The music industry in Nigeria has witnessed a great revolution. In the
mid 90s to early 2000s, foreign music took over the Nigerian airwaves and
parties. It was then very difficult for a Nigerian song to get attention at
parties and radio stations. The request for foreign hip-hop music was on the
rise. But like a miracle, all these are now in the past. Hardly will you hear Nigerians
requesting for foreign music or hear people playing them at social or public
functions. Nigerian artistes now perform outside the country. In Africa,
Nigerian songs are now hot cakes.
Though the female-folks have not had it easy in the music industry in
Nigeria, with the likes of Omawumi, Tiwa Savage, Waje and few others, there
seems to be hope for the ladies in the music industry.
Up and coming female UK returnee artistes, Elvee, comprising twin
sisters; Lillian and Vivian, are set to take the centre stage in the industry.
They are sometimes regarded as the female version of singing sensational duo;
P-Square. They told First Weekly in
an interview that they would be glad to achieve one tenth of what P-Square has
achieved so far. To them, it is an honour to be compared to the brothers.
Lillian and Vivian pour out their minds on how they intend to make an
impact in the highly competitive and male-dominating music industry in Nigeria,
when we had a chat with them recently.
Please tell us about your music group a
bit
We are a music group of twin
sisters called; Elvee, it is an acronym of the pronunciation of the first
letters of our names; Lillian and Vivian. We are very passionate about music
and we do an Afrocentric style of music, which is a fusion of the African sound
with the Western influences. It is mainly to appeal to the general Nigerian
audience as well as Africa as a whole. We are very energetic and we transferred
that into our music. Our beats and music are very appealing to the people.
Are you aware of the kind of music Nigerian audience appreciate
Yea, we’ve done our homework and
we are ready for that. We are also aware that the music industry in Nigeria is
dominated by men and we are ready for that too. We know the kind of sound
Nigerians want to dance to and we would give it to them. Nigerians want to
party. We are ready to give them up tempo music, which is what Nigerians want,
but it has to carry a message and impact people’s life as well.
Is your latest single an up-tempo
Yes, our latest single entitled;
‘Oga Patapata’ is an up-tempo. It is our debut single and it features Don
Jazzy.
Why ‘Oga Patapata’ or did you do it as an imitate of ‘Oga at the top’
slogan
Well, we were only trying to
hail the earthly man as the king or boss in the song.
How do you intend to make impact in the male-dominated music industry
We are not even going for the
women in the industry, but the men. We appreciate what they are doing. We don’t
see that factor as an obstacle because we believe that as long as we remain
consistent, we would definitely be reckoned with. We just want to give out good
music.
What do you think has been the major challenges against women in the
industry
Yea, it would be because the
women don’t have the right direction in terms of sound, structure; management,
and maybe because of inferiority complex as many of them have the fear that
they might not be heard. We just have to make sure we don’t allow that become a
barrier to us.
How do you intend to cope with bad industry structure in Nigeria as
against what obtains in the UK , where you are coming from
Presently, we are signed with a
management outfit called ‘StarCliq’, and what we are trying to do is to
inculcate the good structure in the UK into it. We have decided to take a
pan-African approach to our business. If it is happening abroad, it can happen
here. Nigeria is just scared of having that structure, but there has to be a
structure in the music industry in Nigeria.
But what happens where up and coming artistes take their songs to
pirates, but later cry foul when they become stars
It is because of the way the
Nigerian music industry is structured, we (up and coming artistes) have to go
through this in order to be accepted by Nigerians. Artistes have to do this
because their (Alaba mix) audience caters for those not on the high income
level, who can’t buy an album for N1,000 or N500. But at the end of the day, it
has to be with our permission. But until we learnt how to do things the right
way, I don’t think things will change. If after going to Alaba to promote our
songs and we get popular, don’t you think we should start getting something
from them? Piracy is a big problem in Nigeria.
But to be honest with you, if
Mohammed doesn’t go to the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed. That’s
how things are done in Nigeria. We only say that after downloading and pirating
our works while growing up in the industry, we should get something back when
we are up there.
