Afro-Music and brand artiste, JEMIRIYE ADENIJI, tells the story of her romance with music, why her first musical band, Just Sisters, disbanded and her struggles for survival outside Nigeria, in this interview with Special Correspondent, EBERECHI OBINAGWAM.
Your background and how it has influenced your career?
I grew up in a house where we loved music a lot. My dad had great collections of great music. And all those music influenced my tongue. We had arts, and I think that was what influenced me. My grandma told me that when I was five years, I used to wake up early and start dancing. They called me Folake Olojo, that is Folake the dancer. My parents recognised that talent in me and they gave me the freedom to explore and do things I loved to do. It was not very easy, it was a hobby, and it became a career, and then a lifestyle.
The choice to pursue music as a career amidst other options
I didn’t choose music, music chose me.
You didn’t choose music, music chose you?
What I mean by that is; I didn’t wake up to have a beautiful voice like people say I do. It is just a gift that God gave me. I was like wow, wow, and before I knew it, it became a career, and all I did was follow my destiny. I followed the path that I was given and learned more. Before I started my other careers, I was already a singer.
The niche to create in the music industry
I wasn’t a fresher me. I want people to feel me, Jemiriye, the same way that when you hear Tuface, Tiwa Savage, Davido, you know it is them. I am bringing Jemiriye to the table.
Your music centres mostly on African women, why do you choose to portray that?
That’s not the only part of my music. My music has all sorts of different angles. There is a resolution to it. It depends on what you are looking for, and the mood I am feeling while writing my song. I have music that portrays women’s deals, empowerment, and all of that. I think because African women all have similar struggles. We are just subjected to so many outspoken words. Some are not allowed to have options even in their homes, and poverty is one of those things. A lot of our women are full housewives, they are left without money, and because of it, they cannot do much. Some end up fending for their children, husbands, while some may smoke or drink away, and some are good.
The African woman is so powerful. She has a loud voice, yet she is not allowed to speak. She has something in her brain, but she is not allowed to voice her opinion out. She has money to make, but she is not allowed to make it because of this social reason we found ourselves in this part of the world. But it’s getting better now because our men are coming of age to know that a woman can also become something, like the former Liberian president, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, and the current German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. So, my music centres around so many. I have love songs, heartbreaks, I have a song called Chicago. I have another one called Lagos. So, it depends on what you are looking for. I try to take some social things very seriously. So that is why people think I am like that.
Would you say that you have found fulfilment at this point in your life?
I think the moment you think you are fulfilled, then you are done. What I feel right now, is that every day of my life, I try as much as possible to appreciate my journey, to keep myself moving. But fulfilment, I will say, the life I dream, I am still living it. I am still here. I still have a lot of things that I have not even started. I am grateful to God for where I am coming from, and where I am right now. And it has been beautiful, rough and tumbles. But, to say that I am fulfilled, no! I still hope for so many things, but to say I am grateful, I am very grateful for my journey so far.
Message to up-and-coming musicians, in building content, and staying relevant in the industry? And what is the area you want musicians in Nigeria to work on?
I will advise that they should make sure their content is something that can outlive them. We always look out for the lives of Fela, Sunny Ade, and we are like, wow, they have to build themselves a brand that cannot be ignored, a life that can stand the test of time, like after so many years of recording, these songs still stay relevant. I will advise that if you want to be part of this industry, find your tune. Give yourself time to work on music that you will be proud of. If you need to learn more, go out there and do so that you can be proud of yourself.
How long have you been in music?
Like professionally, twenty years now. I got my first record deal in 2003, a record label with African Songs UK. And before then, I was already singing in schools, churches, and all that.
When did you leave Nigeria?
I think after my Idol show in 2012, and 2013, I left.
How can you compare music here to abroad?
Honestly, music is very beautiful, depending on where you are coming from. The pan African, they are really looking at what we do. People are unique with their styles, and composition, their rhythm, like listening to a lot of Malian women, Senegalese, and I think the one about Nigeria is that we became what America was back then. We took a bit from highlife. I think we are doing good, and over there in Yankee, they are lots of cultures you still listen to and you are like, wow. And you will still feel a little of Nigeria. We are versatile. We know how to pick this and this to make it one. We are doing good now. We have good video directors now. We have wonderful producers. We are open to learning. Comparing both sides, yes, there are still so many things to learn, but we have come a long way.
Milestone in life outside music
Being able to wake up every day, breathe, eat, sleep, that is a big milestone. Some people are dying just to be in that shoe. I take every day as it comes. Every day is brand new; every day is beautiful. Music has exposed me to so many opportunities. I have been privileged. I did a song with former Haiti president, Michel Martelly, and a few things like that around the globe. I have been able to support projects that have to do with the privileged and less privilege. I have supported projects as an artiste. I just live my life every day as it comes. I am one of these artistes that loves the stage and still love my private life.
You used to have a group, band here in Nigeria before you left, what happened to the group?
