One of the easiest things to lose in life is focus. And in the world of entertainment where all that glitters is gold; where it’s so much hype and little substance, it’s easy to think you’ve arrived when you haven’t even set foot on the journey.
Picture the huge stages, the robotic lights, the wailing, autograph-seeking fans and the celebrity magazine covers. Picture the flashy cars, the champagne parties and the always-ready-to-do-your-bidding star-struck ladies. Picture the money!
Truth is, it’s difficult not to forget where you’re coming from; or where you’re going to, as you get sucked in by the moment. It’s difficult not to compromise, both on the quality of your work, and of your person. But to every rule, there is an exception.
And when we spent a Sunday afternoon with Sound Sultan, he discovered, amongst many other things, that the musician hadn’t stopped being the lyrical crusader, subtle activist, philosopher he was when he first set out about a decade before…
Sound Sultan was a homeboy. When he was not mounting a stage somewhere or playing basketball with friends, he was at home engaging in his favourite activities: writing songs, sharing ideas with his brother (Baba Dee) and writing more songs.
So when he agreed to do the interview with Glitterati, it was only natural we conducted the interview in his Satellite town, Lagos home. For the avoidance of doubt, Satellite was, once-upon-a-time, a middle class estate inhabited by upwardly-mobile professionals, littered with good schools, games parks and neat, tarred roads. But just like the neighbouring FESTAC town, satellite had since become what Sultan jokingly called ‘a place for retired people’. No thanks to dilapidating structures, pot-holes instead of roads, and constant power outage.
SEE: ‘This is where I love to put my house’ – Sound Sultan speaks on why he didn’t move to the Island
Why then did Sultan still choose to live here? ‘I like to be close to my family. We’re very close knit because we’ve lost our parents. And remember that Baba Dee was away in Europe for a while. So it was just natural for me to stay and play the father-figure,’ was his response.
On July 4, 2003 the music industry woke up to the shocking news that Sultan’s father Alhaji Liadi Alarape Fasasi was dead. ‘It was very shocking to me,’ recalled Sultan. ‘My father was my number one fan. I remember that I’ll be writing my songs, and he’ll be around to make contributions. In fact, one of the best songs on my first album ‘gen gen’, we wrote it together. At that point, I knew I had to be a man. I knew I had to stop thinking and acting like a boy. The boy in me died with my dad.’
Almost three years later, on March 29, 2006, he lost his mother.
I jokingly ask: ‘Do you see yourself as an orphan?’
He takes the recorder closer to his mouth, as if he doesn’t want the point to be missing. Then he smiles and says, ‘I see myself as a father.’
But when will he get married and become a father in the real sense?
It’s these kind of questions Sultan did not like to answer. Those who knew him would tell you he was in a serious relationship, and may be headed for marriage. But Sultan? He doesn’t like to count his eggs before they are hatched. Well, that’s what his words implied. Even though, if read differently, it could also mean ‘I like to keep my private life private. All you nosy reporters, why don’t you get off my back?’
‘So are you seeing anyone right now?’
‘No comment.’
‘Marriage, does it cross your mind at all?’
‘Of course it does. But by God’s grace everything will happen at the right time.’
‘So are you settling down anytime soon?’
‘By God’s grace.’
‘What kind of woman appeals to you?’
‘She’s got to be very intelligent. I’m a very deep person and I want my people to understand me. Of course she has to be beautiful too.’
Intelligence: that’s one word that appears all-important in the singer’s life. Slot in any of his CDs and the depth of content leaps at you. If you take a step further and break his lyrics into verses, or you take time to ponder over his seemingly hilarious jokes, you’ll be amazed to discover how much the young man is trying to say.
From ‘Jagbajantis’ to ‘Gen-Gen’, ‘Craze World’, ‘Back in the Days’ and ‘007’, he used sarcasm and satire to address issues ranging from Military dictatorship and embezzlement, to injustice, inequality and freedom.
In an era where most of his colleagues have gone pedestrian, churning out half-baked, meaningless songs, and getting paid in full, doesn’t he think he’s way too ahead of his listeners?
He doesn’t think so.
