Here’s what Seyi Shay said about her recent blunders and other things
– Seyi Shay speaks on music career, touring Africa and other aspects of her brand
– The pop star also expressed joy in the current evolution in the Nigerian music industry, citing Wizkid as a figure of repute
– On her recent blunders in the media, she said those acts are deliberate as she tries to blend her style with some humour
Nigerian pop star Seyi Shay takes a break from her African tour as she speaks exclusively to The Guardian’s Life about her journey thus far in the ever evolving Nigerian entertainment industry.
She is bright and bubbly as she told Guardian Life that her tour had been on for three months, covering countries such as Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya with plans for Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The Right Now crooner also stated that the most reception from her tour has been from her South African fans.
She said: “My highlight from the tour thus far is definitely South Africa. Performing at the Club Coco in Cape Town, the show was sold out and it was amazing. And then Pretoria and Jo’Burg – truly just amazing. I think South Africa is my favourite because of the beauty of the country.”
On her blunders in the media starting from December 2015 where she misspelt ‘two’, and then her episode with Hip TV in 2016 where she blundered when asked what the acronym LP stands for, she explained that she’s done all that for the fun of it and to get people laughing.
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She said: “You know, I’ve never really taken myself too seriously because I believe life is too short. Also, I generally feel like there’s a lot more going on in my life than just the business of music. I’ve done music for fifteen years in different parts of the world and what I’ve learned is to not take it too seriously. Sometimes, let people make fun of you – love hard, laugh harder. I made a particular mistake in December with the T-W-O thing, and it’s still funny. I figured, why not keep doing it, just for the LOLs, you know?”
On her recent successes musically and if she is satisfied with her career as an artiste, she said:
Seyi Shay in the NAIJ.com list of 20 single ladies currently running Nigerian entertainment. Credit: Instagram
“Yes, absolutely. I’m not going to stop now though, because I still have so much to achieve and do. For instance, I have my CSR and I have so much to do for the growing children looking up to me. I need to make enough money to be able to support that. I also need to make a statement and be planted firmly enough for people to take me seriously when I tell them to support me for one cause or the other. This is one of the major reasons why I do what I do; I don’t do it for self-gain or vanity.”
On her song Pack And Go and whether it has anything to do with a campaign against domestic violence, she said it was originally an Olamide track but things just played out like that.
She said: “Olamide actually wrote the song ‘Pack and Go’, but the funny thing is I didn’t record that song with any campaign against domestic violence in mind. My CSR has more to do with less privileged children. When the song came out, people became even more alert to how rife domestic violence against women is in Nigeria.
“Even worse, nobody is doing anything about it because Nigeria is still largely a patriarchal society. That was when I dedicated this song to the cause. Thankfully, Pack And Go speaks to abused women and I’m really proud and happy Olamide wrote that song and made me come to the studio to record it.”
On whether her efforts are enough in the music industry to help her achieve her goals in respects of corporate social responsibility, she said:
“Honestly, I think I could be doing more but, again, it depends on what you consider to be ‘enough’ and also what your definition of ‘more’ is.”
On the amount of time it took for her album Seyi Or Shay to drop and whether she should be making music more frequently, she responded saying she has plans to focus more on music.
She said: “I’m going to focus more on the songs I already have and the album that’s already been put together. It takes time to distribute music and it takes a lot of money. However, I like the pace it’s moving at right now. I feel like God is really do His thing in my life.”
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On relocating to Nigeria despite all she had going on for her in the US, she explained that it was the best decision of her life.
She said: “I still feel like it’s the best decision I ever made in my life. Africa right now is the focal point of music, believe it or not. We have a lot of people looking to Nigerians, South Africans, West Africans and East Africans to bring something to the world, musically. I mean, look at Wizkid; he’s presently one of the biggest artistes in the world and he’s Nigerian. There’s no prouder time to be a Nigerian making music than now. When I was working with Matthew Knowles and the girls, it was really just a development and training ground for me. If I had stayed in the UK, the opportunities I have now probably would have never happened because there are 10,000 artistes just like me.”
On the current evolution in the Nigerian music industry and what more she will love to experience in terms of change, she stated that she is actually a part of that change and that everything is happening already.
File photo of Seyi Shay.
She said: “Well, I’m already part of the change. Five years ago, nobody was going to look at Nigerian artistes and take us seriously. I have an international record deal with Island Records, and I’m one of the few Nigerian artistes to be so blessed. This means I now have a great opportunity to distribute my music globally. We’re still working on the music for that deal, but it’s a work in progress.
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“Sometimes, we get carried away with our hustle and it makes sense to give it our all. Sadly, a good number of us lose ourselves in the process of building our brands and businesses. Seyi Shay has mastered the art of living her life in a way that keeps her happy, and still pushing her music so it gets to the places she wants it to go. We’re super excited for future projects the singer is working on, including an EP she revealed to us she will be releasing at the end of this year.”
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, singer Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua returned to Nigeria to pursue her music career and she has been positively reviewed by many since then.
In June 2015, she signed to Island Universal Records. She went on to release her debut studio album in November 2015, it was titled Seyi or Shay.
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