These interviews have been the culmination of several developments and chains of events. They were both recorded on video tape for the afterworld, just in case Baba 2010 will make it to superstardom (as he undoubtedly will) and are intended to fetch the interviewer tons of wonga (just joking, folks…). The first session took place outside Madam Regina Rzeznicki’s Residence at Abuja, by the side of her opulent swimming pool. Rzeznicki is the executive producer of Baba’s debut album and provided him with the wherewithal to realise his dream (or at least the beginning of his dream).

The second part, much more soberly, was recorded at the interviewer’s residence, which happens to be located at Abuja as well, not too far from Regina’s abode. It was all done in a leisurely fashion, interrupted by music (Miles Davis, for instance) and lots of small talk that will never make it into print.

THE INTERVIEW

Rainer: First of all, let me start with some autobiographical stuff for people to get to know you. I know you as Dovie but I don’t know your full name. What are your other names?

Baba 2010: I go by the full name of are Mena Okson Dovie, musically I am called Baba 2010.

Rainer: So how did you coin the name Baba 2010? I know it’s synonymous with something of a father figure, especially in the African context.

Baba 2010: Actually, it was out of my vision when I was of the age 18, I was then in the musical academy, and I promised myself that, by the time I am 30 years old, I must have waxed my own album or I will quit the music industry. And at the time when I became 30 I started working on my first album, and a lot of good things started coming my way like running my own night club and so on. So when I arrived with the first album, I remembered my vision when I was 18 years old, and that my dream had come true. So that is how I coined the name Baba 2010 for myself musically, that is to mean (20 + 10 = 30). Of course, the term Baba means something of a father figure. A teacher so to say. This is what I am trying to be to some extent.

Rainer: "2010" used to have quite a different meaning in Nigeria, like ‘Vision 2010’ or so, which was a sort of Government policy framework outlined by the then military administration…so what happens when you are 31 or 32 years?

Baba 2010: That will always make me remember when I was 30 years, I waxed my first album and set out for other achievements…I will not change my name though.

Rainer: So, lets talk of your autobiography again. You are from the southern part of this country (Nigeria). Which state, tribe, local government, and town do you hail from?

Baba 2010: I am from Emede Town in Isoko South Local Government area of Delta State, Nigeria. Ethnic group I am an Isoko Man. Our language spoken is called Isoko.

Rainer: About your parents…I know that your father is a reverend. From your childhood, did you have anything that influenced you from the side of your parents about music?

Baba 2010: Yes, for starters, my father used to be the musical director of the Christ Apostolic Church in our locality, and my mother was a chorister. So, as a child, I was always opportuned to jump on the choir instruments, even if I don’t know what I was playing as a child, but I got very thrilled and excited anytime the choir band was playing.

Rainer: So that means you grew up with music from your childhood.

Baba 2010: Yes, but it was on that particular local level.

Rainer: No, not really just that, but because it started the inspiration in you, and to some extent your foundation into the music industry.

Baba 2010: Yes, of course.

Rainer: Now what is your professional background musically?

Baba 2010: In the country, at that time, there was a government professional scheme called National Directorate of Employment, which handled all imaginable professions, if you want to further your education. It was meant to train all kinds of professions, so it was through this scheme I choose to be trained as a musician.

Rainer: Which school did you attend?

Baba 2010: I attended Victor Uwaifo’s Music Academy. It was a diploma course.

Rainer: Victor Uwaifo is a very popular musician and an acclaimed artist in his own right. Where is the school located?

Baba 2010: The school is located at Benin City in Edo State.

Rainer: This National Employment Directorate Scheme…is it accessible to everybody?

Baba 2010: Certainly! It is open to anybody, who is ready to learn and be trained to have a handiwork or whatever and be skilled. As at that time, we were given an allowance of One hundred and fifty Naira monthly (approx.70 US Dollars). You can be trained as a fashion designer, mechanic, electrician and so on. That token sum, however small it might appear from nowadays point of view, meant a lot to us for transport and feeding.

Rainer: When you choose music as your carreer, what was the reaction of your parents, especially your reverend father?

