Why did you choose entertainment?

That would probably come from my school days in the United States ; having graduated with a first degree in Business Administration, Kenny and I sat down and felt we should not put all our eggs in one basket.

We decided to leave our options open. We then went to study Mass Communication for our Master's Degree, majoring in Radio and Television Production at Southern University in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . From there, we moved to Hollywood in California .

When you live in Hollywood everything about you is showbiz, from actors to models. That was where the idea crept in between 1985 to 1987.

Was it as as a result of unrealized dreams?

I have quite a few things I wanted to do, and I have done most of them. I had always wanted to teach, which I did; I taught for seven years.

I was a teacher at all the levels: primary, secondary and in the University.

From there, I went on to a management job in a finance company called, Thrifty Corporation. I got bored after a while and felt, why not come to Nigeria for a change.

How did you guys meet?

We met in one of our classes in school. It was natural as we were two strangers thousands of miles away in a foreign land, and we kept meeting in classes and hooked up.

Initial discussions revealed that we grew up not too far from each other.

We had similar friends, though our paths never crossed, until we met in school in America .

What was the attraction?

He is just a funny person to be around with, he is a hard worker and, like I said, when you are abroad, it is easier for you to stick with your likes, the people who understand your language and mannerism.

We stuck together and somehow, our friendship just panned out.

We prefer to be around each other.

Any personal clash so far?

Of course, but we never let anything degenerate to the level of a third party involvement in our affairs. To be honest, we have never said shut up to each other.

He has an idea of what I like and don't like, so, we don't let anything go beyond that.

If one person is feeling a little bit aggravated, we walk away and might not talk for an hour or two, but we have not done that for a day without speaking to each other.

Would you say the entertainment scene is getting better?

Of course it is getting better. Looking back to five years ago, nobody heard about Tuface, Tony Tetuila, Idris Abdukareem, Faze and many others.

The Nigeria entertainment scene was dominated by the likes of Puff Daddy, Tupac Shakur and so on then, but all that has changed now.

Thanks to Kennis Music?

To be honest, we had a change of heart to entertainment. When we first got to Nigeria , we were propagating American music and culture.

We were the ones shouting Tupac, Halloween and Valentine days to people. At a point, we just felt that having gone to the Grammys and seen how the Americans always push their things - food, culture and language - they won't change their clothes, food or language for anything.

We just felt, as the biggest black nation in the world, let's do something else. The Michael Jackson we have been pushing here has never called to say thank you.

We felt like pushing our own culture and talents, and they were always coming to us during our time at Ray Power, but as at that time, we did not have the capital and time to dedicate to them but eventually, we were able to make time and we started out with one or two artistes and within a short time, it blossomed.

But the bottom line is that when we started, we did not aim at making money out of it. We saw it as a passion, something we enjoy and it came from our days of living in Hollywood .

We saw our artistes enjoy what they do, and it somehow, radiates to people around them and makes them appreciate what we do.

We felt like if we can do 60 -80 per cent of that in Nigeria , we could turn things around and started the process with that vision and, thank God, we are somewhere today.

Who moves the ideas among the both of you?

I really can't put a finger to it to be honest with you.

There are instances and things that we do, where I have a laid back position and Kenny might be pulling it all the way and pushing it and eventually, we both push it and sometimes the roles are reversed.

That is where I think our strength lies in, we both understand ourselves.

Who has the management skills and who is artistic?

To be honest I can't say. We do just about everything together; we just get the job done and don't talk about position and duties.

What does Kennis Music looks out for in an artiste?

Passion! Above all things. An artiste must be passionate about what he does. Such an artiste must have an attitude to succeed.

We have been told Tuface is not the best singer in Nigeria , but he has that passion.

We look out for artistes who know what they want to do, whether they are making money from it or not. Such an artiste would not let you down, if you invest in him.

That is what we look out for in an artiste. Of course talent helps, but you must be passionate about what you do.

Many people come to us artistes, architects, doctors and lawyers and say that they have this hobby, once I hear that word, hobby, it just turns me off.

You should know what you want to do; it shouldn't be something on the side. Like a footballer, it's either you are a footballer, or you are not. 

But it seems that Kennis Music signs on made stars.

I beg to differ on that. I have heard that several times, and need to correct that impression. That is not true. Go through the list of Kennis Music artistes, who knew Idris Abdulkareem, Tony Tetuila, Wale Thompson, Paul Play Dairo until we signed them.

