Dagrin- I Was A Dullard - Celebrities - Nairaland
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| Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by mamagee3(f): 9:44pm On May 23, 2010 |
Wave-making indigenous lyricist, Olaitan Oladapo Olamipekun, popularly known as Da Grin, shocked industry pundits this past year as his album C.E.O emerged as one of the best sellers. The success of the album can be linked to his lewd lyrics, which he used to describe his life which had been full of misery, and how he overcame poverty to become a popular musician. He spoke with Hazeez Balogun. You’ve registered yourself as one of the wave-making indigenous lyricists in the country. It must have been difficult, looking at your background. Well, it wasn’t easy at all. Like you know, I had dropped an album before this latest one titled The CEO, but I didn’t really get the audience then. I have also done a couple of collabos before releasing the album, trying to convince people that we can actually get funky without rapping in English. In believe that rapping in Yoruba Language is the best way I can share my feelings with the people. I can’t do better than America ’s 50 Cent when it comes to English and he also cannot do better than me here when it comes to dialect. When did you start doing this indigenous rap? Professionally, I started six years ago. What were you doing before then? I have been doing music, but not professionally as I said earlier. About six years ago, I tried to do my National Diploma, but it wasn’t possible. I really had problems with my education and music was also taking my time, but nobody gave me audience then, though the story has changed now. What were the problems you had with your education? I had problems combining schooling with my music; you want to read for your exams and at the same time you have some rap punch lines in your head. So, it was a big challenge. I still want to go to school now but the music thing is over shadowing the move. Are you sure it has nothing to do with confraternity? No! When I finished my O’level, my parents did not even have money to send me to school. Even now that I have money to sponsor myself, the music thing is taking a whole lot of time. I only went to a computer school after my O’level. I actually tried JAMB like two times but it didn’t just work. You know that in those days, you had to write the exam in a special centre to pass. Now that you’ve achieved fame and money, any plan to further your education? May be in the next one or two years. But at the moment, my music career comes first. Where do you get our inspiration from? In every positive thing you do in life, the inspiration comes from God. Aside this, I get my inspiration basically from the streets. If you listen to my songs, I don’t really sing about parties. I will only tell you the bad sides of me. So, that gives you an idea that my inspiration comes from things around me; the hustle and bustle, and the way people move on with their lives. I like to read people’s minds and make music out of it. Your inability to go to school, does not have any influence in your music? Well, I will say yes. Only few artistes have survived combining music with education. I won’t say I’m a drop-out because I’ve never gained admission into any institution, but we have a lot of drop-outs in the industry, though I won’t mention their names, Meanwhile, if you look at those that graduated, you will discover that they became popular after schooling. For instance, P-Square began to be popular when they were about to finish their programmes from the university. What challenge does the presence of other indigenous lyricists in the industry pose to you, and where do you place yourself among them? The only challenge I face is the fact that many people believe that Yoruba is a local language. Let me use Lagos as an example, in a place like Ajah, we have the upper class people, when you come to Surulere, you will see the middle class, while in other areas like Agege, Mushin, Alagbado, it is a different class of people. And as an artiste, you must carry all these people along with your music. The problem some of my colleagues that rap in Yoruba have is their delivery. I do my own rap in such a way that it can compete favourably with those rendered in English Language. The only different there is that I do my own in Yoruba. The challene is that it has not been easy to rap in Yoruba and convince people. So, where do you see yourself among others who do your brand of music? You know that in everything you do, you always want to be the best. So, I see myself as the best. I’m not saying others should look up to me, but right now, I think I’m the best. I have also been working harder so that nobody will come tomorrow and outshine. On daily basis, I try to improve on all areas in order to remain at the top of the game. So for how long do you intend to remain at the top of the game? I intend to be at the top of the game for as long as God permits me. I have released an album this year, and by the time I release