Baba 2010: Actually, then my father was not a reverend father, but in our church (Christ Apostolic Church) we don’t call them reverend father, but simply reverend. By then, he was a teacher in the school, he wanted me to be a doctor or an engineer! But eventually, my mother talked him into it to see side with me on my faith. So with my father’s understanding and help, I was able to get admitted into the N.D.E trade course.

Rainer: So, about what time did you graduate from your musical academy of Sir Victor Uwaifo?

Baba 2010: That was in the year 1991.

Rainer: Okay, that is to say about nine to ten years ago. After this, how did you start your actual career?

Baba 2010: I went to Port Harcourt, which is popularly called Garden-City, and then I played in so many hotels and night clubs, like Cedar Palace, Hotel Presidential, Harbour Road, Erijoy and others. But the last place I played was a kind of hot spot dancing restaurant known in town called Pigot Nite Club. Eventually, I left that place for Abuja, that is the Federal Capital Territory.

Gani of the Dovie Soundz

Rainer: We discussed the kind of training that you underwent - which particular instrument did you specialise in and could you tell us about vocal training?

Baba 2010: Yes, what they do there is that they allow you to choose any kind of musical instrument that you feel inclined to play and you have that as your major instrument to specialise in. Any other instrument you can learn from your fellow student or whatever, but the school management will know that your major instrument is either saxophone, guitar, keyboards or whatever.

Rainer: And you choose keyboards.

Baba 2010: Yes, I choose keyboards as major instrument because of the wide range of possibilities I believe it has to offer, although I took guitar as my second instrument. One thing they definitely do at the academy is to make sure that they give you voice grooming, so definitely by the time you graduate from the school you must know how to sing, provided of course you got the necessary basic talent.

Rainer: That means you can sing very well, is that correct?

Baba 2010: Well, I think I can sing fairly well. And the keyboard remains my major instrument until today.

Rainer: During your stay in Port Harcourt and playing in various night clubs, and bands, did you ever think of forming your own Band?

Baba 2010: Obviously, I did not have my own band then in Port Harcourt, what I kept doing was to play with other professional musicians around the city and nearby towns to enable me improve on my skill.

Rainer: Can you describe the various types of music you were used to playing with the various groups you were involved in?

Baba 2010: Here in Nigeria, we have so many different types of music, we have the High-Life music, Reggae, Hip Hop, Afro-Beat and other styles, all of which I did at one time or the other.

Rainer: How can you describe the Nigerian music characteristic for the various regions within the country?

Baba 2010: In the Eastern part, we have High-Life music, in the West we have Fuji and Juju music, most of the younger generation like the Reggae music, Afro-Beat and local Hip Hop around the Midwestern region.

Rainer: After listening to your music it strikes me that your affinity is definitely to playing Afro-Beat. In general terms…what are the messages in it or what is it all about in your own words?

Baba 2010: As to the musical style of Afro-Beat, it portrays the cultural uniqueness of Africa and the founder Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti, though he sadly is no more, will always be remembered for his musical achievements. His son Femi has taken after him to some extent, but his style is more influenced by western elements. He is also a star. I suppose that what he is playing right now would be better classified as Techno Afro-Beat.

Rainer: I can see that you have some variety to offer, judging from all the different instruments being employed.

Baba 2010: We have the hornsmen, guitarist, saxophonist, a very strong rhythm section comprising of bass, drums and assorted African percussion like talking drums, keyboards of course and other instruments.

Rainer: How many musicians form up your Band?

Baba 2010: I have ten members in the Band on my monthly payroll as of now. Most of the times, when I have bigger functions to perform outside my night-club, I usually hire dancers in addition, though I am planning to employ some permanently. This is pretty expensive, by the way.

Queenie of the Dovie Soundz

Rainer: Can you give me a kind of breakdown of your band members? Who plays what?

Baba 2010: Yes, I have one drummer, Baba Selle, along with Gani on percussion and Philip on bass guitar. They are a formidable rhythm section. Dilly is playing lead and rhythm guitar, while Edward is playing the trumpet and also singing. There are the three female vocalists, namely Bola, Kate and Queen, and a male vocalist, Chuks, who is doing a little percussion as well. I am playing my keyboards and do lead vocals. I may add saxophone very soon as my additional instrument.

Rainer: Which kind of material you are routinely playing during your shows at the club?

