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Felix Duke is one of the dancehall musicians that held sway in the late 90’s and 2000s. He is the founder of Creative Industry Group, a platform that caters for the welfare of entertainers. He recently received a Living Legend Award in Germany. Duke speaks more in this interview with ORJI ONYEKWERE.
Let’s talk about the NEGA award you received in Frankfurt and your experience in Germany?
It’s been beautiful. It’s another thing to have different awards in Nigeria, then come to foreign land and be honored outside the shores of Nigeria which shows that people know your worth, your value and services to the entertainment industry. It shows that your efforts are being recognized even outside Nigeria people are seeing it. I was given a living legend award. It’s a great one being alive to receive such legendary award in foreign land though it’s being organized by a Nigerian in the diaspora that knows what’s happening.
We honour people after they are gone but you are being recognized now that you are still alive. What impact will this have on other artistes especially the younger ones knowing that they will always be recognised while still alive?
Of course, you know that in Nigeria we are good in copying people or doing what others are doing mostly when it’s positive and brings good results. This will definitely impact other people especially up and coming artiste to enter the creative space. It will impact them because it’s something good and Nigerians want to emulate what is good though there are people that only copy what’s bad but it’s good to copy what’s good and it’s always good to do well.
When you do well, it will prolong your life and give you positive image while evil will always shorten one’s life and bring a lot of negative vibes to one’s life. So, I believe it will impact the young ones because most of them look at people at the limelight to copy they do. It’s what you teach the younger ones that they copy most times. If you teach them positivity they become positive and you teach them negativity they become negative. This award shows that good work pays which is my campaign. I will continue to campaign to the world that they should do things right.
Today’s artistes trend with scandals unlike when you and your contemporaries were in the limelight. Is this a problem of morals or because this is what the people want?
The advent of social media is really taking a toll on the entertainment industry. They have lost their morals and credibility. Nobody cares about credibility and when you tell them they will ask you if that will put food on the table. This generation can steal and would not think of the repercussions of what they are doing that’s why you see a lot of them getting involved in fraudulent activities. What they want is now, squander money, carry women, lodge in a hotel even though it’s going to backfire tomorrow they don’t think of the consequences.
What is the idea behind CIG and Industry Nite?
Well the creative industry group as a whole was put together by me in 2018; you will agree with me that the people serving within the creative space are not up to 0.1 percent. There’s so much suffering and a lot of negative vibes within the creative space that was what gave birth to the CIG. We are not an association either are we a group, rather a welfare organization. We cater for everyone within the creative space by giving support to those that need support according to our capacity.
Whatever we have, we are able to render help to those within the creative space. We have been able to touch all sectors, and bring them together. We have people heading different sectors. The comedy sector is being headed by Koffi Tha Guru, DJ sector headed by DJ Humility; Princess Ntia is the chairman of the advisory board of CIG Fashion. Helen Erete is heading the fashion sector, Caprice heading the Cosmetology sector. We also have people heading the ICT and media sectors.
The Industry Nite was put together to celebrate our heroes. Of course, you know that we don’t celebrate our heroes those that have made us proud within the creative space, not music and Nollywood alone but we try to go round the media and other sectors. We celebrated the Guv’nor of Nite Shift Ken Calebs Olumese and we are about to celebrate Ebenezer One. We are still celebrating a lot of people in different sectors. We have celebrated Lemi Ghariokwu who is into art. He designed album covers for a lot of us. We have celebrated him, DJ’s, DJ Jimmy Jatt and a lot of other people within the creative space. That’s what the industry Nite is all about. The creative industry is for all sectors not for one sector.
Still on CIG, one time you had ownership issue of CIG with Pretty Okafor, PMAN President, has it been sorted out?
You can see that he has kept quiet because I got him arrested and I took him to Zone 2 about two or three years ago and they investigated and found out that he forged our trade mark. He never knew that I trademarked the CIG and I have my certificate. It was detected by the police in the course of their investigation where they found out that he forged the CIG trademarks. Since then he has been quite on this. He was using CIG name to do press releases and to fight Multi Choice and other things. Everything has been sorted out.
Have you released your Holy Water album?
Hmmmm, you don’t forget. No. I haven’t but I will do that this year because I have been carried away with a lot of things, different businesses. I will be releasing it this year by the grace of God.
You release Joana in 2007 and since then we have not heard from you, what’s happening?
In 2013/2014, I released a single titled Cynthia featuring Patoranking, it’s on YouTube. Since then I have not released any song. You know I don’t release songs like that every year. It takes at least seven years before I come out with any album. I release my album under my own label FD Records which I started since 1996.
What’s happening to dancehall music?
