[size=14pt]I disguise like woman in purdah to walk Lagos streets – Obesere [/size]
NKECHI CHIMA-ONYELE

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Many years ago, he was just a struggling musician. But today, with 33 albums to his credit, fuji star Abass Akande Obesere has surely come a long way. Only recently, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola appointed him an environmental ambassador, a rare honour the musician so much appreciated.


[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/nov/14/sun/obesere-suit[1].gif[/img]
Obesere



http://odili.net/news/source/2010/nov/14/506.html

In this encounter with Blockbuster, Obesere narrates the story of his struggling days, rise to stardom, connection with former president Ibrahim Babangida, and how he has become a prisoner of fame. Enjoy:

Beginning

I never knew I was going to be a musician even though I had been playing music since my primary school days. It was after getting into secondary school that I realized that I couldn’t do without music. I tried to learn some trades like printing, buying and selling of electronics and even went into boxing but all these did not work out for me.

Music, my destiny

My parents never encouraged me to go into music despite being from a home of musicians. My dad believed so much in education he wanted all his children to be graduates. But I was much more into music than taking a look at education. Though, I tried so much to go to school and my parents also did their best to make sure I was educated, it soon dawned on me that there was no way I could delay my destiny, which is music.

Outcast

My parents threw me out of the house because I insisted on playing music. They realized that they couldn’t stop me from following my heart desires so they sent me out of the house so as to break my resolve but it failed. Rather than being dejected, I took charge of my dream. I moved in with a friend who later relocated and left the apartment for me. I was paying N30 as house rent monthly. Whenever I came back from school, I had to go to where I was learning a trade. It was rough fending for myself but I was making some money to make ends meet and was able to save one naira daily, and at the end of the month, I had N30 which I gave to the landlord as rent. Those days were rough but I was determined.

The break

I did not really go to anybody to learn music. For me, music is inborn; it’s a gift from God. If you don’t have the talent, there’s no way you will do it well. I remember that then, I did not have money to sponsor myself but a musician, Alhaji Mustapha Aremu Arisejafe, who played shows every Friday at Ebute Metta, Lagos, gave me a chance to be heard. That was the beginning of my journey to fame and stardom. One day, I went to hang out where he played. Incidentally, one of his back-up singers was absent. He then asked me to stand in for him. After backing him for 30 minutes, he handed over the microphone to me and I started singing. Within a short while, people loved my music and when he came back for the mic, the crowd insisted I should play on. After that day, he took me around to wherever he went and I was beginning to get my fan base. But he soon had issues with some promoters, so he went on strike. While the strike lasted, the band boys and I organised ourselves into a group and started playing. However, when Alhaji settled with the promoters and called off his strike, he called all the boys back into the band. But rather than go back to Alhaji, I chose to start my own band. I put my own band together and went to Alhaji for his blessings which I got. I was 23 years old at the time.

Mum’s blessing

Within a short while, I was playing shows in the neighbourhood and appearing on television. Soon, word began to spread that a new star was born, and within a short while, word reached my parents that I was the new music star. My parents didn’t have a choice but to accept me. It happened that my mother’s friends who had been seeing me on TV went to meet her and said, ‘please, give this boy your blessings. People like his music and remember, he comes from a home of musicians.’ So, one day, my mum came to my house at Ebute Metta unexpectedly and when we saw each other, we started crying. I ran into her arms and embraced her. It was a tearful reunion. She gave me her blessings and prayed for me. To this day I am still enjoying her blessings. I have released 33 albums to date.

Life as teetotaler

I don’t drink and I don’t smoke. I don’t take Indian hemp either. We all have our ways of getting inspiration. I don’t need anything to perform or write my songs. Inspiration comes to me very naturally and it’s God’s gift. That’s why I am a different fellow entirely. If I get on stage now, you’d be shocked because I am like a lion on stage. But whoever takes anything before going on stage probably likes it that way and I don’t have anything against them. But you don’t really need to take anything as long as you know what you’re doing. It’s like saying that because I am a lawyer I should smoke Indian hemp before going to court. I am using this opportunity to advise young people that they don’t need any stimulant to be entertainers.

puskin:

33 albums. . . . . . . . . . . .WTF!!!!!!. N[b]a only instrumentals dey inside the album[/b]??

RoflmaoPIMP

Lwkmd!!I wonder o,33?omo rapala ti gba ijoba

African fuji jazy.