Baba 2010: Sometimes, during our entertainment show, we play some late musicians’ High-Life music, like late Rex Lawson for instance, and my female singers do it. We don’t play the high life music of those who are still alive to avoid copyright problems. We play those of the 1960s.

Rainer: It seems you are in love with the High-Life music of yesteryears and also want to preserve the heritage. How and where do you get such legendary records for your rehearsal so that you can now play them?

Baba 2010: You can only get them from old studios and stores selling old records, not these modern ones. In other cases, my band could play some other popular Jazz numbers, and other popular beats known around the world before my arrival on stage. When I arrive, I will only play my tracks to promote my work and image.

Rainer: In most of your concerts, I have noticed that your female vocalists are always staying in the background. When they do solo numbers, they are not singing your own songs, but other popular materials of other artists. Do you intend to change this with time?

Baba 2010: I am emulating Fela’s style, he used to leave the stage for Dede his boy to sing his own old tracks, I will train my singers to sing their own songs along with my own material. And as soon as I get to the stage, I go through my program, which entirely consists of my own material. That could make some difference.

Rainer: When going on tour, what composition of the band would you want to go with? I know that for the launching of the album, you hired some dancers and additional instrumentalists. What numbers are you planning for?

Baba 2010: I would like to go with about 15 to 20 band members so that we can always alternate on stage to achieve maximum stage presence.

Rainer: In terms of expenses: how much are you looking into, at least to cover the cost of your band and any related expenses?

Baba 2010: A rough estimate of about 200,000 to 250,000 Naira would do. Because you have to pay for the venue, publicity, hotel accommodation, security. And you will have to pay the session boys and so on.

Rainer: Will you want to do a live recording during such concerts?

Baba 2010: It is a good idea but very expensive. I spoke with the general manager of Dolphin Studios in Lagos about it, and what he mentioned was outrageous. He gave me an estimate of about 500,000 Naira (4,500 US-Dollars) to move the equipment from the studio to the venue, and that is excluding the other cost first mentioned. This will be too much for me for now.

Rainer: You could do it in a less expensive way by getting a DAT Machine connected to your Mixer, it could still produce some reasonable result like it is done by a lot of artists abroad.

Baba 2010: Around here, you can only have the use of such facilities, if you do it through a Benson and Hedges-sponsored show for instance, and only, if you are a star during their programme. Through their engineers, you might be able to get a copy at last, but it will still cost you some money.

Rainer: But I feel that, with the enormous live impact of your music, it could do a lot of good for you to have a live record out, and if only to promote your studio work.

Baba 2010: Yes, that is exactly what I want for my kind of music, but it still boils down to capital to start with.

Rainer: Which are the favourite numbers by Fela you love to play?

Baba 2010: I like playing the ‘Yabies’ tracks to make the audience happy.

Rainer: Which others musician has had any considerable influence on you?

Baba 2010: Jazz in general. My music is a kind of Afro Jazz, it has a lot of jazz in it. I would cite jazz as one of my major influences any day.

Rainer: What about great jazz musicians like Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis?

Baba 2010: Yes, I appreciate their works, but I really prefer young jazz artists because the young ones mean a lot to me.

Rainer: Do you think that jazz music has a good future, and into what direction can it still be developed into?

Baba 2010: Jazz has great future, even though not necessarily in Africa. In Africa we believe in praise singing. But I personally don’t like praise singing songs. That is why Femi-Kuti doesn’t get as many engagements here in Nigeria as he gets abroad. Nigerians at most times love praise singing music. This is not what my music or ambition is all about. Abroad, people want to hear about the reality of things happening around here, socially, politically and otherwise.

Rainer: I read a review some time ago that, in Amsterdam, some part of the audience was not happy in one of Fela’s concerts, because his female dancers were too alluring in a sexual manner. He was being slagged off for that kind of thing.

Baba 2010: Yes, in Fela’s case, he always takes his things to the extreme and I won’t go to that extreme. But I tell you one thing: we Africans have nothing against sex, we are very virile for that matter, and we do not hide our feelings about it.

Rainer: What about Fela’s life style, how far are you imbibing his life style?

Baba 2010: As for his life and mine comparatively, zero percent! Because I don’t smoke (Indian hemp) and I won’t go on stage with pants or half nude.

