Encomium
+ speak on their new album
Pretty twins, Tracy and Treasure Daniels are not new in Nollywood, but the amazing thing is that the identical ladies, who go by the stage name, Gholden Girlz, have veered into music and they have completed all arrangements to release their first album entitled Stronger.
Already, the song is enjoying massive air play on radio and downloads online. In this interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly’s Rasheed Abubakar, Tracy and Treasure opened up on their love lives, kind of man and relationship with 2Face.
To start with, the packaging of your promo CD is unique. What really inspired the concept?
Tracy: What inspired us is the fact that we want the best for our fans. It’s impossible for everybody to be our fan but the ones that love us are the people the package is meant for. Also, we don’t want to do things recklessly, that is why we decided to give them the best of the best. I want to assure our fans that not only the packaging but the music too is fantastic.
Tell us about the song you’re promoting?
Tracy: The song is about being the best of yourself. There is a saying that ‘What doesn’t kill a man makes him stronger, and people have faced a lot of challenges. Sometimes, when we come out of the challenges, we are weak while some come out stronger.
So, the song is encouraging people to be strong in every situation. That’s why we entitled it Stronger.
Is it your first song you’ll be promoting?
Tracy: This is supposed to be our first single. However, we promoted a single last year but due to some logistics problem, we’re not able to complete the promotion. This year, we decided to start again and the song, Stronger is ready.
This time we are stronger, which explains the reason we entitled the song Stronger. This is going to be our first album but second single. The single is entitled Omalicha (beauty).
When is the album coming out?
Tracy: I want our fans to expect something great, especially our female fans because we’re like spokespersons of the female folk. So, the song is going to be based on empowering the youths while our fans should expect love songs. We’re featuring 2Face; J Martins has already produced a song for us, which he also featured. We’re also going to do international collaboration, taking our music globally so as to get the best for our fans.
What is the unique seUingpoint of the Gholden Girlz?
Tracy: Our selling point is basically our combat-ability, the ability to combat. We’re very resilient and daring in our career. Apart from that, we are also classy, we want nothing but the best.
Treasure comes in: The fact that we’re two beautiful girls is another selling point for us. At the, same time, we are twins and people like twins. It’s fascinating and it’s a selling point for us as well. Finally, if you listen to our songs, you’ll be convinced that we’re good. I am not boasting but that is the truth.
Since both of you are into singing, who’s doing what?
Tracy: Were both the dancers and the singers. We do everything together. That’s the fascinating thing about the Gholden Girlz. We’re talented in equal ways.
You’ve been in this industry for more than a year now. What is your experience?
Tracy: To me, this industry is more challenging than where I came from, Nollywood. In Nollywood, we’re like materials that people use. But in the music industry, it’s not like that because you have to market your products yourself to make people believe in your talent. And it takes a lot of effort, such as vocal gift to sing, even to write, for people to accept you.
Also, the music industry is like male dominated whereas in Nollywood, female stars arc the toast of many. But as I said earlier, our persistence and combat-ability will help us to survive.
Can we say because you girls were not getting scripts for movies, that’s why you diverted into music hoping to survive there?
Tracy: It might be true to some people but that doesn’t apply to the Gholden Girlz. Everybody knows us in Nollywood. In fact, we were known as the Divine Twins. So, it’s not like we couldn’t make it. We still do movies, we even have some movies we did but not yet released.
We’ve been doing music, only that we found it difficult to combine it with movie and school. But now, we have all the time and capital to pursue what we really want to show the talent that we really have. Our parents are pastors, and being pastors’ children has always helped us in leading the choir.
Treasure comes in: Don’t let us look at it that way; you say it is because music is actually our foundation. We’ve already established our name in Nollywood, so it’s not a new thing. It happens in other professions where people cross-over.
Beyonce, who is our role model, combines the two. Let me not boast, I think, we are the most successful crossover, acting to music or music to acting.
Tracy, how would you describe Treasures?
(Laughs) She’s the most wonderful character I have ever seen. She’s like my break and I am the accelerator. She doesn’t give a damn about anybody. She is the type that once she says this thing is right, no compromise. She is the bad girl and I am the good one.
Treasure, how would you describe Tracy?
Honestly, I am still laughing because she’s correct in all she said about me. First, my sister has no break, she’s like an accelerator, like she said. I will like to say she complements me as I also do to her. God put half of what should be in her in me and half of what should be in me in her.
About the guys I have broken their heart, I will say I am sorry (laughs). Tracy is a nice person and both of us can’t be the same. She’s cool and I am not.
What is always the cause of your quarrel with Tracy?
Treasure: We are best of friends and if she were to be a guy I would have married her. But no matter how a husband and wife love themselves, they fight and quarrel. Like I said, she’s positive and I am negative and for two people of such characters to work together, there’s going to be quarrel. So, we only quarrel over our differences but we agree in our career. I will say it’s God’s doing.
Tracy: To me, I will say, choice of songs at times causes our quarrel. She might suggest that we do love song and I would say we should do something hard or a heart breaker. Another thing we disagree on is getting engaged.
She might see somebody to walk out with and I will tell her not to allow any guy distract her. Basically, she is eager to settle down but I always tell her to wait, so that we can pursue our career, even though I have my own guy.
Are you girls in serious relationship. Tell us about the lucky guy?
Tracy: He is a rich nigga, that’s all! (laughs). He likes what I do and I have made it known to him that what I do comes first and he agreed. I have always wanted a real man, not a boy or a woman-man.
What makes a real man?
Tracy: A real man is … hmmm … a man that has money (laughs).
Treasure: Tracy loves money. But for me, a real is the man that has a good heart, works hard and takes me as his only girl (laughs).
Do you girls have situations where guys mistake one for another?
Treasure: It happens all the time but the only thing is for me to tell the guy that I am sorry, I am not Tracy.
There is a report that one of you is in a romance with 2Face. How true it is?
Tracy: I think I have answered this question severally and let me put it to you right now that, if it’s true, It’s between us and 2Face and if it’s a lie, it’s between us and him.
Whether me or Treasure is dating 2Face, I think, it’s our personal life.
What is then your relationship with 2Face?
I wouldn’t like to comment either will my sister. It’s our business and if it’s true or not, it’s between us.
In what ways are your parents supporting your career, Tracy? .
It’s always through prayers, and I think that’s most important because if one is not alive, you can’t become a star. Her prayers mean a lot. Their prayers have opened a lot of doors for us. Financially, we still have things running for us. At least, we have two or three movies in the market that give us returns. That’s how our career gets going.
Treasure: Our parents, especially mum has no problem with what we are doing, so far we are decent and modest. Our parents are clergy and true pastors, prefer their children to go into decent professions like medicine, law or be preachers like them or missionaries.
I want to use this medium to tell them that I am sorry for disappointing them. All their efforts to make us take after them did not work. However, we still go to church and dose to God but our lifestyle has to tally with what we do right now.
So, when are you girls getting married?
Treasure: Very soon. But we’re going to get married to the same man because she’s part of me and I am part of her. It’ll be difficult for two different men to separate us.
But that can’t be possible?
It’s possible. We’ll look for very good brothers or friends but if we can’t find them, we’ll go fur one man. It’s our wahala, no be theirs. Wahala dey, wahala dey (laughs).
*This story was first published in ENCOMIUM Weekly on Tuesday, September 27, 2011
