Singer African China, in an interview with Sunday Scoop, talked about his music and the price he pays for doing his kind of songs.
According to the LETTER TO MR PRESIDENT crooner, he now gets threats for singing about the sad economic state of the nation.
“The circumstance of the country now warrants for a song like that. The economic recession is affecting people in the country badly and some generations that are not aware of the value of the original song can learn from this remix. A lot of people have reached out to me that this is the best time for me to have released that song. I want the original song to remain on its own and for this one to stand out too. I have always been doing socially conscious songs and I wouldn’t relent. My song, Anu Gboko, talks about the menace of Boko Haram and other societal ills. I have always been the mouthpiece of the Nigerian people and no matter how much I’m threatened, I wouldn’t stop. It is better for me to speak my mind and die because even if I don’t speak, I would still die,” he said.
“Some people telephone me to say that they are coming after me. Most times, they hide their numbers when calling and I dare them to reveal their numbers. Since they are the ones threatening me, they shouldn’t be afraid to show their faces. I’m a street boy and I fear no man. I did not call anybody’s name in the song but I guess some people feel affected by the lyrics of the song as a result of their guilty conscience.”
He continued:
“I have experienced that on a number of occasions but it cannot stop me. Even some artistes are scared of singing songs like that because they need the money and they fear that their patronage would reduce. I am not doing this for the money but for the people I’m serving. That is what Fela did and that’s why even in death, he stands out. There are many musicians that were around during Fela’s era but they are not remembered today, so if you don’t leave a legacy behind, you would be forgotten easily,” he said.