Rainer: What about his polygamous life style, do you feel inclined to imbibe that?

Baba 2010: I don’t like the polygamous life style, I just love his music! Period.

Philip of the Dovie Soundz

Rainer: Coming back to your debut album, I want to ask you some details concerning the individual titles. Some of the numbers come in short versions, while others are extended versions. What is the reason for that?

Baba 2010: A lot of people don’t like instrumentals in Afro-Beat, so if you don’t like the short play version of the instrumentals, then you go straight to the long play, where you have the vocals starting immediately.

Rainer: Can you explain the meaning of the title Man-Palava, which may sound rather strange when one is not used to the African culture and life style.

Baba 2010: The Man-Palava track is about how, after most men must have worked hard enough to earn their money, they lavish such hard-earned money in parties, most often because of one lady or young girl, just to entice her for fun. Still, he might not protect himself against any form of veneral diseases, and at the end he will be loosing both ways, having spent his money and contracted one diseases or the other, that is why I called it Man-Palava, meaning the trouble men expose themselves and women to.

Rainer: Apart from the promiscuity, that is the casual sex aspect of it… does it have anything to do with other aspect of man’s troublesome life?

Baba 2010: Yes, it has, it still explains how men work hard enough to earn a living, that life is not just a bed of roses, still some people can’t make use of their means judiciously.

Rainer: What about it’s lyrics, do you intend to make them available to the public?

Baba 2010: Yes, as soon as I get an internationally oriented marketing company to market the music. Then we can do that, but not for now.

Rainer: What about the track "I Get One Question", can you please explain the meaning of this title?

Baba 2010: That track has to do with the late Afro-Beat legend. So many people died during the military regime of Abacha in Nigeria, and there are revelations now on how they died, but nobody had spoken about Fela’s death! To me, it has been a very mysterious death. He was arrested and detained for some time, and died not long after his release, so the question now is: who killed Fela, how did he die? They said it was AIDS, but his family had no AIDS, his wives, children and girlfriends. Something must have happened to him while in prison! Now look at how Chief Abiola, Yar’Adua (Nigerian politicians) and others died! Was their death natural while in prison? So that is my question. Somebody should come out to tell us the truth on Fela’s death. We have a right to know.

Rainer: But there was the announcement by his brother who once was the Minister of Health and is a figure of some integrity and repute. What have you to say about that?

Baba 2010: You know, Fela was very outspoken and stood by the truth, politically and otherwise. He was always criticising any bad government!

His brother on the other could had been intimidated to make that statement or else he might have died mysteriously too. All over the world, the regime of General Abacha was known to be very tyrannical and capable of anything imaginable. My demand therefore is that the truth of Fela’s death be investigated properly and made known to the world.

Kate of the Dovie Soundz

Rainer: Now the third track, Majo Ovo, what is the meaning of this?

Baba 2010: That means unity, Majo Ovo is an expression from my native language of Isoko, my birth place in Delta State. I am preaching against disunity in the form of various crisis groups, so that we can unite, for peace and to be as one all over the states in this country, Africa and beyond, as children of God Almighty.

Rainer: When you say as children of God, has it got anything to do with religion or are you propagating a certain type of religion?

Baba 2010: I am not preaching religion, but what I mean here is unity, children of one set of parents are always united, and I believe Africans are of one parent, I don’t mind wherever you come from, lets unite and make the continent and world a happy place to live.

Rainer: Why did you choose your mother tongue for this very track? What about the lyrics to that song?

Baba 2010: The lyrics are in four different Nigeria languages, of the Isokos, which is my birth place, Yorubas, Ibos and the Hausas. All of them are still talking about unity and peace. If you are rich, try as much as possible to assist the poor, just like some of my friends are doing at Makurdi and beyond.

Rainer: You left out some of the materials recorded initially during the album sessions. What is the reason behind this?

Baba 2010: I will bring them out when I get a deal with a reputable recording company, but I will release them. I will have to sit down and discuss about them being published for the interest of my country and my people.

Rainer: How many unreleased songs have you got in the can after you finished from the recording studio?

Baba 2010: I have four strong political songs which I would want the world to hear about, but I will have to discuss them first with any recording company and not cannot be done immediately.