I used to have a group of about three girls. We were called the ‘Just Sisters’, it was a group I formed in high school. We called it Echoes of praise. In our final year in secondary school, we were four and, later we became three. We started singing from school. So, we formed a group and we moved. After then, we went out. The Just Sisters were my girlfriends. From friends we became sisters. So, we started singing together. We performed at so many shows. We worked with artistes like Timaya, Plantation boys. And Idris Abdulkarim always comes there. The group started from school, from there we started going to churches, and then shows. We were sisters, we loved each other and we sang together. But what happened was that the career was slow, it was not bringing enough money and I remembered one of us said that if after 2007, it is not bringing in money, she would be out of here. And she meant it.
I am happy that though we don’t sing together again, they are all doing well in their respective fields. The one that said she would be out of here, is doing well, and the other is doing well too. She is into event planning and I am here.
The one that said if the group is not working, she will be out said to me at our reunion a month ago; ‘I know you, you can sing even without money, but me, I want money.’ She said it jokingly. The group did not work out, but I am sure someday we are all going to sing together on the stage as we used to do back in the day. We have been friends for over twenty years, and we still friend to date.
Painful memories to share?
Trust me, life has not been rosy. I have had days when I have not grabbed what I needed. I think one of the experiences I remember was my early days in Yankee, I remembered one time I was down, I didn’t even have accommodation. I was just trying to navigate myself through life, trying to get a space. I once lived in a club, maybe like two weeks and a month. I was sleeping and waking up in a club. Nobody knew I don’t club; I just go there at night. I would go to their storage rooms, where they parked speakers, I would lay my heads there. While they were making noise there, I would sleep and in the morning before the staff started coming, I would use the toilet, shower there and quickly mop the floor because it was not a bathroom. Before people would start coming, I would go out again to start hustling and still have my music on. As painful as it sounds, now, it is sweet memory. Those days made me know that I had to become something.
Exciting moments
When I went to South Africa in 2006, I was there to sing. When I was flying in the Aircraft, I was like why am I going to South Africa? Is it because I can sing? No, but, God, I am not the best singer. And I heard, ‘because God just chose you.’ And I started crying. And when the plane got to South Africa, and I looked around, and I was like, wow. I am here just to come and sing. And I was just crying. I couldn’t shed my tears in front of everyone, so when I got to my hotel room, at the bathroom, I started crying. This little girl, I came from Nigeria to South Africa to come and sing. That was the very point in my life that I knew that I didn’t make a mistake by staying through.
Latest work?
I just released a new song now, called “Lagos.” I have travelled around the world, I have been to so many places. Trust me, there is no place like Lagos. I have come to realise that Lagos is a place where if you can make it here, you can make it around the world. The Lagos spirit that lives in every Lagosian makes you stand out anywhere you find yourself. You think people are just slow, but you are not, you are just crazy, because of where you are coming from. You stand at a bus stop, and you are running, and people are looking at you like, are you okay? That Lagos spirit in you makes you want to be first in everything and people are like, nobody is chasing you. You are driving and you are like; move it, you are too slow! But there, people are taking life as easy as it should be. You cannot even help yourself. So, that is why I chose it. I realised that there are a lot of Lagos in me. I am like do something about it. Lagos is a place you make more money; Center of Excellence! So, the song is out on all platforms now. It’s playing on TV, Youtube, Instagram, Jemiriye.com
Where do you see yourself in the next five, ten years?
I see myself at the top. I don’t want to streamline myself to a particular place. If God has brought me this far, I believe he still has bigger things for me. I don’t want to reduce him. If I say in the next five years, I am going to win a Grammy, and what if he says I am going to win a Grammy in the next five months? I would have just reduced that. I leave that to the creator. I am a pencil, so he is writing a story about me. He is writing the script; I am acting it.
Outside music, what else makes you happy?
A lot of things make me happy. Good food, Traveling! I love to be in the sky. I love nature a lot. One thing that relaxes me is that I love to sit at the beach, in a garden. I like a cup of tea in the morning. When I grab a cup of tea it means it is time to relax because it relaxes me. If I am still drinking water, then, I am hustling.
So, what is your favourite food?
Amala, gbegiri, and ewedu! Those local snacks are the ones I like. They used to ask me if I am sure I live in Yankee. Dankwa, kwelikwelo, even though, I left Nigeria, Nigeria never left me. I love continental dishes. In any country I go to, I ask them, what do you eat in this country, and I eat them. That way, I am imbibing their spirit into me. So, they welcome me nicely, but some Nigerians, when they come, they look for Egusi, and I will be like, do you leave Nigeria to come and eat egusi? I don’t drink beer, but, the first time I took it was in Germany. I told them I don’t drink beer, they said, why won’t you drink beer, this is the home of beer. I love to travel. From travelling, I explore a lot. I like to play in the streams, I like to stay near the water, on the beach.
What message do you have for your fans?
I call them family because you can’t be an artist by yourself. You need people, you need family and fans. You all are the best. You are keeping me in this industry. Your support and everything you are giving me are why I am still here. I will never take it for granted. I love you and don’t stop being you. Stay out of trouble. Make sure that whatever you do, let love always fill your heart. Also, make sure that whatever you lay your hands to do, do it with all of your heart so you can win at the end of the day because the competition there is very tough.
