As 2Face prepares for the third installation of Buckwyld N Breathless (which will double as the release of his fifth album Away & Beyond), the good people at Platonique PR made certain that I had a chat with him. Now the man has lived in the public eye for the past fifteen years so it would be difficult to get a new perspective out of him right? Wrong! I am the Bayo Omisore and I do this.
Read excerpts of the interview below.


After African Queen, do you feel any pressure by the fact that most people internationally recognize you best for work you did in 2004? Do you feel any pressure when you go into a studio with say a Mary J. Blige or an Akon or maybe a Wyclef?
Yeah I do. I’ve come out with a bunch of music since then that has been marginally successful within Africa. But they’ve not been as popular as African Queen internationally. (Editor’s note: Incredible that after all this success, 2Face still feels pressure. He is human after all.)
That being the case, have you tried to make a specific attempt to make music that can go out there the same way African Queen did?
Yes I have but maybe it didn’t pan out the way we planned. (Editor’s note: If you paid any attention to the original The Unstoppable album, you would remember the song Appreciate It in which he sang in French to reach other non-English speaking parts of Africa and the world.)
You recorded quite a lot of songs with Femi Ojetunde. (Editor’s note: You might not know Femi. But if you ever liked or vibed to TQ’s 1998 breakthrough hit single Westside, then you’ve definitely come into contact with the man also known as Femdouble. His impressive resume also boasts of the name of the late great 2Pac Shakur. There! Now you know. Back to 2Face.)
Is there any particular reason why you chose to work with him?
The chemistry between myself and Femi is huge. In fact it is massive. If you listen to the songs we did, you’ll identify that the chemistry is wonderful. He’s a mature producer and his sounds are very clean.
I want to believe there was chemistry between yourself and Nelson Brown, OJB and J. Sleek. I apparently am not a musician but what happens between an artiste and a producer they have chemistry with? Does the chemistry just die or do they go in search of the chemistry elsewhere?
I won’t say the chemistry dies. For me, over the years I’ve not been stuck with any one producer. I work with a lot of people. Did you know that OJB still produced some of the tracks from the last album? As I go on I still need fresh sounds that can be provided by other people. I won’t record an entire album with just one producer because I hear other sounds from other producers whose work I like.
I asked you a question some three years back when I had the opportunity to speak with you. I noticed that in a lot of your songs you talk about love and how you’re looking to find true love. I realized it’s a constant search for love. So are you there now? (Editor’s note: re Annie and the February 14 engagement.) What will that do to your songwriting?
(Editor’s note: 2Face smiles wistfully) It will not do anything to my song writing. I mean if I have a concept about someone that’s searching for love, I’ll be creative about it and still write it. It doesn’t necessarily have to relate to me. It’s the creativity in music. Most of the things we sing about don’t always have anything to do with our lives. I’m definitely still going to write songs about love.
That said, I have a theory. And you might not have realized it, but when I’m done you’ll understand where I’m headed.
For your last album, you recorded a song titled Raindrops. More recently, you’ve recorded Dancing In The Rain and the lead single Rainbow. Now if you listen closely, Raindrops reveals you were in a lot of pain as you had issues you were dealing with. In Dancing In The Rain, you had decided to live your life and make sense of the whole situation but you were soaked cause it was actually raining. Then Rainbow will take us to the Bible after the flood. God sent the rainbow as a promise. So does this imply that you’ve reached your bus stop? I know you didn’t say this but do you agree with this theory?
(Editor’s note: 2Face was very impressed at this point. Cos it had never occurred to him before. I know, I know. Sometimes, even I shock myself. The sheer genius!) Wow! You are a very very brilliant person. In terms of Rainbow, that is the breakdown for me. I’ve been through it all and I feel it now. That’s why I say you’re my Rainbow. I actually like your analysis. (Editor’s note: Thank you. I like it too!)
The whole 2Face affair started with African Queen for a lot of people. In the video of that song you revealed Annie as your love interest. Eight years later you are engaged to her. Are we going to hear an African Queen Part 2?
Ooh African Queen Part 2? Well let’s keep our fingers crossed, it might happen.
Going to the other 2Face. There seems to be 2Face the businessman with Hypertek signing Dammy Krane and Rocksteady. Rocksteady has been somewhere around the picture for some time so wh....

read more: http://questionmarkmag.com/2012/04/the-bayo-omisore-interview-2face-speaks-on-new-album-concert-politics-songs-about-searching-for-love-after-engagement/