Alariwo Confesses: My Father-in-Law Was Against My Marriage

Alariwo's confession

For popular Afro Beat act, Rotimi Matins fondly dubbed ‘Alariwo of Africa,’ life always had its surprising twists and turns; not just when he became a toast of music fans across the globe but even in the hustle and bustle of surviving the rugged terrain of the streets of Lagos.

As an entertainer; happily married with three kids, Alariwo cuts the image a man with so much working for him. While this would be ticked as being right, the singer has also has his fair share of travails.

One of such encounters played out when he met his wife and professed love to her. However, despite the sincerity of his feelings for her, her father made it clear that he was not ready to accept Alariwo as a son-in-law.

In an interview with Opeyemi Ajayi, Alariwo revealed details of how he eventually conquered his father-in-law’s resistance and won his heart.

In addition, he also spoke about one of his biggest mentors, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, his own music career, his plans for the Nigerian music industry, how Lucky Dube’s death moved him to record a song for him in 45 minutes and other interesting issues.

You once did an album where you claimed to be the ‘king of Crossover music.’ Your critics have been saying you have abandoned Afro music and you are now trying to hook up with the commercial type of music. What is your reaction to this?

Afro music is commercial; any music that is commercial is commercial. I came up with a concept that is called crossover beats and that is why people call me Crossover King. Crossover music is a fusion of highlife, traditional rhythm and emphasis on Afro beats. To the commercial aspect of it, I’m a musician and I’m exploring. Exploring can be done from different perspectives and when people listen to my song, they would still realize that it has got a fusion of Afro beat in it. I can never abandon my kind of concept. My concept is a fusion of African rhythm and I’m still doing it.

There was a movie in the works on Fela by Warner Bros and South Africa was picked as the location for the movie. Fela is a Nigerian - what’s your reaction to this?

South Africa has a lot of facilities they can provide for them. Nigeria does not have the facilities they want. Production wise, equipment wise, Nigeria is no match for SA.  They can go to local territories in South Africa to shoot. It is not that they cannot shoot the film here in Nigeria but they feel more convenient and safer shooting in South Africa. If they are bringing equipments from America; even if some of them are missing, they know that when they get to South Africa they can get it. So, they want something more comfortable.

Fela is a Nigerian and the house he lived in when he was alive is still in existence. Don’t you think it will rub off the fact that Fela is truly a Nigerian?

It’s a movie and so it’s not compulsory they have to do it in Fela’s house. It’s not compulsory they have to do it in Fela’s country. They have sat down and they must have done their homework. I feel they know the right place to do what they want to do. The film Mandela by Danny Glover was not shot in South Africa, but there were some scenes that were shot in South Africa; so, we should not be particular about where they want to shoot it as long as they deliver.

Don’t you think that for Fela’s sake and for tourism sake, they should shoot some scenes here in Nigeria?

We don’t know if they are still going to shoot some scenes in Nigeria but I want to believe that some scenes might be shot here. I’m not too sure.

How has it been working with Nelson Brown?

Nelson Brown has been my producer from the very first day I came out as Alariwo of Africa. He will continue to be my producer till I stop making music. I derive joy working with Nelson Brown because we understand each other. I was discovered by Femi Lasode and Nelson Brown, even if I don’t have money to give to Nelson to say thank you, I will continue to appreciate Nelson for what he has been doing for me and what he is still doing. I have a new song ‘Back on Track.’ I actually refused Nelson producing it because I didn’t want him to hear the content of the song. After producing, I played it for him. In the song I said ‘…e don tey, no be today, Africa en vogue, na him show me the way, Nelson Brown go do our beat but we no go pay…’ It’s an avenue for people to know what we went through with Nelson Brown; what the likes of 2 Face and the rest of us had with Nelson. He discovered us, stayed with us and sponsored us without even looking back. I feel comfortable working with Nelson because he is a crossover producer. If it is High Life, Hip Hop, R n B, Dancehall or any kind of music you want to hear. He can make the beat for you and because he’s experienced, I want to work with an experienced person and an experienced legend that I feel comfortable working with. We went to awards together and we had not even slept but we are ready to go back to my house and make some beats in my studio.

Are you still a broadcaster?

I’m still a broadcaster. I resigned from Eko FM 89.75 in 2004. Others stations have been begging me to come over but I refused going back to radio until I get a station that I feel comfortable to work with and the programme would still be called Afro Fusion; strictly Afro beat. I still have it in mind to do presentation on radio. I was on radio for 14years and I think I should just get a break. It was not about the money. It was about the love. Sometimes, when I hear myself talking on radio, I feel proud that I’m the one talking. We were not paid properly but the love was just there. Broadcasting has to be in you; some people just spend 2 or 5 years and they still regard themselves as broadcaster. They don’t know what it entails. They don’t know the rudiments of broadcasting but we can’t argue with them. I’m still a broadcaster by God’s grace.

