To speak with Ibiwunmi Olaiya is to be enraptured by her. The British-born American-based Nigerian songwriter, performer and designer, popular internationally as Wunmi, speaks with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, in Lagos, where she is on holiday and sourcing batik material for her fashion label, ‘Wow Wow’. Below are excerpts of the scintillating interview with the former Soul II Soul dancer who turns 50 today.
You danced with Soul II Soul; would you say that the experience helped in bringing you where you are today?
What it did was reaffirm that I have what I have. And there is nothing wrong with being who you are. I used to be one of the few female dancers on the club scene. One club that became very popular was the one that Jazzy B, Soul II Soul and Sound System (played at); and wherever they played dancers followed. Most of the time, it was all word of mouth; no flyers, no ads because they were…I don’t want to say illegal parties; but there were not many clubs that black folks could go to.
You were young.
Yeah.
Wasn’t there an age limit for getting into these clubs?
There was, but at the same time I wasn’t that young because I came out very late. My father is Nigerian and I was 21 when I first went out to my first party; but if you saw me, you would think I was 15.
All the more reason there would have been issues of your being locked out of these clubs.
That was why I waited till I was 21.
But at 21 you looked 15.
Yeah, that is what I am saying. I looked 15. But when you go to clubs in England, it is not like America where you have to show your ID.
How different was it when you got to America; was there a culture shock, for instance, coming from the United Kingdom?
No, because my first trip to America was with Soul II Soul (earlier). But let me tell you the whole story about the dance. I loved dancing. I danced when I walked the street and I used to walk to school and walk home; I would be dancing all the way. I just danced.
When Jazzy was putting the whole Soul II Soul thing together, he asked a few of the dancers in the club to come and be part of the project. I was one of three other girls, I think.
In other words, you were dancing long before Soul II Soul came along.
Yeah, I was just a regular person who danced.
You were not a professional until you joined Soul II Soul.
I wasn’t; I didn’t study dance. I just danced. My first actual gig before Soul II Soul was with Roy Ayers. I went to see Ayers, who plays jazz and he is awesome. It is just destiny, your destiny. If you don’t go and lose your mind, it will be exactly where you are supposed to be with it.
That wasn’t my first time. I went to see him in a concert. I got dragged behind stage to meet him and he said I reminded him of somebody. The person he mentioned was also a dancer. So my cousin who was with me said no one dances like my cousin and blah blah. He smiled and said nothing. He went on stage, and the next minute he is announcing that he has got a special guest from Nigeria; he called my name (laughter).
So, I went up there and did my moves. Afterwards, I asked him: so, supposing I didn’t dance well? He replied “I would have just said, give the girl a hand. But it is written all over you. I could see it. You have got the presence of life that no money can buy, and as long as you don’t prostitute your soul, anything you want”.
And that is basically what has carried me to this point. I didn’t have any mentor at the time; my dad wanted me to be an academic. Anything you see me in on stage, I wore on the street; that is me. I embodied myself. I made my own clothes. I dressed the way I wanted to dress.
There must have been a lot of tension at home considering that path your dad wanted you to walk.
It was just me and my dad. I was his only child and he would do the African parent thing where they would try to be strict on you. But at the end of the day, I am happy to say that he left me alone. It wasn’t easy because I also wanted to make him happy, but who do you make happy first? How do you make somebody happy if you are not happy? So it was a challenge. My teachers noticed that I was good with my clothes, so they encouraged me to do a foundation course to build my portfolio at the London School of Fashion.
You have always made your own clothes?
Yes, once I got to England; that is how I entertained myself. I didn’t go out, and even when there was an event at school, I was the first to leave the event to be home at a certain time. Even the Soul II Soul thing I was going to, I was home before midnight.
If Roy didn’t put you on that stage, you would probably be a lecturer today.
Who knows? But your destiny is your destiny.
You were born in the UK; that makes you a holder of the British passport?
I have got my British passport in one hand and my Nigerian passport in the other.
If you were to advise your 21-year-old self today, what would be the words?
I won’t change a thing. When the whole Soul II Soul thing got sticky and didn’t feel right anymore, the thing that kept ringing in my head was Uncle Roy; no matter what you do, as long as you don’t prostitute your soul. It wasn’t mine anymore. I came into that project because it felt we were all magnificent. I was also naive because I thought Jazzy would do the right thing, so I didn’t do a contract, I didn’t do paperwork. All that image of me, I didn’t get paid.
You are not getting royalties?
I have got nothing for my image that was used worldwide. I would tell my naive 21-year-old self that when you walk into any situation, always take care of the business. It doesn’t mean that you are not a nice person; take care of business. My image was used; they call it the iconic image of the 90s.
You may not have made money, but you became famous; have you not gained from the fame?
I never used it. That is another thing. When I was leaving Jazzy, I said to him that I wanted a fairer deal. He wanted me to design stuff and I said no, I don’t want your money; I just want you to pay me my due. Never let anybody try and do you a favour when they can actually just do the business right.
Is that the point where you decided to start Wow Wow?
No, Wow Wow came much later because I was always designing my own clothes. I had my first design label with my college friend and we were called ‘Revolution with Love’. Then we used to make jackets out of Persian carpets, rugs. I loved all those things that were different and that is what I went for. I loved colours.
And you went all over the world dancing?
After I left Soul II Soul, I was doing my one woman show as a dancer.
You don’t seem to have ever been entangled with a man.
(Laughter) That is not true. Like I said, like picking the right boyfriend, music was a challenge to me. Even now, we are still doing battle and the battle is really of me accepting all of me as I am and knowing that. It is like I have got a gift and I have to master that gift.
Did you give up having a boyfriend to have a career?
No, I didn’t. I feel it is two things; that most of the time, I don’t know how to say it. I never looked at guys in the eyes. I am an extrovert and most people will look at me and say that this one is crazy; you can’t take this one home to your mum. I have that and at the same time, I have not been lucky in love. The guys I have dated are my best friends now, but I have not met my mate where they accept me as I am and I accept them as they are. We make choices sometimes based on the wrong things. I have not made the right choices. I hope now that I feel a bit older and wiser, my next choice is going to be more suited to lasting rather than a short brief.