Fuji musicians were once perceived as touts and school drop outs, but when people like KWAM 1 (Wasiu Ayinde), Mr. Johnson (Adewale Ayuba), Malaika (Sulaimon Adekunle) and Pasuma (Wasiu Alabi) came on board, many people’s perception of fuji changed.
However, Pasuma took it a little further by trying his hands on pop music and single-handedly brought about creative collaborations between fuji and hip-hop, thus bridging the gap between the two genres.
Ever since recording ‘Keep on Rocking’ in 1996 with Remedies, Pasuma has scored many firsts among his contemporaries and in the world of fuji.
He floated a recording label, Wasbar Records, with his manager. The label also signed on creative producer/artiste, Frankie Free, and Q Dot.
His pop 15-track My World album, which featured stars like Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Phyno, Terry G, Oritsefemi among others was released with a listening party.
The tracks he pushed out – ‘Abo’, ‘Ife’, ‘Ogede ti Pon’ and ‘Oruka’ – are doing well. Pasuma actually did the ‘Ogede ti Pon’ rap single by himself to show his dexterity. Of all the videos shot, Pasuma went the extra mile with ‘Oruka’, as he did not spare expenses and also received massive support from Yoruba actors and actresses.
At a point, some of his fans were worried that he might abandon fuji completely for his street-inspired pop music, but he allayed their fears.
“I love my fuji music more. That is where I belong anytime any day. I am a fuji musician, but I should be able to do something new,” he revealed in an interview.
Change is the only constant thing in life, and as far as Pasuma is concerned, diversification has been helpful to his career thus he plans to give back through his talent hunt initiative, Ohun (Voice).
The impact of Pasuma’s collaborations is evident in his style and core genre. He once said in an interview that he enjoys the swag that goes with the hip-hop thing.
“Even when I am doing my fuji, I still do it with swag. I am enjoying it, it makes me feel younger and I am happy about that. I think if I want to come back to this world again, I will still want to be Pasuma,” he added.