‘I think the most important thing you need to consider is, do these songs have an impact? I’ll say yes. Take a song like ‘Motherland’; I’ve heard of loads of people who just started coming home after they heard the song. That gives me joy, because that’s why I wrote the song in the first place.
‘But I understand also, that at times, the meaning of what you’re trying to say might be lost if you’re not careful. I remember when I did ‘Mathematics’. No one really understood what I was trying to say. The song would have just faded away if we didn’t make a good video that beamed light on the message in the song…it’s a sad thing, you see, that people don’t usually pay attention to what one is trying to say.
‘I’m a graduate, and that helps when I write. So I expect a guy in the bank or an oil company to pick up my CD and expect to hear serious, thought-provoking stuff. It hurts when people don’t pay attention to the lyrics and issues you’re trying to address with a song…’
The song and the video became instant hits, and thus began his journey into stardom. Thus also began, the Fela comparison that has yet to wane over the years.
‘I get scared when people compare me to Fela. Fela’s shoes are too big for me to wear,’ he stated. ‘But when people compare me to Fela, it’s not like they’ll now start looking for me from the presidency of something. I’m not that confrontational.’
Unfortunately, while he continued to enjoy an overdose of critical acclaim, none of his albums had been particularly commercially successful at the time. 007, his third album, had just been released to the public, but in spite of rave reviews and impressive airplay, the album was yet to start moving off the shelves.
ALSO: Sound Sultan gives upcoming producers an opportunity for a big break
‘I have an animation video coming out soon. I won’t really say I haven’t made money. I’m OK. I put food on my table and I make money writing and producing songs for other artistes.
‘But I also know that the music industry is getting better now. New money is coming in, and I’m ready to make that money with them now. Myself and Baba Dee, we’ve been working on songs. We have new materials that will surprise people when they hear them. I’m ready to make money now,’ he says, emphasizing the ‘money’.
‘It doesn’t mean I am ‘selling out’, he quickly defends. ‘But I believe, with my knowledge of what people are doing now, that there’s a way I’ll still put my lyrics on groovy beats, there’s a way I’ll craft the lyrics that will make it appeal to more people.
‘In a way, you can say that I want my album to sell out, not me. I think people want songs they can relax with, songs that won’t make them think too much. So I hope to achieve that from now on. Not that I don’t think this album will do that. But I’m looking into the future already. I’m looking forward to doing things my own way, taking care of the business myself.
‘With Kennis Music, it’s been fun. They’ve had my back. And it’s been nice having people take care of the business while you concentrate on your creativity. We’re family, and we’ve always been.
‘I remember that I’ve been performing at their Easter fiesta long before I got signed on the label. But I’m certain that after this album, I’ll want to be more independent. I’ll want to go into more aspects of the business: publishing, fashion, merchandising and I’ll be doing more of TV too.’
Talk of TV. Sultan was one of the ‘dancers’ that kept us glued to the edge of our seats, gazing at our TV sets, mouths wide open, for all the weeks that Celebrity Takes 2 lasted.
‘After all the dancing I did on the video for ‘Mathematics’, I’m surprised when people still say they didn’t know I could dance,’ he says. Did he think he could have won? ‘Yes. But I’m happy for the winner. It was pure fun. And I’ve already taken my fans’ advice not to let all that experience waste away.
‘Just watch out. I’ve done a song with Pasuma already and we’re going to do a video where you’ll see all those dance moves we presented during Celebrity Takes 2. At least we’re lucky we can do a video and use all we learnt on the show, unlike Brian and Omowunmi, who can’t do a dance video, ‘cos they’re models…’
He’s just trying to be mischievous there, really.
It doesn’t take long to discover that while Sound Sultan is all conscious, deep and poetic, his alter ego, Olanrewaju Fasasi is a clown-at-heart whose favourite past-time is mischief-making. For example, during the course of the interview, he throws a jibe at his mom: ‘growing up, we used to have my mom sing around the house. She had a good voice and she used to sing a lot. Apparently, she used to work for some label where Barrister was signed. So, she’ll always go on and on about Barrister. One day, we told her, this your Barrister sef, how come you never took us to him; try and introduce us to him now!’