#TheYNaijaInterview: Why I don’t do clubs or joints – Timi Dakolo opens up

by Wilfred Okiche

Timi-Dakolo-4

Timi Dakolo is gearing up for the release of his second studio album ‘Love and consequences’. We stole some talk time with him and tried to get him to dish on the scandalous stuff.

Enjoy excerpts from our not-so-successful attempt.

How did you spend Valentine’s Day?

I was working, Darey’s Love Like a Movie concert. Then I went out with my wife, came back. I bought a gift for her, she bought one for me. Regular stuff.

How has your relationship with your wife evolved after 3 children?

More is the word. We talk about everything now because obviously there are more responsibilities. There are 2 separate relationships; with the wife and the children so one has to find a way to do both of them and not neglect the other.

How has being a family man changed you. In what ways are you different from the Timi who was on Idol in 2007?

Well, I have more responsibilities now. Now I am not just thinking for myself, I’m thinking for 4 different people too. Marriage makes you a man I guess, it is not for children.

You got married at a relatively young age. Any particular reason for this?

Yes, I wanted to have my kids early so that we can grow together, do a lot of things together.

Do you flog them?

Yes. For turning on the dispenser and playing with the water, for playing with the stabilizer, for writing on my book, for writing on the wall paper. But I make sure that they know and understand why I am flogging them so that they do not do it again because it is not enough to just flog them.

Who is the disciplinarian? Who do the kids tend to run to at first?

It depends on their mood. Sometimes they go to their mother. There are days when I just lock myself in the room and I only come out when one of them is crying out loud. But they know that both of us love them equally.

You do not do the kind of music everyone else is doing, how do you make money from your music?

Shows. I do shows like everyone else. Different strokes for different folks. They may not be the ones that make the loudest noise but they pay the bills. And they should because it is my work.

How much do you command per appearance?

Why would I tell you that, you want them to come and find me in my house? By now you should know that you cannot get certain information out of me.

There are those who say that you get all these Abuja gigs only because your kinsman is president.

For where? It is nothing like that.

But it must help a little?

No it doesn’t. If I have a show, be it government or regular, then it is because they want me, based on my talent or music. I have done more private shows than government gigs in my career. But the thing about government is they pay you your money and they don’t haggle unnecessarily.

You have this squeaky clean image, it must get boring to maintain. Don’t you do anything dirty?

No, I don’t. I am always at home whenever I am not working. I don’t do clubs or joints. I am clean like that.

What is your relationship with Omawumi like, any latent rivalry?

How can we be rivals, what are we rivaling? The space is big enough for 10 of us.

But was there a time you envied her a bit, especially when her career seemed to be ahead of yours?

You have to understand that when I won (Nigerian) Idol I did not know my right from my left. I just knew how to sing. I did not know the first thing about the business or how to record music so after Idol I had a lot of learning to do. That was my situation and I did not have the privilege of wondering what another person was doing. So in my own way, I was working too. I was learning my trade and  right now I can say that I am in a comfortable place where I know my right from my left

Was it difficult, arriving at that place?

It’s been challenging. There are moments of clarity when you just know you are on the right path, then there are moments when you think that you don’t know what you are doing but through it all, one thing was clear. The kind of music I wanted to make – I always knew that.

The upcoming album, ‘Love and consequences’, what are we to expect?

Like the title suggests, emotions and feelings that deal with love. And the consequences of falling in love. It is a big, broad album.

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