Who are your role models in the industry
There are lots of them like
2Face, Don Jazzy, which we worked with in our debut single, and many others.
How was it like working with Don Jazzy
It was a good experience and
honour working with him. He is a good teacher and he brings out the best in
artistes.
Who do you intend to work with in the future
There are a whole lot of them;
Phyno, 2Face, Tiwa, Waje, Omawumi, Burma Boy and many young artistes still
coming up.
A lot of music stars relocated to Nigeria from abroad and they have
become successful, is that the reason you are taking such a step
We didn’t come all the way from
the UK to fail in Nigeria. This is what we want to do. We have been promoting
African music abroad and want to do same here in Nigeria.
Have you had any opportunity to perform on stage at all
Definitely not, but we are
working that out. We recently shot a lyric video which is the first in Africa.
Our proper video will be out soon.
Who is shooting it
We are working on that at the
moment. There are lots of good video directors on our mind.
What is the Unique Selling Point of Elvee
Apart from our unique sounds,
our vibe is different. We are very different and we are not going with the
norm. We are driven to make history.
How has the experience been so far in Nigeria
Ohh, It’s been wonderful. Lagos
is the place to be, the hustle and bustle makes Lasgidi what it is. The
traffic, weather, the people, but it’s fun. If you have not been to Lagos, you
are still sitting down on a long thing (laughs).
We get inspirations from
everyday experiences. We are not scared to be who we want to be. We fused our
language into our music. We are from Imo State. ‘Igbo kwenu’.
Will it be right to say you are the female version of P-Square
Oh gosh, it’s an honour to be
the female version of P-Square. If they are reading this interview, we wish to
let them know that we hope to do a song with them. They are amazing people. If
we can achieve one tenth of what they have achieved, we would be happy.
Ok, tell us a bit about yourselves
We were born in Lagos, but
raised in England and have now moved back to Nigeria to pursue our music
careers. We stopped our university education just to pursue our music career
because of the passion for music. We need to fulfill our purpose; music.
What courses were you admitted for
I entered for Psychology and
Performing Arts (Vivian), while Lillian was admitted to study Film Study and
Performing Arts. It means we are still in the profession.
What is you fashion routine like
We like to look good and
represent with our wears
What can you not be caught with
I can’t be caught with a gun,
weed
(Cuts in) Hennessey
Why? We like good drink. A good drink
is not bad.
You both are wearing tattoo, what is the inscription and what does
tattoo mean to you
We are wearing a tattoo bearing
the inscription of our company; BOSS Records (Beyond Our Struggle, Success).
Tattoos are expressional and are relative. To us, tattoos are expressional.
Can you tattoo your lovers’ names on your body
No, I don’t think so. What
happens when we are no more? I would rather tattoo God or ‘I Love Jesus’ on my
body than my boyfriend’s name. My lover will come and go. I can only inscribe
what will inspire people on my body.
Where can you never put a tattoo on your body
I think everywhere I put a
tattoo is where I can put a tattoo; my arm, back. I don’t know where I can’t
put it (general laughter).
What part of your body do you spend more time on
Hmm, my whole body, Lillian has
a problem with me become I take my time to apply cream on my body.
How long does it take you to get dressed
It takes Vivian three hours to
get dressed, while I spent like one and half hour. I always tell Vivian that
she will be late to her funeral. (Vivian says ‘I like to look good’).
But why does it take much time for women to get dressed
Do you know what, I have met a
man that takes a long time to get dressed, but women have to do make-up. I want
to make sure I look good because good things come to those who wait. We just
have to take our time.
How does it feel to be twins
We don’t know any other way of
not being twins.
How do you relate with each other
We argue a lot, but we love each
other. We could argue now and few seconds later, we are talking. We shared a
womb together.
Any special message to anyone
We just want to say thank you to
those who have been supporting us. We’ve got a lot to give out.
Are you under any label yet
Not at all, but we are open to
anyone that is interested in us.
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