educated about what is going on globally. That is my own priority. My priority is not about getting married at this time that I am 50. If it comes fine. But now my children are my priority. I believe in taking care of my children than getting married for now.
What kind of woman will Pasuma like to marry? There are so many ladies out there who will like to know what Pasuma is looking out for in a lady…
Yes. I want a cool and calm lady that will understand me, that when I am not around she will be able to handle my fans. When my fans comes home and don’t meet me, but meet my wife, she will respect them and talk to them nicely.
My fans will be able to say to me. Oh we came home to see you, we didn’t meet you but we met your wife. Nice one. She is good. That is the kind of wife I want. She will be able to handle my fans. A wife that will know that my husband is humble and she will be humble too.
Tell me about your relationship with K1?
Haa! K1 is my Oga. He is my Oga. I remain loyal to him, very loyal. He is my master. He is my mentor. He influenced me. I learnt a lot from him. The respect I have for him is 120%. I respect him a lot. He is my master. He is the leader. He has been doing wonderfully well in the industry. He has done a lot. Lets give it up to him. He is good. That’s the truth. He has done a lot for Fuji music. He has added value to Fuji music. Just try and give it to him. He has done well. He is the one that rescued some of us from that genre of music that was reigning in that 89, 90, 91, 92 period. K1 the Ultimate rescued the Fuji artistes, he broughr us back. So you have to give it to him. The respect is to him any day, any time.
Let’s talk about your mummy. Everybody knows you are close to her. Tell us about her?
Haa! I have to be close to her. She brought me to this world.
What kind of comment can I give to that wonderful woman that brought me to this world? Without her, I won’t be here. My father was an educated person. My mother was a trader. She traded, whilst my dad was General Manager of NCR in Apapa. He wanted me to further my education, my secondary school to University or Polytechnic, but I decided to go into music. So, he now said if you don’t want to go to school again, go and meet your mum.
Not in this house. So, I started staying with my mum and living with my mum, after my secondary education. My mum now said, okay, if you want to go into music, don’t worry, go, don’t worry but try as much as possible to make it and so that your fathers family will not say see, she can’t bring him up, she can’t take care of him. With the prayer of my mum and thinking always about what my mum told me that I should not let her be put to, I always work hard. Her prayer is the key, because my mummy prays a lot. If you add my mum’s prayers to that of the Alfas who just keep praying for me and the prayers of millions of people who don’t know me but just pray for me, this is why I have succeeded. I pray as well. That is why I am where I am today. I love my mum so much. She has tried. She brought me up single handedly.
How often do you see her?
Every week. I have to see her every week. I talk to her everyday. But I see her twice a week. I took her down to Ikeja here from Mushin, so that she can be close to me.
Congrats on your new house. Tell us about it?
Thanks. I built it to coincide with my 50th. I have one at OPIC. I have built it but because that area has not been fully developed I had to leave it and I got another place here in Omole and somebody got me one very good man, who is a man of God. He is the Engineer who built the house. We now met and decided that okay, Pasuma is 49 now, how can we finish this house before my 50th? He said it will be ready. He said once we have money, we would do the house. He said by the special grace of God the house will be ready for your birthday.
By the special grace of God the house is ready now. But I am not making noise about it. It is a personal thing to me. I don’t like to expose my things. What you cover lasts long. It endures. I don’t like shouting about it. The house is ready. That is where I will do my 50th birthday prayer on the 27th of November.
What sort of a person is Pasuma? Is Pasuma different from Jibola?
Yes. They are 2 different persons. Many don’t know Pasuma is different from Jibola. But with the kind of job I do, when I am on stage I believe I am a Fuji artiste. On stage I am an entirely different person, I am an artiste. By the time you see me off stage, you will start to wonder is this guy a Fuji musician. Is he the one singing Fuji? When I am on stage, I take it serious, this is my office, this is where I do my business, this is where I get my money, this is where I entertain my fans, this is where I do my thing, this is where I got my name from. When I leave the stage, I am somebody else entirely. Jibola and Pasuma are 2 different persons. The Jibola that you know that is talking to you now is homely, playful and the Pasuma you know is Pasuma on stage.
How do you compose your music?
I let it flow, as the music comes to me. Your boy Afolabi Oyekoya used to tell me that Alhaji anyday you are into hip-hop, your music is very neat now, many more people listen to it now, keep it the way it is as much as possible, take it easy and let the music stay as it is. He advised me not to go further than how it is now.
But let me quickly tell you that I change the system of my music every two years. If you noticed my music in my album in December 2004, 2005, 2006 they are different. I keep changing them. They are different from what you will hear in 2007, 2008, 2009, I try to change the music because you can’t be stagnant.
If you don’t move forward people will say that is how he does his things. So you have to move forward I try to change the music as it comes. Another album is coming out. 2 albums are coming out. I have. In fact, 2 albums are coming out. I have 2 albums that are waxing stronger in the market which I released last year December titled Goodness & Mercy and another one is coming out this December 2017.
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