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“This album is a
journey of sorts, a musical pilgrimage to rediscover the essence of
urban Nigerian music in Lagos, the city of chaos”. These are the words
of singer and producer, Ade Bantu, on his recently released album ‘No
Man Stands Alone’.

The 10-tracker
album is a collaborative one, with the artiste featuring Nigerian and
Ghanaian musical acts; known and up and coming. Some of them include;
Lord of Ajasa, ageless Highlife musician, Fatai Rolling Dollar, Azadus,
Ghanaian artiste and MOBO 2010 award nominee Wanlov the Kubolor,
Sehinde Jo, Bantu’s brother Abiodun and MOBO award winner Nneka among
others.

Born to a Nigerian
father and a German mother, Adegoke Odukoya aka Ade Bantu hits the
African music world in 2005 with the release of an album, ‘Fuji
Satisfaction – Soundclash in Lagos’ in which he collaborated with Fuji
star Adewale Ayuba. That same year, the album clinched Bantu the KORA
award for ‘Best Group West Africa’ and ‘Best Group Africa’.

Bantu has worked
with various Nigerian and international artistes including British
reggae band, UB40, with whom he released a single titled ‘Rudie (Hold
It Down)’ in 2006. The song also featured German reggae musician,
Gentleman.

One of the songs
on Bantu’s latest album is a soundtrack to the forthcoming movie
‘Relentless’ directed by Andy Amadi Okoroafor. The movie features
singer Nneka and actor Gideon Okeke.

About the album

‘No Man Stands
Alone’ is about me having a great time and finding my place in the
Nigerian music scene. It is about trying to see where I fit in. I have
an unusual career when it comes to the Nigerian music scene. So where
do I see Bantu in all of this? The best way to answer this was to see
how people work here.

How long between last album and this?

My last studio
album was in 2005, but I have also done a live album since then.
However it’s been three years since I released anything. I was touring
a lot with my band, doing cross cultural projects like consulting on
African affairs for the former German president and organising hip-hop
workshops.

How long did it take to do this?

This album was
done without pressure. I first recorded 2 songs, testing the grounds.
Then I continued whenever I was free I just went to the studio. The
album has a lot of social commentary. I wake up and Nigeria is in my
face. I’ve got to comment on what I am seeing. I’ve got to change my
shock absorbers because the roads are bad. A lot of people are too
comfortable in being a pop star or a rock star. They forget to question
authority. Self-censorship in the music industry is really alarming. We
are the ones who need to talk about these things. I see people reacting
to the video of ‘Marching to Aso’ like wow, where did you shoot it? We
all have a sense of justice within us that tells us what is right or
wrong. It’s an impulse you’ve got to act on.

The album is solely collaborative, no solo track, any reason behind this?

Once I started the
first two collaborations I felt good about it and just continued.
Besides Bantu is a collective so I’ll never have a solo Bantu album. On
this album, I featured talented and established artistes who have not
had the opportunity to be widely heard.

One of the tracks
on the album is on the sound track for the movie, ‘Relentless’, I have
a single with Nneka titled ‘I’m Waiting’. I had recorded the song and
the director of ‘Relentless’, Andy Okoroafor asked me to send a couple
of songs for the soundtrack. He liked ‘I’m Waiting’ so much that he
made it the theme song for the movie. ‘Relentless’ is Nneka’s debut
film. Very arty. I had a cameo in it.

Opinion on the Nigerian Music Industry

We do not have a
music industry. What we have is a music scene. We do not have
structures so it’s basically a scene. An industry makes money. While I
think there’s been development in terms of audio and visual quality,
what constitutes structures in terms of distribution, concerts, artiste
rights and other important things is lacking. This is why artistes are
often taken advantage of. For those expecting the government to develop
the industry, I think that waiting on government is the wrong thing to
do. It’s like a grown man still crying for milk. Your government is not
interested in your welfare. Artistes need to take models that have
worked elsewhere and modify it. It’s a no brainer that when you play my
music, you need to pay me for it.

How do you monitor royalties?

In Europe, there
are provisions for providing information on the number of times a song
is played so that the artiste can get paid accordingly. It’s all a
reflection of the state of our society.

What would you call your type of music?

My music is good
music, half-caste music. Afropolitan. It’s Nigerian and urban African.
It’s a reflection of who I am and my different experiences reflect in
my creativity. I also believe in doing a song that stands the test of
time.

Is Bantu a one man show?

No, we perform live with a 10-12 piece band; which most times
includes my brother, Abiodun. ‘No Man Stands Alone’ has been released
worldwide though that wasn’t my original intention. However when I sent
it to my lawyer in Germany he liked it and sent it out and the response
was very positive.

Win Bantu’s album

Five copies of Ade Bantu’s latest CD ‘No Man Stands Alone’ are up for
grabs. To win a copy, email and tell us the title of Bantu’s debut
album. Send your answers to: culture@234next.com. The editor’s decision
is final.