How sick is Sossick?

How sick is Sossick?

by Odilu Richard

He’s not your clichéd producer, that’s for sure. This young man’s creativity and hard work earned him the plaque for The Future Awards Music Producer of the Year, 2011, and with work that has gotten nods of approval from the public, as well as sundry entertainment professionals – including the late Da Grin himself – we want to know, just how sick is Sossick?

Who is Sossick?

My real names are Osemwengie Douglas Esosa, from the Royal family in Benin, I was born in Lagos, grew up in Lagos but I am from New York (laughs).

What part of New York this might be?

(Laughs) Around Ilupeju

Are you a proper Benin boy or is your claim to it by birth?

I am Benin by heart but I grew up in Lagos, I like to think of myself as half Benin, half Yoruba.

So you speak Yoruba very well?

O saa mo, yeah! Yes oh, yes oh, I do.

How did you start up in the music business?

Music has always been there, in the house. Right from primary school we’ve been trying to making our music – my sister and brothers, although they were a bit older. It was easier for me because my elder brother was seriously into music, hence I has so much encouragement to do what I loved. I started out as a rapper and got to that point when I said I was done rapping to other people’s beats. Like Dr Dre, and I was like ‘why don’t we start making our own beats?’ Somehow I wasn’t satisfied, and I wanted more and produced a beat that I could use for myself. That was how I stumbled into music production. Then when my guys listened to what I came up with, they wanted me to also produce beats for them. When my sounds started getting out there and people got to listen to them, then the referrals began, and that was how my clientele grew.

So who was the first popular artiste that got converted by listening to one of your works?

It was Gino, the rapper, and he happens to be my elder brother. That was why I said music has always been in the house. It was after I produced ‘No be God’ for him that people started looking my way. So he was the first popular artiste that I scored with.

You don’t have this hard look that most people in this business see, to have

Well this is my person, and my role model has always been Jay Z. The guy is cool no matter what happens, but this is me really, and I am not trying to be cool to impress people. People believe that for you to be an entertainer you must be rascally to some point, you must be crazy. Just be yourself. It’s easier for you to score or to stand out when you are your own self. So this is me.

What award(s) have you won besides winning The Future Awards Music Producer of the Year?

I won the SMVA last year, but this is my first nomination at The Future Awards and my first win, and it’s big for me.

I guess it means more clients hence more money for you

Not necessarily. If you leave me I will make music forever as long as I can feed and comfortable, I won’t be bothered by anything because it’s a passion for me. I am learning the business side of this profession.

I like the fact that you are playing humble but you know with the fame and what it brings, don’t you feel like you need new luxuries now like a new crib?

No I don’t need to change crib. I don’t know how to be loud – for me it’s just distraction. I won’t be inspired by it, I might even lose my identity. Where I live is very quiet, and it’s just the right recipe for my creative juice to flow.

What music would you point out as your claim to fame?

I think ‘Julie’ by Shank did that for me but not everybody knew that produced the beat for that song. But the song that nailed it for me was ‘Pon pon pon’ by Dagrin.

What was working with Dagrin like?

It was fun. It wasn’t like I was working – it was too easy. We agreed on everything. He came up with the hook, and I said that was fine, he came up with the chorus and I said that was fine, it was just too easy. It was fun.

So who did the introduction?

He approached me after listening to Gino’s song and he said he wanted to do a song or two and we ended up doing an album.

How did you feel then when he approached you?

I was in school then, YabaTech. My brother Gino was a fan of his and was always talking about how cool Dagrin. Then I wasn’t too big a fan but I knew he had some stuff, and when he came looking for me I couldn’t believe it, I was like ‘for real?’ I gave him a beat straight for ‘Mo ti gbo ro oh’, and when he returned with a rap he did to the beat I was like ‘yo! This is something different and you may have to do another one’, and it was big. I feel really really blessed. I feel like I was chosen for something big and I bless God for that.

Do you still have lingering thoughts of your moments together?

It was fun, plenty plenty things, you have no idea. We lived together for a while as well and he was the type that always wanted to protect me from bad things and I would go ‘ eh Negro you can’t be protecting me because I am a grown man’, and he would insist that ‘this is not good for Sossick’. (Laughs) it was really crazy.

Which do you prefer, singing or rapping?

These days I do a lot of singing because it allows me to express my emotions more, but production is the feeling I get from creating stuff out of nothing! That satisfaction is something. I still rap but do more of singing.

Do you think you have what it takes to survive the realities of this business?

Definitely man, if everyone is going crazy we need some calm and that is where I come in.

I am talking about the scandals that are becoming synonymous with this business. I don’t think they suit your good boy image.

See, as long as you are in the public eye, stuff about you will always come up

Which Nigerian artiste are you also dying to work with?

That will be Tu Face. His music goes with my personality and I know we will produce some beautiful music together. Ah! We will so gel. I am more of conscious person, not crazy, and like to address issues.

Any music you regretted doing

Yeah! A couple though, for some people, even for some popular acts I won’t mention. I regret wasting the energy I put into the work. You just give somebody something you’ve put so much into and they don’t know the essence of what you have given them, some do not even release it and you think of who you might have given it to that would have valued it.

How sick are you when the door is closed?

I am sick with my video games and movies. People never let go of that Sossick thing, they forget sometimes that you are so ordinary.

I do, so I will let you be. For now, anyway. Thanks for your time

The pleasure is mine

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