Ashimi Olawale, better known as Brymo got his break in music when he was introduced to MI and from then, he hasn’t looked back. The young singer and songwriter, who wrote his first song at the age of 14 is a prominent member of Chocolate City, a music label that has MI, Jesse Jagz and Ice Prince on its label. In this Interview with Tunde Ayanda, Brymo talks about his background, his popular song, Ara and what he hopes to achieve with music. Excerpts:

You are working on an album entitled, Son of a Carpenter, what informed the title?
I think it’s obvious. My dad is a carpenter and I just thought and realised that I was coming from somewhere. It just happened that the son of a carpenter has become someone big and he’s living his dream. I know I definitely have a story to tell.

How far have you gone with the production?
It is about 10 per cent done, I’m working on it everyday and I know it will soon be ready. Basically, I’m trying to make a happy album, dance-songs, love-songs and I want to make sure it’s something people can listen to and will be happy, both the rich and the poor. I just want to make evrybody happy.

You wrote your first song at the age of 14, what was the experience?
I was then in SS1 in Secondary school, I happened to listen to a lot of songs because I am from a home where most of the music we listened to was the local fuji music. The first song I wrote was actually for my group and it was entitled, Future. I had a group called Aliens. I could remember we did our first song then and turned out that the effort wasn’t good and we all felt bad about it before we all separated. Some travelled out and others gained admission into different schools.

Tracing it from the beginning, how did music start for you?
Funny enough, I got the ability to sing and write songs from my mother. She listens to fuji and juju music a lot and she would take the melody and add her own lyrics to it, she sings a lot in the house whenever she was happy or angry! It wasn’t that I initially set out to do music, I wanted to become a footballer at first. I am a left footer and I was hoping I would become a football star one day, but the dream died.

I wanted to become a lawyer but my dad insisted I should be a doctor, so I went to science class, but I didn’t want to be a doctor anyway but I felt I should just go to the university first and get my degrees so I can later come back and do music. But by the time I got an admission I had already done an album. When the video came out, I couldn’t stay in school because people were asking me to buy things for them, not knowing I didn’t have money.

So, this got me thinking and I felt I should make a decision because I was like if music can make me this popular and make people come to me for money, why can’t I push further? So, I started skipping classes before I finally opted out of school to face my music career.

What was your father’s response to this?
His reaction wasn’t nice. I was engaged in a 2-hour hot argument with him before he gave in. I happened to be the only child of my parents, so I had little power whenever it comes to choosing whatever I want. I got very stubborn and we fought for weeks and we later reached a compromise where I agreed to go back to school, but it wasn’t easy going back because I had been skipping classes and had piled up some carry-overs.

What gave you the conviction at that time that you would make it big in music?
I just didn’t know, but I realised this is what I wanted and I also knew it was futile going back to school. As God would have it, I got my break between 2008 and 2010. First, I had a video that I thought would blow but didn’t, I wasn’t getting any shows but the big break came in the first quarter of 2010 when I got a call from Denrele, this changed everything. Denrele introduced me to MI and right there, the story changed.

You have a wave- making song, Ara, did you envisage that the song would be this popular?
I got a beat from a friend and Jesse already did a song and someone came and said he had a beat. I liked the beat and I felt I should record it and write to it, but everyday when I played it, I just couldn’t sing to it. This went on for two weeks and I just couldn’t come up with anything. But one afternoon, after I ate a big bowl of pounded yam and Ogufe, I realised how good life is and that there is nothing compared to success.

So, that came into my mind and for those who know the Ara song, they will realise that the chorus is from an old folk song that I tried to re-jig to a term that If I had money, I would do wonders, and I started singing it. I’m grateful the inspiration came at that time and I also tried to picture having some young men and ladies sitting together and the song just came in. It’s a song for everybody that wants to do well, a song for hustlers and people waiting on God for success

As a singer and songwriter, where do you draw inspirations?
From things around me, things that shake me, my friends, from who I am and where I was coming from, from people I meet everyday.

Knowing you are Yoruba and the rest of the Chocolate City boys are from the North, what’s the experience living and working together?
It’s cool. Yes MI and Jesse are from Taraba, Ice Prince is from Jos, but we see ourselves as brothers, we are people binded by common goals. It’s great working with them, especially when we are working in the studio together and everybody gets to contribute and a song is made. It’s much easy for me having them because there is no competition and we all depend on each other.

Who is your closest friend among them?
Jesse Jagz.

What’s your greatest musical influence?
I have been listening to a lot of techno which I often work with, I think it’s not common here in Nigeria. There is also a lot of fuji and juju music in my song as well as R n B.

Tell us about your childhood?
It was just myself, mum and dad, occasionally somebody would come and stay with us. I grew up in a face-me-face-you house in Okokomaiko, It was quite an experience! We had different kids then, some silverspoon kids and others like me, who our parents strive to get us into school, it was a mixed environment where you have the right to choose whatever you want to be and this helped me a lot while growing up.

Judging from where you came from and where you are, how do you manage this?
I think it’s a part of my job and I’m very grateful to God for the chance He gave me. Coming from that background changed my perception about things but I’ve not changed really, I’m still my old self.hat about the friends you grew up with?

I was at the Okokomaiko street gig in December. I’ve been doing street jams there for free every December. I still hang out with my old friends, we still do the same thing and drink the same alcohol.

The combination of fame and money attract women, how do you handle this?
I love and appreciate women and children, they don’t hide how they feel. I love my female fans a lot.
Challenges?
To improve on what I do and give my fans something new everytime.

At home with Brymo, what do you like doing?
I play slow songs and dance songs, I play PS3 a lot, I like Ibo soups, my mother cooks the best egusi In the world and I eat a lot of eba and other swallow foods.

If you are not listening to any chocolate City songs what songs do you listen to?
I probably won’t listen to our songs because it’s something I was Involved In Its production, so It will be somehow difficult for me to enjoy. I listen to Tuface a lot, he Is the man, Wande Coal, Davido too has a lot of energy, Waje and any of Femi and Seun Kuti.