My music is unique because I played with the best - Kola Ogunkoya

Kola Ogunkoya

US-based Kola Ogunkoya of the ‘Pemi loruko’ fame who is planning to return to Nigeria after a 12-year sojourn tells Akintayo Abodunrin about his music and how he is faring in this online interview

You were a choirboy before you decided to become a professional musician, what made you take the decision?
I think it was pre-ordained that I would start from the church by praising God Almighty with the talent he graciously gave me and believe me, I do give Him all the glory; I will forever do that.

All great musicians that I know started playing music in their respective church choirs before they turned professional. It was the same with me and I think it was natural that I proceeded to become a professional.
You have played with almost all the best in the country; the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Sir Victor Olaiya, King Sunny Ade, Dayo Kujore, Orlando Julius and Dele Abiodun. What specific lessons did you learn from them and what is their influence on your music?

I took invaluable lessons in music and how to manage one’s life and music career from them but I wasn’t a full time band member with all of them. For example, I never played as a member of Fela Kuti’s ‘Egypt 80 ‘band. What I had with him was a jamming session as a band leader of my own.

Then, I already had my own band and I was holding shows at Jazzville and at Jazz 38. Baba Fela and my band even had a show together at Lekki Sunsplash in the 80s and I think that was the first time Baba saw and heard me perform live. He was so happy and he invited me to the Shrine, he even gave me a free visa to the Afrikan Shrine and Afrobeat.

All these accomplished Nigerian musicians really motivated me and prepared me for the real music, art and culture of our continent. They made me understand the importance of being yourself and doing your own thing; buy Africa and believe in yourself. Value your own things, no matter what; don’t ever try to copy foreign music or culture because you can never be like them in their thing.

Why did you relocate to the United States?
Really, this is a question I had no answer to in all my 12 years in the United States of America until last year when I started to think I am ready for Afrobeat.

But when you say relocate; I did not actually plan to relocate consciously. I came to the US to perform at shows and when we started , things started moving smoothly and we started going places to the extent that I even got an award in 1997, the I.R.A.W.M Awards for the Best African Entertainer of the Year. It’s a world music award after which my booking agent talked me into staying so that I could earn more.

When I eventually decided to stay, I realized I had to pay rent and other bills; cater for myself and parents back home in Nigeria and before I could understand what was going on, I had spent 11years in the US.

What is the reception to your Afro Gbedu over there?
Well, I thank God my music is doing well in clubs, and shows are coming up every week. However, Americans will never leave their thing to embrace other people’s thing, their music is their music. If you are not born here, trust me, the only way they will notice you is when you do a different thing.

But then, that doesn’t mean that they will put you on TV or radio everyday because they are concerned about their young ones. They monitor what they listen to on radio and what they see on TV. So, invariably, they don’t put us first or second, they only play us during African Month in February and also during concerts or if anything happens to, or in Africa. But thank God for the internet where people now get to hear us.

You’ve been playing at concerts since 1987, which is your most memorable concert?
That’s Lekki Sunsplash and Golden Tones Loud in Lagos some years ago.

Despite claims by some of your colleagues, nobody has really been able to celebrate Afro beat and draw Nigerians and indeed the world to the music the way Fela did. What do you think is responsible for this?
We all are really trying and what we play now is even better than what you had those days. However, Fela Kuti was able to cut across, not just because his music is good; in fact, he was not even the only one playing Afrobeat then. Orlando Julius Ekemode, Monamona and several others were there, but the reason Fela Kuti held sway was because he was using his type of Afrobeat to fight Nigerian politicians and government, so there was a cause for alarm: Who is that? What did he do? Why dem jail am?

People thus began to look for the music that caused the alarm and because foreign news media were covering what was going on, they publicized Fela. That was what happened. Fela’s personality also played a crucial factor, it’s not that we are lazy or not gifted.

Is music your only occupation in the US?
Yes, I don’t have any other occupation. In fact, many people know me around town as a musician. From the East coast down to the South; Washington DC to Atlanta, I’m known as a musician. I started the first Nigerian weekly show called Shayo Nite in Washington DC, if not the first in all the United States. So, most of my fans used to call me Shayo and till now, I still play Highlife and Afrobeat every week if am around.

How soon is your latest album going to be available to Nigerians?
My new album is entitled Political Assassination Afrobeat 2008. I feel it is now time for Afrobeat to take over the music and entertainment scene in Nigeria and other Afrobeat artistes and I are ready to roll. The CD contains Afrobeat from tracks one to five, while tracks six to10 is highlife. I daresay my fans will love this new CD which is already on my website.