I’m the new king
of African pop
By EMMANUEL ABANAH, Abuja
Friday, November 26, 2004
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•Eedris
Abdulkareem
Photo by Sun News
Publishing
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High rising hip-hop sensation, Eedris Abdulkareem recently
said he is eyeing the future for a more fulfilling career
in music. The musician who last October teamed up with Maintain
for a major performance tour of Britain hinted that his ambition
is to become an international artiste and a worthy ambassador
of Nigeria.
He also chastised his former musical partner, Eddy Montana
of the defunct Remedies, saying that Eddy belongs to the past
and that he is all for the future. In an encounter with Daily
Sun at Abuja, Eedris reacted to Montana’s recent allegation
that he (Eedris) betrayed him by signing on Kenny’s
Music after they had both agreed to reject the offer.
Focus on the future
Now I got a focus, I have a future, I am heading somewhere.
I have a whole lot of people to influence and people watching
me. They depend on me because God made it so. So I don’t
want to talk about the past, I want to talk about the future,
I want to see things happening in my own family.
Future of African hip hop
You cannot even see the future. It is beyond what you can
see because God brings the future. We have not started yet.
We are talking about African hip-hop here. That is the future
of hip-hop and Eedris Abdulkareem represents African hip-hop.
Rap music is for the black man, the black man is for Africa,
Africa is Nigeria, Nigeria is Lagos and Lagos is Eedris Abdulkareem.
Remedies
I prefer to address myself to the challenges of the future.
Remedies is of the past and I don’t want to bring myself
into that controversy. I heard that Eddy Montana said I betrayed
him. He said we both agreed to shun an offer by Kenny’s
Music to wax our record but there is no such thing. If he
wants to contend this, let him come out with proofs of his
allegation.
Between Lagos and Abuja
Abuja is for those who “chop” all the money. Abuja
is a city of connections. Here you have rich kids just sitting
at home and their parents giving them money but in Lagos you
see boys on the streets dying of hunger and intellectual poverty.
When we find the little money we can and rush to the studios
to work, piracy takes over everything and our sweat goes to
people who do not share our creativity.
Women and Mr Lecturer
I know it could be the dream of some ladies to drag me into
relationships, but I want to say that I am in a
relationship. I am in a relationship with somebody.
Social life and fashion
In accordance with the African hip-hop message that I pass
to people, I love African fabrics and my favourite designer
is Ashebi. Although the name is for a local Nigerian textile,
I love anything indigenous particularly those things that
originate from Africa.
Nigerian youths
I respect Nigerian youths, they are intelligent and resourceful.
For example, I’ll like to commend the organisers of
a recent show we had at the National Stadium, Abuja. Although
there were foreign musicians in attendance, but the organisers
gave us maximum support in such a way that some of us competed
favourably with our foreign counterparts.
London Independence show
Yes, Maintain and I were in London for the celebration of
Nigeria’s 44th independence annivesary in Britain. One
of our promising youths, Ayo Sonaiya who is based in America
was behind the show. He is one of the youths I described as
being intelligent and well focused. We had a beautiful show
in England and the entire black community and our kinsmen
in Diaspora felt proud to receive us. We really had a nice
outing as people were asking for more even after our performances.
African music has a lot of promise even in the international
market. This is why we musicians in this part of the world
must try and improve on our skills and promote what belongs
to us.
Me and my fans
I love Nigerians for believing in me, appreciating me and
buying my CD. Without my fans, there will be no me. The Abuja
concert was a way of encouraging people living with HIV/AIDS
to know that they won’t just die because they are also
relevant to the society.
Albums
My CDs include Mr Lecturer, You Promise to Marry Me and Oko
Omoge
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