What informed the name Alariwo of Africa?

I’m still a journalist and an Emcee. But back then when I held Emcee at events, somebody just said ‘…je ka gbo orin jo alariwo (which translates into ‘let us hear the song…noisemaker’). To the person that said that, he was insulting me but I took it as a complement. I was Alariwo of Oregun until I met Femi Lasode and he said Alariwo of Africa. So, the person that gave me the name thought he was insulting me but I took it as a complement. He is still there in Oregun, his name is Paul Gee and he’s from Bayelsa state. Here I am, I’m still Alariwo and I can’t change it. So, the name was given to me by someone.

Can we get to know the family man, Alariwo of Africa?

The family man Alariwo is married to his wife, mother and friend. He is married to a lady that can never be taken away from him. He’s married to a lady that no matter how many ladies come close to him, those ladies will go and the woman will stay. He’s married to a lady that suffered with him; a lady that by God’s grace, no woman can come in between them. He’s married to a lady that if he’s hungry and has no money, the lady will make sure money comes from somewhere. You know women have a way of hiding money. If you give them N1, 000, they will use N200 and keep the remaining N800. My wife is everything to me. My wife is my life. On my phone, she’s my screensaver. I stored her name with ‘My Life’ on my phone. I don’t mess around with her. Anybody that cannot stand the heat in the kitchen should please leave. When she was going through the thick and thin of life with me, nobody was there and I’m not ready to accommodate anybody.

How did you meet her?

I met my wife in Oregun. She came with her best friend to see her best friend’s boyfriend then. Immediately I saw her, what struck me was that we look alike and I said to myself that this is my wife. I playfully told her that I would marry her. She was just looking at me with disgust. Then, I was nobody. The year was around 1995. Her mother owns a shop where she sells bags of rice. She would go to her mother’s shop, steal some cups of rice and groundnut oil and bring them to me. Then, I was a street boy with street credibility and I was staying with a friend in Oregun. She was working and was trying to make things work for me. The day I respected my wife was when I had this show in Porthacourt with Ettien Tboy and Daniel Wilson. When I came back, I was paid N30, 000. The cab that I boarded from the airport down to my house belonged to people that had set me up. I didn’t know they had taken the money from me. I was so exhausted on getting to her office. She told me not to worry; that it had been destined to happen that way. She later gave me N100. I went home and slept with a comforted soul. She’s always been there and I will continue to appreciate her. I’ve got three lovely kids. I’ve got Johanna, Kikelomo and David. Dakijo was formed out of these three names. I just picked the first two beginning letters of the name of my last born to the first to give ‘Dakijo.’ My first born is Johanna, while the second is Kikelomo and my last born who is a boy is David. So, I turned the name backwards and used the initials to form my label.

How do you balance entertainment with family life?

I do spend quality time with my kids. I love my family and anytime I wake up, I thank God for myself because some of my colleagues are yet to get married. The colleagues of my generation are not yet married. If I wasn’t married before I became a celebrity, the tendency of not getting married might have set in so I thank God I’m married and I’m enjoying every bit of it.

How did you pop the question?

I didn’t pop the question. It just happened naturally. I believe what belongs to you comes to you. It just clicked and we became very close. Those times, I would be handling events; I would be on stage and some guys at the event would be toasting my wife. She would say: “That’s my husband” and the toasters would say: “It’s a lie; you guys look very much alike.” One day, I just said to her, let’s get married and she laughed because she thought I was joking.

How many years did you guys date?

I met her in 1995 and I got married to her in 1996. When I told her we should get married, she did not react. Like I said, what belongs to you is definitely yours. Maybe it was destined that we are going to be married. Things were very rough for us. We left my friend’s place where we were staying to my dad’s house but I wasn’t too comfortable with this because she was pregnant. When she put to bed my first child, I got my first 1million naira concert. Immediately I collected the money and I drove out of Ojota because I didn’t want an apartment in Ojota. While I was driving, I saw an uncle of mine who was trained by my father. Incidentally, he was an estate agent at that time. He told me he had 3-bedroom flat and I inquired the price and he told me. When I saw the place, I said I’d take it and I paid for 4 years because I know myself. If I hadn’t paid, I might end up spending carelessly. She put to bed in 1999. We stayed with my dad for like 7 months before we now moved to Ogba after securing the apartment. I used the remaining money to put the house in order.

Your wife saw your growth in the industry. How was she reacting to your female fans then and now?

She never reacted. She was always calm. Back then, when she was pregnant and I’m having an event to attend, we are always at the event together. She was not encouraged by her parents and I didn’t want her to feel depressed.

Did her parents try to stop the marriage?

No, her father was not really in support of the marriage because her father knew me on the street as a street boy. You know fathers are always protective but later the man had to accept. We are best of friends now.

How come you’ve remained relevant?

