Baba Fryo - My Frustration As A Musician

Denge Pose crooner Baba Fryo is still around, very much around. Our reporter recently caught up with him in Tedi Village in Ojo Local government area of Lagos and what could you expect? One of Ajegunles finest bared it all. 

Excerpts:

WHAT is happening to Baba Fryo?

I am living a very simple life and trying to re-arrange myself since my last record label Ojez Music, frustrated me. I am trying to pick up myself again. If you listen to Peter Tosh in one of his songs he said: I got to pick up myself, dust myself up, and start all over again. So, I just want to start all over again as if I have not done music at all. I have some beautiful tracks right now. I will release one on air as a single.

What do you mean exactly by being frustrated?

My album was delayed for three years. Is that not frustration? Already I have taken my mind off music. I was made to feel as if I am no longer doing music again. He didnt make me feel as if I am still in the industry.

What were the terms of the contract?

For me, I refused to sign any contract when time has been far spent. It took them three years to draft a contract as against when I started with them spanning one to three years. You are now asking me to sign a contract. I am not a baby in this industry. That is why today, artistes pay for their songs to be on CD compilation and also pay the marketer to sell their music. The music industry is already corrupt. It has cancer for now.

COSON is paying royalty. Are you a member?

People that are being paid now are members of COSON. I am not a member of COSON but a member of MCSN. MCSN and all others are having issues. They dont have time to look for money. Everything about our royalty is pending. While I was there, they usually give us something no matter how small. I used to be a member of PMRSN, that is the former COSON.I left because they were not working well.

How many albums do you have?

I have three. I am working on the fourth one.

What happened after you released , Notice Me and why Notice Me?

Notice Me is about people who are full of themselves. You know my music affects the lives of people positively. Before the Notice Me song, there were a lot of braggarts who pretended to be what they were not. When people travel and return from abroad you know how they intimidate people around here .

It was rumoured that the song was an attack on Daddy Fresh?

Well, I will not say it was an attack on Daddy Fresh. In my first song, I said , I want to throw a stone and anybody the stone meets, thats his own problem. It is a conscience. If you are engaged in notice me and I play that song, it will affect you. Many musicians attacked me when I released the song. I will not mention names but they know themselves. Those who put earrings on their noses, ears, tongues, stomachs, everywhere, they attacked me seriously. I give thanks to God for the inspiration. Everybody has what influences what they do. People feel the kind of songs I compose and I am happy because when I did Denge Pose, it really affected people positively .

It was rumoured that you made so much money but lavished it, living in hotels?

That is iniquity. I lived in a hotel but I didnt pay a dime. It was while I was living in the hotel that I thought of buying a land. The first land I bought was two plots. When I realized I didnt like the area, I decided to sell them and bought other lands at Okoafo and Amuwo. Living in a hotel to me is a worthwhile experience. I experienced many things .It is not every cloth that is dried in the sun. I spent and Im still spending. But I dont spend anyhow. I still give thanks to God.

What was your experience?

You will see the case of a nursing mother with her baby coming to the hotel to sleep with an old man using a walking stick. I have seen some men with pregnant women. Not that the owner of the hotel supports these things , he dares not see it. Some would come with their child, give the child biscuit and leave him at the reception while they climb upstairs for the amorous romp even in a very hot afternoon. I saw many iniquities.

Denge Pose, was said to be an attack on Showkey?

Like I said, anybody who thought I was referring to him, then I was referring to him.

What is your relationship with Daddy Showkey now?

We are best of friends. We have talked about the past and realised we have made our mistakes. If we had been working together right from time, I think many Ajegunle artistes would be more successful today. Now that we are working together things are bound to improve for our people.

What do you think about Majek Fashek?

I wasnt close to Majek. Some individuals are saying his problem is spiritual. You cannot ask a sick person to tell you what is wrong with him. He cannot. If you ask Majek, he would tell you its spiritual. I think Majek needs to go back in time to correct his mistakes, his lifestyle.

You have been in music for sometime but some younger guys have taken over. 

Do you honestly think you can still make a great comeback?

I believe hundred per cent that I will come back with my own pattern. Let me tell you something, some people believe that you must play what these boys are playing before you can make it. No, I disagree. Play something that people will accept. Once people accept what you play, that is all. I listen to the music they play these days and discovered they are old pattern. Its just a small touch that is added. Listen to Flavour. The beat is old, it is the tempo that has been increased. Even the woman that sang Ko si Oba bi re, is not different from the normal gospel music that was being played in the past. How can Baba Fryo sing like all these small boys? That is iniquity.

What kind of music do you play?

I play Afro reggae beat. That is why when I sing, they would say I sing like Fela. My own pattern is not Afrobeat. If you say Fela did not sing like someone, we were not his age mates when he was alive. We may not know who was Felas mentor or who he sang like. Somebody must imitate somebody.

In other words, Fela influenced your going into music?

Not only Fela. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Manu Dibango also influenced me.