Encomium
DANIEL Isiwele, popularly known as Omo Jesu has been off the scene for a while. The multi-talented comedian visited ENCOMIUM Weekly on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. He explained that he is more of a businessman throwing light on his recently released album, entitled Phase 2. Omo Jesu also talked about his wife and baby.
What’s new about Omo Jesu?
So many things are new about me. For a comedian who just dropped an album and also unveiled a comedy CD entitled, Comedy and Explosion, while the album is entitled Phase 2, which is the second side of me. Not many comedians have done a 15-track album. The album is the latest about me.
So, why did you decide to go into music?
I am doing music because all my life I have been in the church, I have been a music person. I see music as a way of reaching out to my fans.
How well is the album doing in the market?
Comedians don’t give marketers our albums for sale, we market them ourselves. We do events every now and then, so we market our albums ourselves.
Are you working on any video for some tracks on the album?
I have done one video, I have been working on the album since 2006, so I have released about two videos. I am also working on another video that would be out by the end of this month entitled Who Funny Pass?, it’s a comic video.
What did it take to put the album together?
I was trying to get in the mood, to get inspired, it was only one out of 15 tracks that was a copyright song, Sweet Mother. Every other song was written by me.
Which artist did you feature in the album?
I featured YQ, Klever Jay, Aduke, Robo G. But now I want to start working with new artists.
We have not been seeing much of you in shows, why?
On Sunday, I was at Glo Lafta Fiesta. I have been busy, I do less show, more business. We have done shows in the past but right now I am doing business. Where there is money people don’t make noise.
We have the likes of Bovi, Seyi Law, Helen Paul and they seem to be everywhere, do you feel bad about it or you see them as a threat to you?
I don’t see anyone as a threat, what stands me out is my originality. When we were also young, we were everywhere. It gets to a time you get settled, I am married now and I have a child, I have a house project, I am more serious now. Although some of these guys are married but they are everywhere because they just discovered them. It’s like that in the industry, the just discovered would be everywhere. Few years from now you would be asking the same questions.
Apart from comedy and music, what else do you do?
I studied Electrical Electronics in Yaba College of Technology and Marketing in Lagos State University. I have also done professional courses. I give motivational talks, I have a registered company, Omo Jesu Lafta Motive, which simply means laughter and motivational talks. I am a public speaker, I can do so many things, I do engineering, I do marketing, I do talking business.
Why exactly did you decide to do comedy?
Nobody is born a comedian, you train yourself to be a comedian. I was working as a technician somewhere and I just discovered I wasn’t getting much from it. I went for a lecture by Niyi Adesanya of Daystar, he told me to discover is to recover and it kept coming to me. The only thing I knew I could do on my own that people appreciate was MC. It got to a point when I resigned from the company, I was been paid N17,500 a month. I became a professional MC and it was then that the spirit of comedy came into me. I never watched Night of a Thousand Laughs before I became a comedian, that’s why I am unique. I discovered I make people laugh.
We heard Omo Jesu is broke, how true is it?
A man who just spent some millions on his launch, a man who is working on a house project, a man who just got married with a child, can he be broke?
Day to day challenges as a comedian?
We have more people in the business. Someone won’t offer you N100,000 for a job because he has a younger person who can do it for N50,000. That’s the major challenge of a comedian.
Tell us about your family.
I have a baby about one and half years, scattering everywhere. My wife is also doing well, she studied Aviation, now she’s furthering her education. I met her in business and told her I wanted to marry her and that was it. She was Anita Mohammed, now she is Anita Isiwele.
TOSIN ODUMOSU
This story was first published in Encomium Weekly on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