I remain relevant for two treasons. One is God and the other is the fact that I’m a graduate of Public Relations and I know I love PR, so I have to be at the right places at the right time. I don’t have a publicist. I do my publicity myself. If you are not at the right places at the right time, you can’t get the right things at the right time. Like I said, I’ve remained relevant through God and my humble self. I’m making things work for myself and people are wondering how I am able to sustain myself without doing music. I’m a professional MC, I package events. I consult for people and I own a studio so I have a lot of things that can generate funds for me by God’s grace. So no matter how small it is, God is in control.

Your songs always blame the government and entertainment enthusiasts are beginning to feel that you can’t do music that people can really dance to. What is your reaction to this?

I’m a musician; whatever song you hear from me, you listen. If you don’t like the first track, then you can skip to the next track. In this new album, I have commercial songs. I have songs criticizing the government as well. But like I said, if you listen to one and you don’t like it because Alariwo has started criticizing the government again, then skip it to the next track. If you don’t like the next one that has to do with love, skip it to the next one that has to do with me talking about my career. Life is about change. Whichever one you like, you choose. My album was produced by Nelson Brown, Dokta Frabs and a young boy called K Piano. I had to use different people because everybody knows Nelson is my childhood friend and they are saying why would Nelson do all my songs and I’m like okay, let me get other people on the album too; and that was exactly what I did. So, whatever people feel about the song let them listen, the ones they don’t want to hear, skip to the next track. The Hip Hop boys will say DJ, track 2.

With the recent development in the music industry that has seen Nigerian artistes featuring international acts, what do you think this is doing for the industry?

Well, everybody has his own vision and focus about how he/she is going to live his/her life. I’m a musician. By God’s grace, I’m a young legend and by God’s grace, my songs always stand the test of time. I was going to UK, in the plane, ‘Yawa Go Gas’ was played and I was so happy. The pilot said they should go and call me from the regular seats (Economy) and they took me to Business class. I did not pay N320, 000 naira, I paid N80, 000 on an Arik flight but I was elevated. My song was done in 1998 but when they play it, people still stand and dance. Most Nigerian musicians now are singing rubbish and smiling to the bank because they want to make money. They don’t want to make what we call credibility. They don’t want to do what people will listen to in 15 years time and still love. If my son ask me what ‘Yawa go gas’ means, I can explain to him what I means. I was talking about the situation of the country then which is still relevant. When Fela was talking, they thought he was crazy, when I called Tony Ogaga now, what I heard from his caller tone was ‘whether you like or you no like, after you hear this little talk…’ Now, why would Jay Z use Fela’s song to do a rap? I almost got a deal in America but my international manager blew it because he was being professional. There is a group called ‘The Roots’ in America. They wanted to use ‘Yawa Go Gas’ but my international manager said she doesn’t believe in royalties and that they should pay her the full money. That was how I lost it. If ‘The Roots’ had used ‘Yawa Go Gas’ without telling me, I wouldn’t have bothered because I know they will pay me royalty. This happened in 2006. They went to a shop and saw a compilation that included ‘Yawa Go Gas’ and it took their interest. In America, you play songs and you listen. You don’t play it on the street. They listened to the song and thought it was Fela. They loved the song. What they wanted was to know just the chorus alone and fuse their rap in it and I lost it.

How did you feel about it?

I don’t need to feel anyhow because my manager was doing her job. Normally, you have to give advance royalty before you take someone’s song. The Roots is the only rap group in America that plays live band. I can’t do anything; maybe it was destined to happen that way. If it had happened, my brother, I would have been a step ahead. It’s not just about doing something with foreign artistes. It’s about delivering your best when a time to do collaboration with foreign artiste comes. A lot of people are doing collaborations with foreign artistes and it’s working out well for them. When it’s my turn to do it, I’ll do it. If it doesn’t come, then I’ll continue to be myself. Fela never did a collaboration with any foreign artiste. Foreign artistes were coming to do collabos with him. Ginger Baker, Sandra Dickson did and he even wrote songs for them. So, if anybody appreciates me, then all well and good. I appreciate a whole lot of people. Internationally, I’m crazy about Robert Kelly, India Irie and Angie Stone. I’m a deep artiste but I can’t force myself to meet them. If I meet them and the opportunity comes, I’ll do it. If you ask me the person I want to do a collabo with right now, I’ll tell you India Irie because I’m a deep artiste and I know the kind of songs I want to do. Foreign artistes like Salif Keita, Bobba Marl, Yousun Dour and a host of them are my favourites that I would love to work with if I had the opportunity. As for foreign artistes in America, I would love to have R-Kelly because I love his style of music because he sings, raps, and does everything. He is a crossover king in America.  I sing too and I rap. I was discouraged from rap by Nelson Brown. I rap very well. I also do Afro Beat very well. I do comedy very well and I package events very well so, I’m a big time crossover king.

Now that we've heard his story, i feel Alariwo deserves a hug

Interview by Opeyemi Ajayi