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n this exclusive, no-holds-barred interview, Tuface bares his beautiful music soul and opens up on many issues, including his controversial relationship with women and his legacy as a music icon, like he has never done before.

SUI: Let’s talk about the Nigerian music industry. How much has it grown?

Tuface: The industry is ripe, a lot of things are happening, many people are getting involved now, and many are interested in artist management now than some years ago. We have more entertainment lawyers, more promoters, and more people that are interested in music business now than some years ago. So the industry is growing. The quality of music and videos and the sound have tremendously improved. The talent has always been there, but these days you find that it is more of packaging than talent. Although, even with talent, you still need to package the product, but it is more of packaging now. I listen to a lot of music these days and you find that it just a few of the artistes today who actually have talent for music, majority is just packaging. But the thing is, entertainment is about entertainment, you know, it’s allowed. Understand what I’m saying?

SUI: The entertainment industry in Nigeria is still evolving and growing in spite of issues like piracy. How has this affected you as an artiste?

Tuface: That is the Nigerian thing. To be honest with you, corruption is the reason why piracy is still a major issue in Nigeria, because if radio stations are not paying royalties, because they run to a government agent and they give them some sort of backing, you can’t shut them down, you can’t do anything about it, because the government is not taking it serious.

If the government knows that these artistes have to pay taxes and they are going to make a lot of money from collecting these taxes, then they could decide to create an avenue where these artistes will make big money and so pay them big taxes, and it goes round like that. If the government is serious, they would make effective laws and enforce it. They would make sure music pays and it will happen but because of corruption, this doesn’t happen. If police see person dey sell pirated CDs, dey no dey look am like crime. He go dey look as, why you just wan collect food from that boy hand, he doesn’t even know it’s a crime, na punishable offence, so it’s serious. The Nigerian government doesn’t take entertainment seriously, it’s not by dashing artistes or anybody money or by you know… but by actually saying, ‘this industry wetin be the thing wey they need to do to regulate am make e tight, so that it can actually be more productive
Piracy is happening on a massive scale in Nigeria because the law enforcement, the people that are supposed to protect this intellectual property, don’t even see it as a crime. But the government is more serious about dealing with people who vandalise oil pipeline.

Talking about getting royalties from the air play of our songs, we now have collecting societies in Nigeria, like the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON). But the people who are supposed to pay up for these people to work are not paying up, so what are they going to give you? Are they going to remove money from their pocket to give to you? COSON just started, at least they are trying to muscle NCCA and the other bodies that should make all these (royalties) laws work. A few of the Radio and TV stations have actually said they are going to pay, but it should not just be a few, it should be everybody. Only 1% of the people who are supposed to pay are presently complying

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SUI: You don’t see yourself as a player?

Tuface: If I were a player, they wouldn’t have caught me like that (General laughter)

SUI: How challenging is the role of being a father to your kids?

Tuface: It’s not easy. Sometimes, it is painful, especially when you don’t get to see them as often as you would wish to because of work. Today I’m here, tomorrow, I’m there, sometimes for weeks, months; plus the fact that they have different moms… I didn’t plan for it this way, but it happened and I have accepted it, no shaking. My plan was to have a wife and then have children. Something happened along the line, but I didn’t run away from it.

 SUI: But you seem happy with your career, especially as you discovered your talent early in life. Would you encourage your kids to follow in your footsteps career wise?

Tuface: Yes, definitely I will. One already asked me that. If I see that they exhibit any talent, I will definitely encourage them in that direction. I’m not the guy who will tell his son or daughter that you must study this or that. If I see that they actually have genuine talent for it, I will definitely encourage them. If it is music, I’ve been there and still there, it would even be easy for me to be their best adviser.

SUI: How do you feel when you travel out and see how many people actually know your music?

Tuface: It feels good and makes you realise that your work is not in vain. It’s every artiste’s joy to see people actually feel what they do, to know that you actually get results for the whole creative process