You get to a certain level you have to start understanding yourself. I can't sit down now and tell you that I have all the time to groom any artiste anymore.

We have paid our dues and you have to graduate to a certain level.

But why did some of your passionate artistes leave your label at the peak of their career?

My answer to that, and I am not speaking for anybody, is that fame and fortune are two of the hardest things to manage in the world.

You wake up overnight and you are famous, you that used to be an unknown person three months ago, and then you mount a stage, thirty thousand people are screaming your name, you have two, three, or four million Naira in your account, you become a star suddenly and it goes into your head and becomes hard to manage.

You tend not to listen to those who have been advising you before your entrance into fame. You don't want to eat in the same place that you used to eat; you start acting like a superstar and no longer listen to any body again.

And, this is not peculiar to Nigerians alone, but, they are adults for crying out loud, and we are business men. At a point in time, we have to level up and say, “I wouldn't kill myself because of any artiste.”

But that shows the difference when you are in Kennis; this is where you are and when you are out, you check the levels. C'mon, two minus one, you know the answer. Those that have left, where are they?

We are not saying this to brag or something, but there is a certain touch that we put on the table. We have the structure on ground to support the artistes.

And some of them, when they get to a certain level, start feeling like they don't need you anymore, and we are not there to be babysitting any artiste.

As easily as I made you, I can as well pick the next guy and work on him, and that's what artistes don't understand.

At times, Kenny and I sit down about this and get really annoyed; artistes are one of the most ungrateful people in this world. But then again, it goes back to fame and fortune.

But some of them listen; you groom them, you advise them and they still make it. Some of them as well don't see what you do because we don't go about shouting about what we are doing.

Kennis Music has been labelled a one-artiste brand and that's talking about Tuface Idibia. Recently, an artiste, formerly on your label, said that Kennis didn't do much to promote his album but rather, concentrates only on one act.

You should look at the big picture; when they are in Kennis, everything is alright and when they leave and things are not going the way they want it, they start looking for somebody to blame.

It's a normal human tendency. Look at our pedigree, look at our track record; there was Paul Play Dairo, we pushed him all the way; after him came Idris Abdukareem, while we were on that, Tony Tetuila was getting upset but we don't pack all the artistes and put them out there. We pick one at a time.

There was a time it was Tony Tetuila all the place with, “You Don hit my car” and Tuface was waiting.

He had been begging us for two-three years before then. We are not one-dimensional but we have a game plan - let our track record speak for us.

It's just that some of these artistes, when they are not doing well, they look for who to blame and the record companies become the ones to take the blame.

Recently, Primetime Entertainment and Afrisat won the right to broadcast the African Youth Championship. Going into sports broadcasting?

We always say one thing: if you are a bus conductor, you dream one day of acquiring your own bus and not only one bus, but a fleet of buses.

That's the way we are. We have been presenters for a long time and can't be that forever. It would be nice to have your own radio and television stations.

And since we have not been able to secure the license, there are other options available to us.

When you look at entertainment, it's not just music; sports is also entertainment and we have a partner in Afrisat and through which we will be able to secure the rights to certain things.

During the Congo 2007 Championship, it was another avenue for us to expand our horizon.

You just don't put all your eggs in one basket. Take a look at the music industry today, everybody is doing it now and has record labels so, we are trying our hands elsewhere.

There are a lot more we will do like the Nation's Cup; Afrisat is going to be producing along with Primetime Entertainment. It's just as extension of what we do. People see us just as music people, but we are into entertainment in its totality.

Having spent time in Hollywood , are you thinking of going into Nollywood?

Very soon! Very, very soon. One thing you have to know about us is that we don't bite off more than we can chew, neither do we want to be 'Jack of all trade.'

When we latch on to something, we put all our energies and everything to make a total success of it. We don't put 10 per cent in music, 40 per cent in movies and so on, no. That's why people have the responses that we are only shouting Tuface but where have we been able to take Tuface?

We have been able to take Tuface to where no other Nigerian artiste has been.

How many Nigerians have won an MTV? How many have won MOBO; how many have won CORA; how many have won Channel O Award? C'mon credit should be given to us. As humans, we tend to look at the negatives.

Yes it's just Tuface, but where have we been able to take him to, so far.

A lot of people said after his first album, 'let us see how they can do it with his second album.' You wouldn't believe the nooks and crannies you will hear the songs in that album.

Go to Australia and to remote part of Burkina Faso , they will be playing Tuface's music and that brings pride and something positive about Nigeria . At least, they are not talking about 419 or about smuggling drugs.

