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Vanguard (Lagos)
INTERVIEW
Lolade Sowoolu
He
barged in on us with upsetting lyrics yet he's remained in the
spotlight untarnished for years now. To remain endeared to millions in
different parts of the globe inspite of being down-to-earth and
controversial in lyrics, you need the skills of Ruggedman and the
personality of Michael Ugochukwu Stephens.
Only
then will speaking the truth in a fusion of grammar, slang and
mother-tongue set you free and place you among the blue-blooded. Ask
Ruggedman and he'll tell you as he proves witty, naughty, deep and
humorous, all at once, in this interview with Lolade Sowoolu. Enjoy the
excerpts.
Let's assume you keep a diary and someone stumbles into it. What details is one likely to find in it?
Just
special things that happen in my life on any particular day. Things
different from the norm like; buying a new car, getting an endorsement
or meeting someone special.
Not special as in
date-wise but maybe a particular business move like something that's
happening already but which I can't say now.
I am very adventurous and a spontaneous person too. I like the abnormal.
When was your first experiment with love and what was it like?
It
was in secondary school. I was toasting my younger sister's senior in
school. But wait... that was not the first. I wouldn't really call the
first one love but there was this girl living in my street then. I was
also in secondary school then.
She wasn't in
my school. I don't remember what class she was or her name but she was
Ibo. I liked her. She was cool, slim. I did my best to get to know her
for a week or two. So I went to ask her out and she said, 'yes.' The
time of day I asked her to go out with me was in the afternoon, going
towards.
We hung around each other a while and
the next morning, I don't know what I said wrong and we broke up
(laughter). I think it was one of the fastest dates in the world.
Are you sure you didn't ask her for something she wasn't ready or too early to give?
No.
I actually sent someone to say hi to her and she got angry so I
couldn't have asked for anything... When I saw her, I said, 'what's
wrong with you?' and she said, 'I'm not ready to talk about that' and I
went 'sorry o!' And that was the end.
What part of Lagos did that take place?
That was in Lawanson, Surulere. I was staying in my uncle's house then. That was the good old days.
What do you miss about those days?
Those
were growing up days. Then, at least in Lawanson, the houses didn't
have fences. You could move from your street to the next by just
passing near someone's house and you're on the next. There was no
police to harass you. You could be out on the street till three to four
in the morning without being afraid of anything.
But
now, we don't even know who we're more afraid of; police or thieves?
Some days ago, one of my friends said he feels safer among thieves than
police. That's sad.
Will you say you have experienced real love yet? What was it like?
Yes,
it has happened. I met her in LASU and dated her for five years. I
couldn't keep her out of my sight. Imagine me sitting somewhere and if
someone should come in between my view of her, I'd move chair. I was
that crazy about her. But some very personal family issues came up and
at the end of the day, we had to break up. Trust me, if that hadn't
happened, I'd be married by now.
How soon is the 'single' status changing for 'married'?
I
wouldn't know, trust me. I'm not Nostradamus; I don't know the future.
But I know it will change. We pray it changes. Even my mother wants it
to change very soon (giggles)but I'm the kind of person that's ready to
wait for the right time. I don't do something because everybody's doing
it; I do it because I'm ready for it. I'm not ready for it.
When will you be ready?
I
'm on my way but I'm not ready yet. I don't want a situation where I
would have a wedding and after the wedding, my wife would be drinking
garri. I'm trying to put my finances, especially, in place.
Mentally, I'm working towards it because if
you're a boy at heart that wants to be jumping all over the place,
you're gonna have problems getting married. I think I'm matured now but
I still need other things in place.
Are you sure you're not aiming too high?
Will
it be a crime aiming high? Besides, finance is not the only reason. I'm
also still praying for the right woman. I don't want to marry a girl, I
want to marry a woman. I don't want to marry my fan, I want to marry my
friend. I have a lot of fans. And right now, I am praying for the
discerning spirit to be able to perceive my wife.
I can't be blinded by the fact that so many
people try to 'shake it all' in front of me because of the status.
That's why I don't want to rush into it (marriage). I don't want to
confuse people. When I'm ready, I'm gonna let people know. Only that I
think I would want to marry in secret because I don't want trouble.
What are you shy about?
I'm
not a loud person. I tell a lot of people that I'm actually a shy human
being but they don't believe. I shy away from a whole lot. If I go to a
party, I can't go outside. I just want to be in the company of my
friends and just chilling. I feel uncomfortable when I'm outside and so
many people are staring. Yes, I've done shows where I have like 10,000
people but that's Ruggedman performing. That's my job. When I'm not
doing it, why can't I just be?
You have managed your fame so well that you have stayed free of scandals. How easy has it been remaining in the good books?
That's
because I do not let the fame take control of Michael. Michael controls
Ruggedman's fame. And because I'm a good person, as crazy as I may be
and sound, I'm a very good person. Also, whoever I have dealings with,
business or otherwise, they are always mature people. Again, I'm not
the loud type.
When I go clubbing, I stay
among my friends. So even if I go crazy, I go crazy among friends.
That's why many times when I go to parties and club, I am not with my
head gear so many people don't notice me.
I
have no scandals because I don't do things anyhow and I always remember
where I am coming from. The last thing I wanna do on this earth is make
my mother cry because of something stupid I did.
Then,
one thing that can kill me is conscience. If I criticize somebody on
stage, I'm doing it professionally not personally. When I do it
personally, I feel guilty but when I do it professionally, I don't feel
the guilt. That's why after I did 'ehn ehn' with Eedris, I still went
back to do a song with him. Anything I do, I do with an open heart.
So how does Michael differ from Ruggedman?
Ruggedman
signs a whole lot of autographs. He's a no-nonsense musician and an
entertainer. Michael is so naughty, very down-to-earth and so very
friendly. Ruggedman is an artiste that has some of the attributes of
Michael. And then Ruggedman is a lot more popular than Michael.
I'd
rather gist with a mallam than talk with an ego-tripping person that
feels because he has all the money, people are below him. That's me.
What's your relationship with Mode 9 like and why the dispute on who the real king of Nigerian rap is?
He's
a Nigerian artiste and I'm a Nigerian artiste. That's where it ends.
I've heard him say some stuffs about me so hey... The last thing I'd do
is compete with anybody. I'm not competing with anybody; I'm beyond
competition. I'm doing my music the way I feel it and the way I love it
and the way people are feeling it.
To me, the
biggest rap artiste in Nigeria before was Eedris Abdulkareem. He wasn't
so good lyrically but Eedris is a wonderful performer. But as things
turned out, my door opened and since Eedris Abdulkareem, Ruggedman has
been the biggest Nigerian rap artiste.
I'm
about the only person preaching Nigerian hip hop, Nigerian culture.
Check out my resume against those saying this and that. Please ask them
what they've achieved with keeping the American rap culture real in
Nigeria and what people have achieved through them.
Why haven't we heard anything new from you music-wise since you dropped Ruggedy Baba album?
I
veered off a bit into clothing and I'm trying to make that stable. I've
been working on it for a couple of years now. I had a fashion show last
September 20th and then the unveiling of my collection on the 30th of
May.
That was when the clothes came out for sale but
I'll be dropping a single from my new album in about a month from now
and I can officially tell you that the album is going to be my last.
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