another one next year, people should be able to predict how far I can go. Nigerians don’t really fancy rap music. Do you intend to blend yours with dancehall so that the acceptability can be wider? The track four of my latest album, Kondo (Magic Stick), is a dance track, and that is actually what people are feeling right now. Ironically, that was the song I didn’t really like while compiling the album. So, with this development, I will try and do more commercial songs in my subsequent album. But that does not mean my rap fans will not get what they want. Being a Yoruba lyricist, don’t you think your fan base will be restricted to the western part of Nigeria alone? Music is no longer all about language. You can sing in Yoruba, Efik, Hausa or whatever, but like I said earlier, your delivery and production will make the difference. I performed in virtually all parts of the country and the response I get from the audience is overwhelming. How will you rate rap music in Nigeria ? It’s not up to the standard, but I believe that with time, we will get there. Nigerians just need to keep giving us their supports. Do you have any role model in the industry? My mentor is Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Though I never met him before he died, he is my mentor. Aside that, I don’t have any role model in Nigeria . But when you listen to my music, you will know that I like 50 Cent. Now that you have fame and money, have you been treating your female fans with the ‘magic stick’? You see, one thing about female fans is that some will like you because of what you are doing, and some are very stubborn to the extent that until you give them what they want, they won’t let you rest. The thing is, you can’t satisfy all of the, so they have to be disciplined. Any memorable encounter with a female fan? There was this particular day that I went to the Galleria to get some stuff, so as I was about entering my car to leave, one beautiful lady came shouting my name. She was so excited that she threw her phone away while trying to hug me. At the end of the day, she turned out to be my very good friend, but it is shocking that instead of being my fan, I turned to be her fan. I was looking for her up and down. What I have learnt is that you just have to be careful with these babes. Who is the lady in your life? Nobody at the moment. I’m married to my music, so I don’t have the spirit of love at the moment. Do you believe in love? Like I always say, when it is time for me to get married, I will pray to God to give me the spirit to love because I don’t believe in it. Have you been jilted by a lady before? Yes, about two times. You know that these ladies, they will never love you when you don’t have money… I don’t even want to talk about them. What was your childhood like? I’m a native of Owu, Abeokuta in Ogun State . I grew up in different parts of Lagos . I grew up in Mushin, then later moved to areas like Alagbado, Itire, Egbeda, Ipaja, Meiran, Sango, Lagos Island and now I’m in Surulere. My childhood was tough and rough because there was no money. I’ve been a hustler for a long time. But I thank God for His mercies now. Which schools did you attend? I attended Meiran Primary School . I didn’t know anything then. There was nothing upstairs. I was a dullard then. So, when I was in primary 4, my parents took me to Good Shepherd School where I was in a special class for a year before being sent back to primary one. It was at this point that I started doing well academically. I was later chased from the school because my parents could not afford the fee. From there, I went to Roseville where I concluded my primary education. I proceeded to Meiran Community High School and later to Egbado High School , Ilaro for my secondary school. I was a very stubborn boy then, but everything is cool now. http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37639:i-was-a-dullard--da-grin&catid=51:entertainment&Itemid=693 |
| Re: Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by koolaid23: 2:06pm On May 24, 2010 |
wtf  he is a dullard, so whatwe already poured all the liquor we got for him, so what else do u want us to do?? |
| Re: Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by daffur: 8:42pm On May 24, 2010 |
You want to become moderator overnite abi. Create more threads for yourself to mod. If possible l will ask oga Seun to create a Mugu Gee section so that u can move all your threads there as a mod. |
| Re: Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by UnbanME(m): 4:53pm On May 25, 2010 |
^^^^  |
| Re: Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by nellaluv(f): 8:06pm On May 25, 2010 |
Lets hear your thoughts, enter here=> https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-451554.0.html |
| Re: Dagrin- I Was A Dullard by Nobody: 9:02pm On May 26, 2010 |
daffur: you can't blame her. She heard the name recently and Google disappointed her with her mismatched keywords by bringing up old news. Hence, this copy and post above. |
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