Rightousman doesn't need introduction and in case you've only heard his song but doesn't know him in person, here's how he explained to Punch who Righteousman really is.
Enjoy!...
Q: You have been away for some time, where have you been?
A: I have been alive. I have been around. You know that Righteousman is like The Bible. You know that we have the old and the new testaments in the Bible. I have been working with the New Testament for some time now. The New Testament has its own level of operation. I have gone into full time ministry through music. I have been travelling here and there ministering through music.
Q: But you did a song recently that is not gospel…
A: Yes. I went back to the Old Testament. A lot of people may feel I went back to secular music but that is not true. I am still a gospel artiste. We cannot preach the gospel of Jesus Christ if there is war in the land. We cannot go to churches if there is bomb blast. We need to address that. The country is sick, it needs healing.
Q: Righteousman didn't start as a gospel singer; at what point did you switch?
A: At least from my background, I would say I am a Christian by religion. But that didn't make me a born-again Christian. I was just like a cashier in the bank who only counts the money but doesn't have such money in his account. I knew Jesus but I didn't have him in my life. Even as my name is Rigteousman, I didn't have a trace of Jesus in my life.
Q: So when did you decide to get born gain?
A: The year 2009 was the turning point. It wasn't as if I was singing songs that would insult God before then. I have always been a conscious artiste. But in 2009, I decided to put a stop to my lifestyle. Sin is very sweet. You don't need to spend so much to promote sin compared to promoting the gospel.
Q: Some might say you changed because of frustration, when the younger ones started making more waves…
A: No way. I had everything. I was comfortable but I wasn't fulfilled. I didn't like my lifestyle. I wanted to change. You know they say some people are called by God. I didn't need to wait for God to call me. I had to call myself into His service. It has been good since then. I started doing full time gospel music and I released some albums in Nigeria and in the US. I don't need to have 10 cars for you to know that I am comfortable. I cannot be intimidated. Everybody must not love my music. I have artistes under my label. If I was frustrated because of the young musicians, I wouldn't be pushing the ones under my label. If my conscious music is not making waves here, I will go to Jamaica. If it is not working in Lagos, I move to Calabar. Lagos is just one unit. I will not go back to secular. I am out of it entirely and my brand remains reggae.
Q: But reggae music is gradually becoming extinct in Nigeria…
A: Reggae music is not cheap music; it is a strong music. But a lot of people do reggae music in Nigeria today and they call it hip hop because they do not know music. We have a lot of mediocrities who call themselves award organisers; they cannot define music. Some artistes do dancehall and they still call them hip hop music. Reggae music is still there; it cannot die. A lot of our artistes are still doing reggae music.
Q: Your new video is making waves, how did it come about?
A: If I had come as a preacher and had wanted the Muslim, the Rastaman and every other religion to come together and speak the voice of unity, it might take one year or two years to gather people. I decided to come with tongues of unity. No matter your tribe or religion, just come. We had to sing with one voice about the ills in the society, election rigging, bomb blasts, kidnapping and others. This is our country, we don't have any other.
Q: Your voice was superimposed on all the artistes' voices, why?
A: I discovered that when you call five artistes to come and collaborate with you in a reality song, they just come to display their vocals. The purpose of the song is defeated. I said no, decided that I, Righteousman, that is not even a good singer, will sing the song. If you believe in the future of Nigeria, you will come together and sing my voice. Everybody keyed into it. You can see people like Tuface, BlackFaze, Pasuma, Felix Duke, African China, Alariwo and the others singing my voice, not just my voice but the voice of no to bad things in the country. It took us two months to shoot the video. But it is not all about the video, it is about change. We should be the mouthpiece of the common man. It is reigning in the north today; tomorrow it might get to the East and then the West and South. We have to say no. I never thought of using any artiste when I was recording the song. The concept came to me when those four Aluu students were killed.
Q: Really?
A: Yes. I cried all through the night. I never thought I would do conscious song again. It was a rude shock. My son is their age mate. My son would have been in University of Port Harcourt. I imagined him being those guys' friend. I imagined my son being killed as well. It was a nightmare for me. I decided to drop the song. People started showing interest in the song. Even when we were done with the 60 artistes, more were still calling, wanting to be a part of it. I am in partnership with Now Music. It is not just Righteousman thing.
Q: How were you able to gather 60 artistes to feature in the video?
A: I see beyond the video. I found out that we are no longer responsible as musicians. That was one of the reasons I decided to embark on that song. People are dying while some others are celebrating. What do our children see when they put on the television? What kind of music do they listen to? What video do they watch? Naked girls! Sometimes I just wonder what goes on in the minds of our artistes when they are in the studios. You spend money to promote nakedness? It is terrible. If you drop a single and you don't follow it up with another one three months later, people will forget you. That is the kind of songs we have today. Now, the musicians are more than the fans. Everybody is a singer. As long as you have money and you have back-up, then you are good to go. That is the music we have today. I get worried for them because they won't last.
Q: But they are successful…
A: Oh yes they are. A gospel artiste came to me one day and said God is just blessing these secular artistes and they are making so much money while the gospel artistes are not making it. I told him he was watching the wrong station. Until you watch the right station, that is when you will realise that God doesn't operate the way you want Him to operate. Stars should try to balance their music. I am not saying they should all do gospel music but let them balance their music. The music of today reigns for three months. Gospel music is evergreen. Tell me one secular artiste that you can remember any of his songs that he sang three years ago. I don't move with Nigerian time, I move with the world's time.
Q: But your contemporaries, with their 'decent' lyrics, were not commercially successful as these younger generation artistes. What did you people do wrong back then?
A: How come the footballers of those days were not getting it right the way the ones of these days are doing it? Back in those days, there weren't endorsements. Musicians were playing music for passion. People sang to correct ills. Today, your neighbour will die and some people will be singing, 'I want your low waist.' You will only feel pained when you lose your own. Tuface has been there and he will continue to be relevant because his lyrics are wonderful. There are other artistes that I don't even understand what they are singing, yet they are making waves. You can be good but people will not appreciate you.
Q: Some people might not know that Righteousman is your real name…
A: I agree with you. My mother gave me that name. I grew up with the name and I felt caged. The name imprisoned me. There were things I wanted to do with my life. I couldn't have my freedom because of the name.
Q: Were you angry with your parents because of the name?
A: Of course I was. And trust me; I changed the name a couple of times when I became mature. I started answering Victor at a time. I actually went to my mother and told her that we should change this name. My mother told me that if there was anything bad that I was doing, it would be better to change it than to change the name. I considered it a mistake going to my mother; I actually held a naming ceremony when I changed my name. People came for the ceremony and my father gave me another name. But the name didn't work for me.
Q: What name was that?
A: I will not tell you. The name didn't work at all. This is to tell you how far I went to change my name. But I thank God. I know I am not a perfect man. I am answering my father's name. Jesus is my father and He is a righteous man.
Q: Were there times the name worked against you?
A: Ha! So many times. I was a rude boy. I was a street boy. I was the opposite of my name. It was a crazy life. Even when I became a changed person in 2009, a lot of people didn't believe me. They felt I would continue with my old life after a couple of months. But since 2009, I have not looked back.
I don't know why, but I love the flow of this interview. Nice one, Righteousman!
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