Damiete Braide
Up-and-coming Afro highlife act, Anidiobi Kenechi aka Kene believes that greed is the major cause of breakups between artistes and record labels in Nigeria.
For him, it is better to renegotiate the agreement and arrive at a compromise rather than part ways. An indigene of Udi LGA of Enugu State and currently a signee of Tonic Music Entertainment (TME), he recently released a string of singles including Ote, Eledumare, Ada, Egwu Amala and Jideofor. He opens up to TS Weekend.
Why are you into music?
Music has always been a part of me since I was a child. I stayed with my grandfather and he usually told me stories and sang to me as well. Little wonder I developed interest in music. Initially, my parents didn’t support me. When I was a kid, if I saw any chicken with a broken leg, I would treat it, so my parents wanted me to become a medical doctor but as time rolled by, I knew I wouldn’t be able to cope. When I told my parents, I wanted to go into music, they said no because to them music is for dropouts. I sing in English, Igbo and Yoruba and it is for all classes of people.
Coming to Lagos
I came to Lagos in 2007 and stayed with my elder brother. I went to a radio station and they said my music was good but I had to give them money for them to play it. I didn’t have the kind of money they requested for. I left and went back to Enugu to continue playing music. I had my first show and kept on playing music; I never gave up music. I went to a show and met a man who told me that my music was good. He gave me his number to call which I did and he advised me to go to a music school to know more about music. In 2017, I came to Lagos and went to Ten Strings Music Institute. Presently, I am a signee of Tonic Music Entertainment (TME).
My kind of music
My kind of music is Afro highlife. It has a danceable rhythm different from others because I try to bring out the real highlife in music. I believe people understand a lot of things through music because they enjoy the rhythm of the song. I tell people stories through my music and that affects the lives of people positively.
Between Flavour and I
People say that my music is similar to that of Flavour, but I am only doing what I know how to do best and he (Flavour) is doing his own kind of music as well. The sky is big enough for every bird. Our music may be similar but it is not the same. I look forward to doing collaborations with Flavour and other musicians in the country. However, I have done two collaborations with KCEE and Ceeza Milli.