There is this allegation that most of these awards are arranged.

That's not true. Can I arrange MTV to give somebody an award? Do I have the power to call MOBO and arrange an award for Tuface? No I can't.

And the thing is that some of these awards are voted for; you see the numbers to send your sms. In MTV, you have to vote, same with MOBO and Channel O.

What we do is to throw our weight behind him and we have structures for that.

We have a network of stations that we use in promoting him by making sure he has constant airplay. How can I tell MTV to give Tuface an award? Let's be sincere to ourselves for once, Tuface deserves all the awards he has been winning since.

What is the deal between Primetime Entertainment and Yahoozee crooner, Olu Maintain?

Primetime Entertainment signed a management deal with Olu Maintain. He wanted us to manage him; he is not under Kennis Music.

He is being marketed by Afrobest. He felt that we could help him in management, to add something to his career and pilot him.

That is what we are doing for him and he is beginning to see the results, recently he performed for the president twice.

Do you have the complete deal with Tuface Idibia?

His management contract with Primetime Entertainment expired, and he opted to try somewhere else.

Right now, I don't know what he is doing with his management; he is only signed on to Kennis Music. Like I told you, we are very simplistic in what we do; we are not vengeful or forceful.

We are not doing this for the money basically; I will still be doing this, even if it does not feed me.

It is about the passion. What was my last salary in Ray Power when I left them? It was N20, 000 and I left a $40,000 job in America for it.

I am in this because of the passion I have for it. And that is the reason I married my wife; she knew me as me even when D-1 was reigning everywhere, but she knew there was no kobo in my pocket.

When she had our first child, for close to three years, she didn't ask me for money for pampers.

How do you manage your fame especially, as regards to the opposite sex?

Once you understand their antics, it's only natural.

I look at it this way; when I was younger, I enjoyed their company and it was fun, but at the end of the day, I tell myself that these people are crazy about me because of what I do.

If I had been working in a bank, will they be coming to me screaming my name?

I don't think so. So the thing I have to do is to try as much as possible not to fail in that thing that makes me attractive to them, and that is my work.

I will continue to do a damn good job in what I do, and again, you take everything in strides; I don't allow it get into my head.

How does your wife feel about it?

I don't want to say she has gotten used to it, but there is a level of trust and understanding between us.

She knows that this is my job and what I do, and knows that the fans are the viewers that make Primetime Entertainment what it is.

You seem so fond of your wife and never hesitate to mention her every time...

Why shouldn't I? They say that's your better half. Look, to be honest, whenever I meet somebody outside that is attractive, the first thing I do is to let you know that I am married.

I do this because the moment you put your wife down in front of anybody, they do the same. My father introduced me to her, can you imagine that (laughs) after everyone and everywhere I had gone.

Her former teacher lived downstairs in my father's house and my father kept telling me that two pretty girls do visit her and asked me to make a move for her, but I was like, “what do you know about women.”

When he saw that I wasn't moving fast, he took me and introduced her to me and we started from there and today she is the woman in my life and we are living happily ever after. I love her so much, because she is one person that doesn't see me as D-1 but as an ordinary Dayo, that's to show you how humble she is.

I was previously married though, and will like to refer to myself as a married man with children.

Have you ever thought about going into politics?

I have thought about it. I would like to make a difference in people's lives but then, I am making a difference. People watch me and they smile; if I can bring up one or two artistes, it makes a whole lot of difference.

Look at it; for every Tuface that succeeds, they are creating employment; he hires band members, dancers and so on.

And he pays them, so I am helping to impact on the society. It would be nice to do something in government if called upon, but that is not to say that I want go through the models we are seeing today.

If not entertainment, what else could you have done?

(Pauses) I don't know because I have done some of the things I wanted to do; I have been a teacher and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Maybe something in government, but I don't want to go through the process that we all know happens there.

I might become a pastor! I have been told that; maybe one day I will get the calling, but I wil

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Robot  Villager

# 1 Why did you choose entertainment? ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 18.11.2007 01:26

Saintdollars  JJC

# 2 Good Interview there, For how long will we tell ourselves te truth? Posted by Saintdollars| 18.11.2007 11:56

Ekene Unegbe  JJC

# 3 Prime time/Kennis Music is doing what no entertainment company has done b4, silverbird was promoting themselves but prime time has realy promoted the country and given artists a new focus. You guys are great. Posted by Ekene Unegbe| 19.11.2007 02:21