Dancehall music is still on; Patoranking is holding brief. I am coming out with my dancehall song that is ‘Holy Water’ which has a bit of Afro beat featuring, Timaya
You are a drummer too?
Yes. I was rated one of the best drummers in Nigeria. I backed the likes of Evi Edna Ogholi, Daniel Wilson, Alex Zito, King Wale man, Stella Monye, Chris Hanem, Daddy Showkey, Uche Ibeto and even Blaccky. I backed so many artistes back in the days before I came up with my own album.
Most singers can’t compose their own songs or play any instruments because there are gadgets that can mix beats and master voices. Is the advent of these equipments making our musicians lazy?
I think so because a lot of them don’t know and understand instrument. You, playing an instrument can enhance your song writing and production. You can imagine that you have idea and as you are composing your songs, you add your idea to that of the producer. It lifts the songs and give a different feel and a better. But if not, whatever the producer gives you, you run with it. You enjoy yourself by playing instrument and singing along at the same time.
Why did the military attack you after the release of the song ‘Military stay in the barracks’ from the album, Goody Goody?
The album was released in year 2000 because former President Obasanjo came back as a civilian president in 1999 when the fourth democracy started and I did that song that we don’t want military rule again. I said, ‘fire for fire Africans are ready, fire for fire we are ready, we will send them to mortuary’ but they didn’t find that funny. They said, ‘ehhhh, Oya come and send us to mortuary. It was a song that even Festus Keyamo loved so much, there was a time he granted interview and he said that based on the song I was his best musician. He told me personally that, that’s the song they use to start their human rights meeting. The song was released in 2000 after our first election in 1999.
You didn’t bother singing any song about the military again?
There’s no need because they have obeyed and so I do not need to trouble them again.
Your wife is an entertainer, how do both of you juggle your roles so that it doesn’t affect the family. I understand she keeps your money too?
My wife is a cosmetologist from the city of Dallas in USA, which is under the creative industry. She has reduced her singing aspect because we are now involved in a lot of businesses. She is working with me in all our businesses and we are into hotel business which is really taking much of our time. She’s still an entertainer any day.
When I say she holds the money, she is good in managing me, the business, the family and all I do. She’s a good woman. When a good woman manages her husband or her home, her husband prospers that’s what you call a virtuous woman. My wife is a virtuous woman and my back bone and she is working with me. I pray God keeps her and give her the strength to continue, I really appreciate her.
How did you get to know that she will be your wife because that’s what you told her the first time both of you met?
The first time I met her I called her my wife. I said, ‘hello my wife and she responded, who is your wife? Is that what you tell all the women you see, you must be drunk’ and I told her I don’t drink or smoke. She said when we see next time and you repeat the same statement, I will know you don’t drink or smoke’. And I asked, ‘where will you see me, we talked and I got her number, that was how we became friends. Today we are best friends.
Why would an artiste need a stimulant before going on stage is it because of stage fright?
I don’t know where they got the idea from because a lot of my friends back in the days don’t drink or smoke. We didn’t believe in smoking or drinking before performing because we believe that your gift is an inbuilt thing, you don’t need stimulant to be able to perform. I didn’t do that but I have been a good performer. Even alcohol if I try it, I will be so weak that I cannot do anything. Alcohol weakens me. I am naturally active and I don’t need anything to stimulate me. I don’t know what’s wrong with this generation because they believe that if they take all these drugs and stimulants, it makes them famous and rich that’s their belief.
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They believe if they are high they will become successful easily. I always tell them when you take stimulant and become high, drugs will take you out of your beautiful bed and beautiful home, put you under the bridge.
I used to ask some of them why is it that after taking drugs you are on the street and under the bridge, who drove you away from the bed because the drug is not good for you, it’s demonic. I organized a conference last November at Ojez Resturant at the National Stadium where I invited the Lagos State Governor’s wife, NDLEA Chairman Buba Maruwa, Ministry of Arts and Culture and Ministry of Education and we brought in over 70 students so we can start in earnest to disabuse their minds about drugs. It was a big success last year and we have another one coming in October this year.
I am doing all that to contribute my quota towards national development. I am doing my best through the CIG platform. We are trying to change the narrative by telling them that drug will remove you from your bed, your family and put you under the bridge. A lot of them have gone mad, a lot of parents don’t know what their children are doing or the kind of friends they keep because the Nigerian society has imposed so much stress on parents.
They’re struggling to put food on the table, so their eyes are not on ground to know what their children are doing. Before you know it, their children will go mad and even our girls are worse now. We are doing our best to see how we can remove them from the streets and change the narrative that drug is bad for them and it destroys.
QUOTE:
The first time I met her I called her my wife. I said, ‘hello my wife and she responded, ‘who is your wife? Is that what you tell all the women you see?’
English (US) ·