Barrister’s advice shaped my image as a Fuji musician — Taye Currency

Taiwo Akande Adebisi, known as Taye Currency is fuji artiste that has enjoyed massive success in the industry and now in politics. Very popular across the South-West, the Ibadan-born artiste speaks with ROTIMI IGE on the growth of Fuji, and how politics impacts his music.

What is your take on the recent colloquium held for Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister?

I am so happy and excited about it. I don’t even know how to explain it especially because I was present and was a part of it. When I got the invite initially, I was so happy because it has been a long time coming. I had wanted something like this to happen in Nigeria for someone of his status. The truth is that whatever you do when alive is what people will SAY when you are gone, and I am glad we got something like this for him.

Talking about Fuji music, is there a reason new Fuji artistes are not coming up?

What is happening in the Fuji industry is that the world is changing. A lot of people singing hip hop and Afrobeat today infuse Fuji into their sound and music, and we are glad that Fuji is spreading into other forms and genres of music.

What are the existing Fuji artistes doing to mentor up and coming artistes so that they can also key into Fuji as an established genre instead of just Hip-hop and Afrobeats?

The truth is that people used to look at Fuji artistes as hardened and stubborn, which is not so. Look at the likes of Pasuma, Osupa, Atawewe, Malaika and what our fathers like General Kollington Ayinla and Barrister started with their music, it had all been like that up till the time K1 called us all to stop disparaging each other with our music. Though that has never been my style, I don’t abuse people in my music. But I like the way K1 closed that gap and created that unity. I believe if those forms of enmity hadn’t existed we would have moved as an industry beyond this.

Many believe Fuji music is meant for Area boys, street children, touts and hoodlums, they believe it is only meant for these sets of people.

It is not. If you listen to those who were on the panel at the Barrister colloquium, you would see that the calibre of people listening to Fuji music has changed and evolved. For someone like me, it was singing Fuji music that led me to become Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Culture and Tourism. I am the father to Honourable Adebisi Yusuf the Deputy Chief Whip of the Oyo State House of Assembly representing Ibadan South West Constituency 1. This is not a mean feat and I am now a stakeholder in the growth and development of Oyo State today. If our fathers in Fuji had taken some of the steps K1 De Ultimate did, I believe the Fuji industry would have grown in leaps and bounds. Even before Barrister’s death, he admonished us not to make the same mistakes they did. Especially in immoral things and in family life.

For example, it was in 1999 that Barrister advised us, and I was still predisposed to smoking and drinking different things at the time. But upon hearing that from the man, I stopped all that and I have never ingested anything like that since then. If I was still smoking and drinking those things, I would likely have misbehaved to the point that my name would be destroyed and my children would not even have a say or get any appointment as it has happened now. Nothing has tarnished my image.

Speaking about Barrister, those who were major players when he was alive, K1, Ayuba, Pasuma, Osupa, and yourself, were all empowered, yet there has been no fresh star emerging. Why is that?

We are still expecting them. Music is not a trade that you learn, it is a gift from God. Voice is inborn, it is not something you can teach or learn. That is why everyone is unique and has their own voice and music. You may behave like or embody an artiste, but the voice is unique. It’s like thumbprints. I am a twin, but our thumbprints are different. When someone with the gift comes we will all know. Also, there are those like Shanko Rasheed that are relatively new and were not directly influenced by Barrister.

Another thing is that the route to Fuji music was always the street. These days, more people are educated. Only a street child can sometimes understand and say many of those slang and sayings that we use in Fuji. Even if he or she is educated, they must be local people with a sense of the street.

What is your advice to up and coming fuji acts?

When I started, I was focused on becoming somebody, a household name that people would make reference to. At a point, I stopped all the drinking and smoking. I was also confident, I was mixing with people of solid character. I was not a hoodlum, neither was I engaged in fighting and hooliganism. Though I wasn’t learned from the beginning, I was a street guy and I did my best to blend. You must learn to blend and evolve into what you want. To be a success, do your best to get an education. It is only someone that God calls that would end up being a Fuji musician.

As a politician and a musician, how is life now?

It is not easy. I don’t pray people experience it. Politics is not something you just put your head into, it is not child’s play. I don’t sleep as much or as well as I used to. Peace of mind is always better than money. I don’t want any lapses, so I attempt to do it all. Before politics, I used to wake up at 10 a.m or even 11 a.m. Since I started politics, I wake up early and go to bed very late. I only get to sleep well once in a while. It is only when I travel that I really sleep now. Even when I get some time to rest, the love people have for us means we have to also be available for them when needed. So most days, it is back-to-back engagements. I have playing gigs in different places and other duties to attend to. I also have to keep advising my son to always do the right thing as a politician.