Rainer: What approach did Fela take when it came to such controversial material?

Baba 2010: Fela has his own international marketers, so when he releases abroad, there is nothing you can do to ban it there. His son Femi is doing the same thing. Like his album ‘Bang Bang Bang’. It is banned here in Nigeria but internationally, it is selling quite well. For me, I am just beginning, and would not want to take such risks at the present stage.

Rainer: Don’t you think things have changed in this new political dispensation, unlike the military regime, when things used to be very tough indeed.

Baba 2010: Even now, you still have to watch your mouth, and the things you do. The Government is not balanced yet, so one has to be cautions of what one does.

Dilly of the Dovie Soundz

Rainer: During your performances, do you still perform any of those four political tracks?

Baba 2010: Yes, I used to perform some of them like the one I titled "Look your country oh!". It has to do with those in the tiers of the government. In it I blame those who were congratulating the then Senate President, Chief Okadigbo, when he was elected. He was being called ‘Oyi-Oyi’ as a congratulatory ovation, while in Edo State, ‘Oyi’ means ‘thief’! So when he was accused of embezzlement, I said: ‘Why, after all, you were all hailing him as a thief and he did it, so why complain?’ Also, I criticised the frequent travels of our president, Chief Obasanjo, to foreign countries. He was elected as a President to solve our problems within, not a Chief Executive Tourist. On his many journeys, he should pass through Nigeria once to see to the problems we have to grapple with every day.

Rainer: Don’t you think you should sing about these things now because after some years people must have lost interest in knowing about things that might have been consigned to history by then?

Baba 2010: Like I said, I don’t have any back-up yet from anywhere, just in case I am getting arrested and thrown into jail on some trumped-up charges, but as soon as I get any back-up I will be able to deal with more controversial matters.

Rainer: In your career, the release of your first album evidently marks an important step. Beyond the release of your debut album, what are your plans?

Baba 2010: In the long run, I would want to be based outside this country, even if it is within Africa, so that I can fight from outside this place. I will only like to visit then to get my facts.

Rainer: If you have to relocate your base outside this country, don’t you think your fans will be missing you, especially those of your hardcore fans that enjoy your shows at your night-club every night?

Baba 2010: Yes of course, but then I need to reach out to the outside world.

Rainer: Before you start thinking of relocating yourself outside Nigeria… don’t you think you should explore some other parts of this country? What have you done so far about touring in Nigeria to promote your shows?

Baba 2010: Yes, I am planning to acquire some reasonable means of transport for my band to enable us start touring, so that I can dispute some people who think the best musicians are to be found at Lagos only. At the end of my touring, they would call their results.

Rainer: In terms of infrastructures, there are some good venues in most state capitals of Nigeria. But what do you think promoters could do about promotion of an artist?

Baba 2010: Here in Nigeria, most promoters are only looking after the big names (artists), the known names. They don’t want to take the risk with the young upcoming artists – with their own money that is. I want to do my touring and promotions myself for now. And with good results, some of them might now decide to be part of me. But from the beginning, nobody would want to be part of it. All I want to do is to set up a planning committee and a road manager, who will do the touring to feed me back on information before I start.

Rainer: Abuja is a centrally located place, and in no time, you could reach places like Kaduna, Makurdi and Jos.

Baba 2010: I am used to playing in Kaduna for instance, but I have been advised to play at the Naf Club in Kaduna, so, as soon I get the bus, I will play at the Naf Club before moving to other states.

Rainer: During your proposed tours…how would you want to structure such concerts?

Baba 2010: I will go out with a band and team entirely to thrill my fans.

It has to do with what the fans want, you don’t have to think only of your own self. You must try to satisfy the people first and foremost.

Rainer: So sometimes, you may feel the need to change their taste. How do your band members respond to such changes in the setup?

Baba 2010: Actually, most of them have been long with me. Especially those I brought from Port-Harcourt. So, I have no problems with that.

Rainer: Within the Afro-Beat genre, there is much room for other controversial subject matters apart from the ones with politics as the main theme, like the fourth track of your album, entitled ‘Killer Disease’.

