Weird MC, born Adesola Adesimbo Idowu, is one female rapper in Nigeria who dazzles on stage.
She was one of the artistes who closed this year’s edition of the annual musical concert, tagged “Felabration” which held penultimate Sunday at the New African Shrine. Showtime Celebrity cornered her. She shares the story of how she dumped basketball for music.
From where do you derive the strength you exhibit on stage?
Every human being has a unique gift from God. At the beginning, it was a gift I didn’t understand. My mother told me that as a little girl, I was restless, energetic and active. My father, at a point, was worried about me.
But after awhile, some of my aunties intervened and allayed his fears as they got him to understand that I would be energetic and active when I grew up.
Not knowing that later in my life, I would go into music. It’s one special thing that has really made my brand stand out.
Any time I hit the international stage or perform anywhere in Nigeria, the first thing people always talk about is the energy I display on stage. They always wonder where I derive my energy from. I thank God for the gift.
At what age did you realize you had that gift?
I started appreciating the gift when I was 14-15years. I was playing football as well as basket ball. I was also into athletics. In fact, I realized that each time, we were running on the pitch, I would run faster than my opponents.
I did hundred meters, two hundred meters, high jump and long jump. That was when I realized that the gift was something special that I should pay more attention to.
Were you doing music by the side?
Then, I wanted to be a rapper. I like rap music but I was not certain whether I would do music professionally. My main focus was actually basketball. I wanted to play basketball.
But along the line, some of my friends advised me against the choice. They criticized the way basketball players are treated in the country. They suggested, however, that I should travel to America, if I must pursue a career in basket ball. I wanted to embrace the idea as I have a British Passport. I was born in London, I could easily travel to America from London.
Again, I caught the music bug. It was the case of me choosing between music and basketball. Later, I went for music because I was more attracted to it than playing basket ball.
I love the idea of going on stage, performing to people and influencing them with my lyrics on stage. I started to enjoy it, and later, concluded I wanted to do music professionally.
What was the experience like the first time you stormed the studio to record your songs?
It was frustrating as well as limiting. I’m somebody who like space, I am very energetic. Standing in a vocal butt to do my vocal, I felt restless. But I had to put the music out for the people to consume it.
So, I did some songs like “Allen Avenue” and later went on stage. I saw how the song was massively received by my fans.
Was your debut album, Allen Avenue, appreciated beyond your imagination?
It was shocking. I got the sign that Allen Avenue was going to be a special album after I finished recording the album. I took it to the Afro beat King, Fela to listen to.
The reason I took it to him was because I sampled one of his evergreen songs, Look and Laugh as part of the music I put together for the single.
I wanted to obtain permission from him, but when he heard the song, he was impressed that I have done something different. According to him, no woman in Africa has ever used Afro beat music to do rap, such that it sounded so marketable.
He gave me his blessing and said that he was in support of my career in music. But the mistake I made was that we had shot the music video before I went to see him.
I wished that we hadn’t done that otherwise, I would have begged him to feature in the video. That was the beginning of a journey for me to know that Allen Avenue was going to be a special single. The single was a bang.
They said that before I came out with Allen Avenu
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