…CLOCKS 63 MARCH 3…SPEAKS ON HIS MUSIC, POLITICS AND WOMEN

interview

“I don’t think that I have to shy away from telling anybody that care to listen that (Adebayo Olasoju for chairman) is our aspiration.” KWAM1

In this interview, Echonews Multimedia publisher, Kehinde Bamigbetan, engages King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, KWAM1,  as he prepares for his 63^rd birthday, his politics, music, women and his attachment to Isolo:

You were born in Ijebu-ode, but you have lived your life in Isolo; what is the connection?

When I was relatively young and also when I gained admission to Ansarudeen College, Isolo in 1970, our hostel and school were in Isolo, so I became very used to that community. Even when I was a day student, it took me time to always come from Lagos Island taking a walk from Mushin bus stop down to Isolo then back and forth. At another time, I became a boarder, that was the beginning of my life in Isolo.

Why did you decide to build a house in Isolo and stay there as your residential area?

Like I said, my living has been between Lagos Island and Isolo. You can imagine, I schooled at Isolo where I saw more of native things, there is this native connectivity between me and the community and I like it. So, as I began to grow, I was thinking about it, coupled with the fact that I lived and served with Alhaji Barrister, I used  to be with him even when his house at Isolo was still under construction. We were together.I rented a room apartment in Isolo where I took charge of his military uniform and stuff like that.

What street was that, where you rented your apartment?

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At the back of the present residence of Osolo of Isolo that is where the house is. The office is just behind Alhaji Barrister’s house and just  three streets away from where I was living. We moved to Isolo from Mushin. We were at  Oremeji between Isolo Itire axis. Isolo has been part of me.

Fuji is one area you have excelled internationally, how do you explain your journey because you are not the only one who started the journey? How do you explain your success, what transformed you into what you are now as international person in term of fuji?

I started what is is now known as fuji, as ajiwere ajisari when I was young at the age of 8. I had  my group  called littlefuji lawa at agarawu area on Lagos Island.  Whenever the Muslim fasting period was coming,  I would go back to Lagos Island to start preparing with the young boys in the area for the Ajiwere  ajisari competition. Two months before the fasting season, we would  start the rehearsals and preparing, obtain form,  go for pemilinaries until the end of the season.  It’s been part of me.  I was shuttling between Lagos Island and Alhajji Barrister’s place because I had seen Alhaji Barrister as the leading light and I identified with him at the earliest age of my life and it opened doors for me because it afforded me the opportunity to learn the rudiments of that thing I believe was inborn in me, it really prepared me for the journey in the musical entertainment world.

Young people now want to follow your route; what are the things you want to tell them? Are there tricks of the trade to share with them?

The trick of the business can’t be anything than to be focussed, know what you want and don’t deviate from it. I never deviated for one second, I never changed my mind, and my mind was set since I was born into it. My mother was a singer before she was forced to get married and taken out of her location to another location where the kind of music she did was not needed and she had to keep it in her. As God will have it, I was privileged to be born by such a wonderful person and I picked music from her ,I was so focussed that you can’t tell me any other thing, any free time that I have I will only use it to do music. So anybody who wants to go into it, you don’t lose your focus, believe in yourself and believe in what you want to do and continue to focus on it.

Where do you get your creativity? is it in your toilet, when you’re taking your bath, when with women?

From everything around me.  I pick up things, the sayings of people, what people do,  when I see something that is bad, that irritates me; it brings music out of me, anything that makes me feel good brings music out of me, so I want to turn every opportunity to adjust to what I’m looking up to see myself doing. That’s the secret.

How do you manage your women fans?

Well, it is part of you, you can’t erase yourself from it or cut yourself out of it. In any part of the world, women make any successful artists to be what they are. If one single woman accepts, you be rest assured you will have over 200 followers because that single woman will be the one to go out to tell people about you as she will just do it.

Does it happen at time that women so much love you and wanted to follow you?

Even if you go back in history to search, you will discover women have a big role to play in the life of any successful artiste. If women don’t accept you, their husbands, uncle or man friend can never fall in love with what you do but once one single woman likes you, it means you are successful.

How do you combine music and politics?

Music has been part of me, so also politics has been part of me. I worked at the party secretariat of the UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria). I was once an office boy who went there voluntarily to be on the side of the good people. My love for UPN has been there, since  I was working at the party’s secretariat at Abule Oja. Then,  we had a director of organization who was  a comrade, Ebenezer Babatope, I worked  under him, I was doing distribution of letters to leaders. I was honoured to take letters to Baba Awolowo ( the UPN presidential candidate) at his residence and whenever there was a need to take all of us to Ikenne, I used to go  with them, I have been a party person since I was young and it has been part of me, that’s just me.

You’re going to be 63years this week; you’re looking 43, what is the magic? what are the things you need to tell people so they can look younger at older age like yourself?

One, when I was younger and they said, ‘as you lay your bed you will lie on it’,I wanted to know what they meant. Then, I discovered one time that the way you want to be tomorrow will be determined by the way you live your life today. So, the earlier you go to bed, the longer you will sleep and stronger you will wake up, so it has always been part of me to go to bed early and if there is need for me not to go to bed earlier I must cut everything short to ensure I have my 8hours of sleep. I don’t joke with sleep, I don’t joke with water, I don’t joke with food and I’m so energetic that I get myself up and I’m always smart with everything I am doing. So all these, I believe, have a lot to do with the way I found myself so strong today.

Isolo politics is coming up ; do you have an interest in anybody becoming the next chairman of Isolo LCDA?

Of course, any day anytime I always have interest. As a political leader, I know it is our responsibility to see to the direct day to day life of the people. So I’m very much prepared in looking forward to good leadership that could be answerable to people, that could be there to do the yearning of everybody and give them what  exactly they expect from good governance.

The people say Hon.Bayo Olasoju is your  candidate; would you want to confirm that?

Of course, because that has been my direction for a very long time, I will be lying if I come out to say No it is not like that, it is like that, I don’t think that I have to shy away from telling anybody that care to listen that that is our aspiration.

Looking forward into the future, looking at how many albums you have put out, what are we to expect of K1 at 70?

K1 at 70 by the special grace of almighty God, why don’t you let us leave that for posterity, let us leave that one for them. We never can say what will happen tomorrow, don’t beat your chest to say I know what will happen tomorrow, no body knows what will happen tomorrow. Only God knows what will happen tomorrow. You can only start thinking about your expectation of what is likely you want to see tomorrow. Let God decide.

Thank you very much