Baba 2010: As I said before…as a young Artist, I like to avoid tackling certain political aspects. Because in Nigeria, sometimes it could put you into problems by stepping on some big toes. In this song, I am singing about the menace of HIV/AIDS and the social ills it brings about. I want to enhance the awareness of the public through my audience on the threat of this deadly disease, preaching against the spread of it.

Rainer: Again, about your debut record…where did you do your recordings? Was there any team work involved in the compositions recorded?

Baba 2010: I did my recording at Dolphin Studio in Lagos, and as per composition of an album, it was not as a result of team work or combination with any other song writers because at the end of the day, there will be problems, concerning the sharing of finance and so on. What I did was my personal effort entirely. Though some people may compose their own material and will then look for a sponsor to do a record, but I did not do that.

Rainer: You must have been developing your songs over a period of time, how can you describe the creative process involved?

Baba 2010: In my own kind of music, I play my songs from time to time in my club, and sometimes, my fans will come to me in the club and suggest why don’t you play certain passages like this or like that, so my compositions go through some process of interaction between me and my fans before I go on to the studio for recording.

Rainer: About the professional producers in Nigeria…what have you to say about them? How did you get your own producer?

Baba 2010: I was in the studio recording my demo tape, and he just suddenly came around and fell in love with my work . It was a chance meeting, and that was in Kaduna. I produced myself to the Ddemo tape level before he came in to start adding some professional touches.

Rainer: Were you really satisfied with his input?

Baba 2010: Really, producers do add their professional touches and we pay them for it. What happens is that your own producer will arrange with other professionals who will now prove their worth with you in the studio along with the other artists. One Mr. Tayo was my producer.

Rainer: Let's just have an idea of how much it takes to record an album.

Baba 2010: It took me about 750,000 Naira (approx. 7,000 US-Dollars), mainly because of some other contingencies involved. Afro-Beat is very expensive to record by comparison. If it is a purely digital production, you can spend just only one hundred thousand Naira for the average record. Doing an Afro-Beat record the way it’s supposed to be, we have to record under near ‘live’ conditions. We spend about eight hours per session. Because, when you record and later find some faults, you start all over again.

Rainer: Now about the distribution and marketing. Which company was put in charge of your product?

Baba 2010: My marketing company is Ayetoro in Lagos and he took care of the distribution of the cassettes only, while I did the cutting of the CDs and sales myself.

Rainer: What about the promotion of an artist by promoters? How is it done here in Nigeria?

Baba 2010: Promotion is very difficult for a young and upcoming artist. I did the printing of the posters myself, pay the television and radio stations, before they could start your publicity. This is all very difficult and when you employ promoters at the early stage, it will cost you so much, so I followed it gradually.

Rainer: I saw a televised account of your album launching that was shown over the national television. How was that arranged?

Baba 2010: The Managing Director sent the team of the (NTA) National Television Authority, because he is also one of my fans. I must say, I appreciated the team’s effort, and during the entertainment news, I was tagged the new Afro Beat King, since Fela is no more. That was a feather on my cap.

Rainer: That was a very befitting remark and that means you must have really thrilled your audience during the launching.

Baba 2010: Sure, I did, I just tried to put in my best that day. When I came out the next day along the streets and even at the presidential office complex, where I went to thank some of my grand patrons, a lot of fingers were pointed at me and accolades were being showered on me.

The recognition was partially as a result of my grey hair style. They were always saying "Ah! This is the Baba 2010, the musician we saw on the television recently". It is very expensive to do a TV promotion on your own.

Rainer: Why didn’t you get a recording company or promoters to do your promos and handle the sales of your CDs?

Baba 2010: It is very funny and very sad, after the effort you put into your project, there is no transparency in their system. They can hardly come out with the right figures and amount of sales, even when the record is of high demand. They can always tell you that it is just selling over due air, not in stock.

Rainer: Why is it that PMAN, the Performing Musician Association Of Nigeria have not been able to arrest the situation in the interest of artists?

Baba 2010: I used to be the second vice chairman of PMAN in Abuja chapter, but after the launching of my album, the chairman himself, King Sunny Ade, now made me the first vice chairman. As a matter of fact, we have been trying our best against this dishonesty of the recording companies and also against pirates, but we have not achieved any meaningful result, because the whole problem has been there for so long now, and the pirate companies have sophisticated recording equipment as well. Another critical area is in the attitude of law enforcement agencies.

