Chidubem Ikebuego has featured as back-up singer to top international and Nigerian artistes like – Ron Kenoly, Donnie McClurkin, Onyeka Onwenu, D’banj, Ashenu and Xtreme Cool. She has finally pitched her tent with Sammie Okposo’s band. Ikebuego’s voice is not only captivating but it takes her listeners to the spiritual realm as she sings. In this interview, she talks about her journey into music, her stint in secular music working with D’banj, and the ordeals she experienced while singing at nightclubs. Excerpts…

How did you venture into singing?

I started singing in church at age 12. A friend of mine was into music and I used to tell her I wanted to do something outside the church. I wanted to go into music fully and I knew I had to go through people, because I was quite young. On one or two occasions she called me to perform for audiences, but the songs were mainly secular, and I kept telling her that my desire was to sing gospel songs. But she would tell me that all songs were the same – insisting that I didn’t have sing only gospel songs because we needed to earn a living. One day, she told me about a group of musicians from London who wanted to set up a band and release an album in Nigeria. When we got to the place, she didn’t even know it was D’banj. That was the first time I met him. He was just coming into the Nigerian market and not yet popular. I worked with D’banj for two years as a back-up singer. After that I met Xtreme Cool and worked with them for another two years. I also worked with Ashonye and Onyeka Onwenu doing a few studio jobs and soundtracks for movies. Later I joined Sammie Okposo’s band; then Ron Kenoly came to Nigeria and I was part of the back-up team. I also worked with Donnie McCluckin, who didn’t come with his band for a thanksgiving service at Aso Rock Villa. I was member of the group that sang the campaign song for President Goodluck Jonathan and worked with Neighbour-to-Neighbour.

What was it like singing with D’Banj and others?

It wasn’t easy, of course. I didn’t express myself like I would love to. I was just doing it as business. It was really something different from the church setting. Each time the camera focused on me while I was singing, I tried to hide my face. I was scared that my pastor would see me on television. I didn’t have fulfillment doing secular songs. I recorded some secular song, but discarded them later. I was just uncomfortable with secular songs. I felt it wasn’t what I should be singing. Every time I went out to do secular songs I didn’t get fulfillment, I felt ashamed. You are not supposed to be ashamed of what you do.

In nightclubs and hotels young beautiful ladies come with their band to sing at weekends. Have you ever done that?

Yes, I forgot to tell you about that. I worked at Soul Lounge in Lekki and Marquis Restaurant. The funny thing is that I cannot recall the lyrics of the songs I sang those days – I just had no attachment to them and there was no passion.

When would you say was your turning point in gospel music?

I was still in the church even while I was singing with D’banj. I made every effort to hide it from my pastor. If he had known I am sure he would have said, ‘so you sing in clubs and still sing on the pulpit?’ I had to hide it from them. When I started singing with Sammie Okposo full time, he said that I should make-up mind where I wanted to be, that it was okay for me to join a gospel band; he said that I could not perform secular songs in the band and then come back to sing gospel songs. It was a challenge for me because I knew I would find it hard to express myself well in secular songs. Gospel songs have a way of allowing me to express myself vocally and emotionally.

Did you attend music school?

No, I did not. People used to ask me where they could go for voice-training, and I would just advise them to take honey and warm water. I never trained my voice, I never went to any music school, it’s just a gift and that is the reason I feel I should be singing gospel. God gave me this voice, some people do voice training, go to music schools, but I never did.

Tell us about your childhood.

I was born in Lagos and grew up in Surulere, Lagos.

Can you sing in Yoruba, too?

I don’t know what to say. My Yoruba is not strong. I don’t know why. I’m just learning how to speak the language; if I speak Yoruba you’ll definitely know I am not Yoruba. I grew up in Lagos, it’s not that I grew up in Ikoyi or VGC; I don’t know what happened to me. In secondary school my schoolmates make mockery of me whenever I spoke Yoruba, because it was not fluent.

You look more like a Nollywood actress. Why did you choose singing instead of acting?

