By Tony Ogaga
Temple Management and Mavin Records act, Iyanya Mbuk aka Iyanya hit the limelight after the release of Kukere. The musician went ahead and released other hit tracks like Your Waste and Sexy Mama before parting ways with his record label. In this chat with Entertainer, Iyanya, who recently performed at Big Brother Naija eviction show, talks about his career, his new EP, the heady days of Kukere, women and his affair with Ghanaian star actress, Yvonne Nelson.
Since you joined Mavin Records you have dropped two singles and it is glaring your sound has changed. Are you not scared you could lose your fans?
Good music is good music. As long as you continue to drop good music, people will continue to love you. I am not competing with anybody. My vision is to give my fans music that they will appreciate. I don’t think the fans have any problems with it because it is the same fans that are on twitter hailing me and making videos.
What should we expect from your EP which drops March 28?
It is a fusion of the old and the new Iyanya. I have worked with new producers. There is reggae, highlife and R&B. I have Tiwa Savage on it and we have about 12 tracks. The album is entitled Signature EP.
Can you shed light on your visit to Roc Nation recently? Are you planning a collaboration with the label?
It was a great one. They were very happy to receive me. They picked one of my songs, World Class, for distribution and they all loved it. I was very excited before we left the US. Roc Nation has that platform which every artiste needs to reach the world via distribution. Roc Nation is a big movement. Talking about collabos, that is the point. We’re looking at a collabo. They will be representing me in America. It is a big deal that will impact on my career no doubt.
Before Kukere, was there a time you felt like quitting the race?
Oh yes. Back then, I had this new sound and I was positive MTN would use its platform to promote it. When I was in the house, I thought I was going to blow overnight and MTN would use its platform to promote my new sound .After the competition I did a couple of R&B songs and they weren’t making impact and MTN wanted me to do commercial music. I was confused for a while. They said I had to do the street stuff. I had N2.5m and family and friends all over were requesting for money. Everybody believed that I had made it, meanwhile, I had just started. It was actually the kick-off and it wasn’t really easy. It took two years to get Kukere and the expectations were so high. I had to study all the popular Nigerian artistes including Styl Plus, Wande Coal and Tuface and I was hanging out with them. I wanted to know how they did theirs .
Kukere was the song that transformed your career, can you recount the experience?
I was fresh and you know how it is when a child is born, everybody celebrates you. That was what happened to me. Fake friends, women and everything came my way and it was fun. Everybody wanted you at their parties, everybody wanted to snap photos with you. It was crazy. I was having fun. And I was like ‘hope say you fit do another one’. And then Your Waste came and then Sexy Mama and other hit songs.
Tell us about the women in your life?
That was back then… right now, the woman in my life? That is a hard one-o.
Are you in a relationship?
I am not in a relationship and it is not that I don’t want a woman in my life but being Iyanya is so demanding. My commitments are making it difficult for me to have a steady relationship. Not everybody wants to accept the fact that I am in love with someone who would not always be around.
Was that the reason you broke up with Yvonne Nelson?
Yes, we broke up because we hardly had time for each other. Every time she flew in from Ghana, I was busy. Then I had the Kukere thing going. At that point if I was offered N500,000, I would do the show. I would do four shows a day and make N2 million. I was hustling and I was not going to say that because I was in love, I should lose money, and it is still happening. It is not easy, especially when you have a girlfriend and she is watching your snap chat posts backstage and all the girls are hugging you. And then you finally found a nice girl that was ready to bear all that, but all her friends started complaining that you are a musician. So, I decided to focus on my music and make money.
Did you ever find a girl but her parents said no?
Yes, when I showed up, they would say ‘aaah, this boy is a heart breaker!’- And I am like, ‘come on, I’m a human being.’ Every time I see a girl that is ready, it is either her friends or her sisters are saying ‘is this not Yvonne Nelson’s boyfriend?’ But for crying out loud, this thing happened many years ago. And also, don’t forget that everything was new and exciting to me then.
Could we say Yvonne Nelson’s experience cost you so much?
No, but it made people think that I am who I’m not. It gave me that bad guy image. So many times, I played the quiet guy and allowed the lady do all the talking and everybody was like ‘yeah he is not talking, he is guilty.’
What is your relationship with her today?
We are cool. We talk once in a while.
What does love mean to you?
For me, love is all about loving and accommodating the imperfect side of people. Love is when you are able to accept somebody’s imperfection and help them to grow.
Let us look at marriage. What are you plans?
When I finally make up my mind to settle down I don’t think I will reveal it to the media, because I have not seen any marriage in the media that turned out successful. I have not seen any marriage that media helped. So, when I decide to settle down, I will do it my own way, quietly. I feel my life is public enough.