I don’t think about scandals – Sunny Neji

Highlife music maestro and Oruka crooner, Sunny Neji, talks about his career, his latest album Love Wins. He also spoke about Nigerian music industry and Nollywood, among other issues.

Your latest album is titled Love Wins. Is it just the usual love song or is it drawn from a personal experience?

Basically, most times I sing about human relations and love, and over the years I am more than convinced even now more than ever that love will always win regardless of what you go through, regardless of what you think, as an individual, as a people, as a country love will always bring victory. That is the message in that album. It is an inspirational message of the album which is that love will always win.

Most people will easily remember your albums such as Mr Fantastic, “Unchained”, which has your most popular songs such as ‘Oruka’, ‘Face me’ and ‘Tolotolo’, and others. Compared to Love Wins, how has it been?

We cannot compare them. I think the inspiration is given to us as creative people at different times for different reasons. And for every time you drop the inspiration in a medium, in an art form, it could be a painting, it could be a song, dance, drama, whenever you get it; it always perform that for which you got it. All those other albums, they serve their purposes. ‘Love Wins’ is also serving its purpose. Among your songs, which one do you find more inspiring or closer to your heart? They all engaged me differently. At every point in time, they engage me differently. So I just flow with the inspiration that comes. And every inspiration is different. Some you might work on it for a month, some two months, some three months, and some can be a year, two years or even three years. So they all happen differently and it is always better to treat them differently. And I have not sat down to say which one tasked me most.

Your debut album Captain, what really inspired it?

I had a whole lot of people who supported me in the album Captain. One of them was a major factor, a major figure in my life; his name is Soga Benson, who was of the old Ofege group. He is one person that really supported me in the production of the album – Captain. He took it upon himself, after the master tape, we then began to look for record companies that could sign me on. We went to Polygram and eventually, we got a deal with EMI Records, but you know at that time my kind of music wasn’t what most recording companies were looking for. They were looking for reggae music which was the in-thing then. So EMI didn’t really give much attention to ‘Captain’. That was what set the tone for everything that I was going to do.

Is that the reason why you left EMI for Colours Band?

Well, as a growing young man at that time, you are into a whole lot of things. So, of course, that didn’t deter me, I joined Colours Band by the invitation of Bisade Ologunde (popular known today as Lagbaja). And we did very well and I grew in the band as an artist, as a creative person, as a songwriter. I learnt a whole lot from being a member of that band. And of course, that also went ahead to set the tone for every other thing that followed, from ‘Mr. Fantastic’, ‘Roforofo’, ‘Unchained’, and the rest. At a point, you joined GMI Intercontinental. What happened? EMI was an international company but, as I said, EMI wasn’t really set to promote my kind of music at the time, and I wasn’t going to let that discourage me. So I went ahead to improve on what I was doing, and of course, I got signed on by GMI and I released Mr Fantastic.

How have you been able to avoid scandals despite your popularity?

I don’t know why people keep asking me this question. Is it that people like scandals or what? To tell you the truth, I don’t think about those things. Music for me is a job just like any other has a job. A lawyer has his job; the banker, the politician, and the civil servant have respective jobs. Music is a job, so, I am doing that as a calling. So I don’t sit down to think about those things really. I just focus on what I am doing, and enjoy what I am doing, and hope that I am able to connect with people out there, my fans out there, in one way or another. Those are the things that really have my attention. I don’t really think about things like scandals.

Have you been embarrassed?

Why do people think this only happens to entertainers?

Maybe, because of the nature of their profession, or don’t you think so?

But everybody has fans, lawyers have fans, politicians have fans. Once you have people who follow you, who like what you do, people who can connect with you, they are your fans. Like I said, I don’t focus on those things. I just focus on creativity. Those are the things that guide me.

You mean you have never been embarrassed before?

When you are on a concert stage a whole lot of things can happen, depending on the mood of the moment. Depending on the mood of the moment, a whole lot of things can happen. Your fans can jump on stage to dance with you. I have experienced all those things, but they are part of what happens on stage.

What is your opinion about the Nigerian music industry today?

The industry has been dynamic just like every other thing else is dynamic. There are bound to change; we cannot expect the industry to be like the way it was in the 60s or the 70s or in the 80s. It is a dynamic thing, and it keeps changing. So, what is happening today is for today, and we should just take it, love it, appreciate it the way we see what is today. We should not want to change it to what was happening in the 70s. No, it is not even going to be possible, because today’s people are today’s people. There is nothing we can do about it.

What about the lyrics?

The lyrics equally reflect what is happening in the society today. Nobody creates in isolation. People create from what is happening around them, what they are seeing around them. So when people are bashing Nigerian artists, they should also consider what is happening around. Nobody creates in isolation; artists create from what is happening. But it is not as if we don’t have artists singing some very good lyrics. Of course, there are some artists that are producing good lyrics.

What is your take on Nollywood?

Nollywood, just like the music industry, also has been changing; it’s been very dynamic. You have to give credit to the people in our entertainment industry generally; we all know what is happening in the country. But the industry has grown so big and has won respectability all over the world. We are not perfect but we are not doing too badly. Yes, there are a few things we can do better.

How would you describe yourself?

I am someone who loves life; someone who thinks everybody should love life too. Someone who has respect for every human being, and who wants every human being to have respect for one another; someone who loves God very much, who fears God. I believe that our country Nigeria can be a better place if we have leaders who truly love the people get into positions of authority.

Why have you not gone into politics like some of your colleagues have done?

It is okay if anyone feels that they have a calling to do that. All over the world, we have entertainers getting into politics and they are doing very well. But it is not something I am considering now.