When I was a child I noticed that I knew how to sing any advert on television. We didn’t even have TV or radio in my house, but it got to a point that any song I listened to I picked up immediately. Sometimes my mother would scream, ‘where did you get these songs from, there is no radio, no TV in this house!’ While in primary school, when washing plates at home I would be singing out loud and people commended me a lot. One day my father sat me down and told me that one day I would be a great singer. He was very supportive of me, but then I never thought of music as a career. When I started, my mother was against it. After secondary school I used to go to WINIS in Surulere, which is the rendezvous for actors and actresses then. We got one or two Waka pass roles, but my mother disapproved and reported me to my pastor’s wife. That was how my dream for acting died. All the while, I was singing in the church. I started singing when I was 12 years. I was never in the children’s choir because of my voice. We were Anglicans; the husband of my mother’s younger sister is a pastor in a Pentecostal church. Once in a while we worshipped there. One day, they asked me to sing a special number; when I was done everybody was screaming that a young girl had this kind of voice. Then I joined the adult choir and began singing solo. Like Whitney Houston, I nurtured my talent in church.

Still have you given acting another shot?

I would love to. Naturally, I have a way of making people laugh. People tell me so too. My cousin, Nkem Ike, is an actress and I tell her I want to act, but she tells me to come when I’m serious. But truly, music is choking that desire because I don’t have the time. Maybe when I’m my own boss I would think seriously about acting. I work with Sammie full time and our rehearsals are as if we are in a concert. We sing like we are actually singing to a crowd. That is the training I get. We have more singers now. Then, we were three singers. When we sing people ask if we came with a backing track? We tell them no, just the three of us. People don’t believe it’s just three people singing. It’s part of the training.

What’s your vision?

I know a lot of people have said this, but somehow, it hasn’t been possible for us here. I’m saying this with all confidence. I am giving myself between now and five years to win the Grammy Award by God’s grace. I don’t want to restrict myself to the Nigerian market. It won’t stop me from doing our local songs like ikwokrikwo. I want to do a song a Yoruba or Hausa man would listen to and say this is good. I don’t want to target just the church. I want to be able to reach people out there, people who don’t go to church, but will have a reason to come closer to God. Most of my songs are about hope. If you listen to my songs, I have two singles out now and my songs are more of hope and being grateful to God. At a point in life it was really tough for me; we didn’t eat until my father came home between 10 and 11 p.m. I wish my father is alive to see what I have become now and I know God is taking me to places. I thank God that people are really embracing music now – not like in the past when musicians were seen as irresponsible people.

What’s your mum’s attitude to your music career now?

She is very excited. She would tell people that ‘ifu kwara nwam na tv’, meaning: did you see my daughter on tv? People would call her and say, ‘Mama Ify, we saw your daughter on tv. When I wanted to do secular music she was very angry with me. But the story has changed now; she has really embraced what I do. So far, it’s been great.

Do you intend having your own band?

Definitely, I will. I’m just coming out solo. It won’t really take anything to have my band, it’s just to reach out to one or two people, form a band, rehearse and all that. Because I’m just starting, getting a band now would be a hand full. It would be too much for me. I don’t want anything to weigh me down. Let me start small.

What does fashion mean to you?

I love fashion a lot. When I was growing up, I was always in front of the mirror dancing. My mother would yell at me, “Are you an ogbanje? Why are you always in front of the mirror?” I don’t have any particular trend of dressing. For some months now I have been wearing all kinds of braids; it depends on my mood and how I feel. Last year my hair was low. I cut my hair and people liked it. Tomorrow I might decide to cut it again or change the colour of my hair. I just love fashion.

Are you in any relationship now?

No. I’m not in any relationship now. I’m single.

What is your ideal man like?

My ideal man is one who understands me and my vision and embraces God; he must be a principled and godly-man.
http://africzone.com/like-whitney-houston-i-nurtured-my-talent-in-church-dubem-gospel-artiste/