Encomium
ONE of Nigeria’s veteran hip-hop artists, Zakky Azzay has said that taking Nigerian music for granted was the greatest mistake he made while coming up as a musician.
He made this disclosure when ENCOMIUM Weekly paid him a visit at his studio on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos on Friday, March 16, 2012.
Zakky Azzay also spoke about his TV programme, True Nigerians, among other issues…
How would you rate the acceptability of your programme, True Nigerians?
I’m very happy, everybody has been praising me. In fact, people are surprised at how I was able to come up with that kind of idea. But that came up because I was looking for a way to give back to my community, something that is Nigerian. And since I have a passion for Nigeria unlike other people that would always condemn everything that is Nigeria, I have gotten comments about the way I present it, they like the way I present it and me being myself in the presentation. It’s just me. And most of the questions I ask are questions that most people have not even asked before. And the purpose for True Nigerians is to discourage our young ones from making quick money and to celebrate our role models so that the young ones coming will emulate. I also discovered a lot of things, for instance, I didn’t know that Adenuga was once a taxi driver or a security man in America, when I spoke with my governor, he told me how he used to wear one trouser for six months. He would wash it in the night and dry it and wear the next morning. I am about to interview the governor of Nassarawa and he was telling me how he was a ‘dandogo’ before. Dandogo are people that load sack. Onyeka Onwenu was telling me how she used to clean toilets abroad. These are people who we see as great people, who have achieved. So we know that for somebody who is listening, that is a street hawker, it gives him hope to know that this person was once like me but today is a great man. We had an episode on a mechanic too, so you don’t have to be a billionaire to be on True Nigerian. We did an interview recently on a woman who is a full housewife, who takes her housekeeping money to train some street kids, mostly from Borno State. Those people are worth celebrating, we just want to encourage people who are doing the right thing. It’s only in Nigeria you’ll see someone who has a mansion that he probably spent N250 million to build and there is a pothole in front of his house. We are trying to celebrate our heroes publicly and hear their stories. True Nigerians is all about whatever will benefit Nigeria. In Dubai, I checked out a Nigerian who has lived there for 40 years, he has never committed any crime, he’s the richest Nigerian in Dubai.
How many episodes have you had so far and which has been the most challenging?
I have had so many episodes, because the programme is more than a year old. I have been sponsoring everything from my pocket so far. There are two episodes I would remember as most challenging, the fisherman who has never been on a plane before, he has a fisherman for 45 years. We tried to put him on a plane and we were recording him, we got above and beyond till they gave him kick suit, shirts, shoes and all that. We changed him, took him to the airport courtesy IRS. It became a problem when we got to the airport, when he got to the point he was to board. It was very challenging, we had to delay the flight. First, he wouldn’t climb the escalator, when the plane took off, he grabbed the seats and almost shouted and then another challenge getting Obasanjo to sing. He refused to sing, but we insisted and eventually he did. I’m sure he’s aware of his fantastic voice (laughs).
Much has not been heard of you musically, is it because of your programme?
I just released a new video which is two weeks old. I had YQ, Goldie, Bouqui, KC, Zara, Maheeda. It’s the first video in Nigeria that had a lot of stars. I had more than 20 celebrities in the video. It was a club video but all the people in it were all celebrities. It takes only a Zakky to do that, so music wise, I am sure you are aware of the year before this, I was topping charts. I won a lot of awards for Catch Fire, and this year, something new. I’m about to even do a very big concert, I just introduced Lights On Entertainment, it would also be the launch of my torchlight line. I’m going to start selling torchlight soon. You don’t have to buy if you are my fan because you’ll obviously get from one of my shows. Lights On Entertainment just like you have Crack Your Ribs, AY Live, we would also be doing our events every year. Comedians, music people. I would also be performing at that event. My music is my first love, music is not even stopping because I work day and night and I have a big studio. I work all night.
Why do you think most of your contemporaries find it difficult to remain relevant till today?
They say your attitude determines your altitude. It’s an attitude to trust God and believe that things will work for you because you have faith. So far, everywhere I go to they mention iconic or legendary before they put Zakky Azzay because I’ve been around all this while. And most of the people I started with have left and I am still here topping charts and winning awards. All that is attitude, another artist who started with me would probably brag and say, ‘I’m not your mate, all these small, small boys, what do you know about music.’ I see music as fashion, even cars, things change, I do traditional hip-hop music. I’ve not changed, I’m just repackaging it. If they are not here anymore, it should have to do with their mindset.
Can you still remember the greatest mistake you made while coming up as a musician?
The greatest mistake I think I made was taking Nigerian music for granted. I made a mistake because I was on top of my game, too busy with shows. So, I decided to take a break for a while and for the two years break I took, it was a big mistake. It was like sleeping this night and by the time I wake up the following day, everything has changed. In Nigeria at that time, Western music dominated, with about 90 per cent while Nigeria was like 10 per cent. So, I slept and by the time I woke up the next morning, Nigerians have embraced Nigerian music. It’s now 90 per cent of Nigerian music. When I woke up, I started all over again, trying to make new songs in order to recover. That’s the mistake I made and it won’t happen again. No more break.
As a veteran in the business, would you consider break-up as an option for music group, considering the rumour going on about D’Banj and Don Jazzy?
Break-up to me, is a progress, even though people look at it negatively. For instance, if you’re paying The Remedies N1 million to perform, the money will be shared among the three people. But now if you need The Remedies, you’ll pay Eedris, Tony and Eddie, which will eventually result to more money. The truth is Wande Coal is not going to remain with Don Jazzy forever. One day, he will break-up. It’s a progress, not bad move. That’s how it is.
-RASHEED ABUBAKAR
This story was first published in Encomium Weekly on Tuesday, Mach 20, 2012