Rainer: You are the proprietor of a dancing bar and night-club. What is the capacity of the place in terms of accommodating fans and how many days do you play in a week?

Baba 2010: It can accommodate about two hundred peopleand I play every day there except on Sundays, that is, if I don’t have outside engagements.

Rainer: You are not just only a musician, but also an entrepreneur and employer of your band members plus some staff in your club, which puts a lot of responsibilities on you. How do you cope?

Baba 2010: First, the night club, it is a place I have leased from the actual owners, for which I pay about 150,000 Nairas monthly. Then, there is electricity bill, water bill and staff salaries. It has not been really easy. Sometimes, I spend roughly three hundred thousand Naria in a month. Most of the times I make it all right, and sometimes not. So, at hard times, I run around my grand patrons for soft loans.

Rainer: So that means, you are a sole proprietor, running the Blinkers Nite Club yourself. Now, the place is fairly small, do you have any plans for expansion?

Baba 2010: I have a lot of responsible fans, among them Senators, Ministers, and General Managers of companies et cetera, but it will forever remain difficult to get reasonable loans for expansion. We are always constrained by financial limitations. What I am doing now is to pull a lot of fans along my side, and gradually I might make it in the future. Like I said, I am still trying to have good followers and in Nigeria and over the world once you have good followers, you can definitely make it. And as Baba 2010, in the heart of Nigeria, Abuja I am very optimistic as a young and upcoming artist.

Rainer: But I think you have some reasonable responsible patrons who identify themselves with what you are doing and they like your style of play, like one German lady I wish to mention in particular, Madam Regina, they have tried very much to give you encouragement.

Baba 2010: Yes of course, I have such people and I am very proud of this. Like the night-club… she was there for me financially and 90% of the album we are talking now, she was equally there for me. I really appreciated her effort, and some of my patrons, but the bulk of the financial assistance was just her.

Rainer: What about the Government?

Baba 2010: The government is mostly interested in promoting soccer – football and games, they don’t have time in promoting young artists, be it in the musical or any other field.

Rainer: I believe that there is a ready market for artists like you abroad, that is on the international scene. Have you tried to make a move like that towards international markets?

Baba 2010: From here, it is indeed very difficult, when you don’t have a foreigner with some connections to start with, who might like your music and is willing to put in the required effort. Even then, it is an uphill task.

One has to be aware that there is a lot of competition out there, and you have to have tons of luck in addition to your talent and capability as a musician to make a real impact.

Rainer: Let’s talk about the issue of piracy on artists’ products. Have you tried to sign in some marketers to take care of your CD release on the national level? In Lagos, there are some companies like that, moreover, you can get some good CD shops there in Lagos, how is it here in Abuja – your base?

Baba 2010: I repeat, there is no transparency in the system here in Nigeria, and you can’t fight them legally as a young artist because of the money it might take to do it legally, that is why I still hold my CD cuttings to myself, until I will find an honest international marketer. Here in Abuja, there are some CD shops at Wuse market but they are expensive, but in Lagos there are lot of such shops with reasonable prices. And again, there are these ones we call "mobile studios", who cut audio tapes cheaply from dubious sources and they will be playing your music all over the place at very cheap rates. They are the people killing the music industry as far as sales of products are concerned.

Rainer: Is there anything you would like to mention as a foremost priority at this stage you have reached now?

Baba 2010: All I am interested in is this international marketing abroad in Europe and America, with honest promoters and with professionally organised publicity.

Rainer: Now again the PMAN association, of which you are one of the functionaries as a vice chairman in Abuja. What is it really doing in terms of promoting artists?

Baba 2010: Initially, the management of PMAN was not well organised, but with the present PMAN president, King Sunny Ade, a lot might be done to that effect, because he is a very versatile musician and had been long in the musical industry, in short he is a father figure to us all, and I believe he is one of the best in this country and beyond.

Rainer: Thanks so much for the interview.

This interview was conducted for Clicks And Klangs and took place on two occasions, between December 2000 and January 2001 at Abuja/Nigeria. All photographs are also by Rainer.