By Timilehin Ajagunna
Aituaje Iruobe popularly known as Waje is one of the most talented Nigerian singers at the moment.
The Glo ambassador is known for her vocal strength and her stage name – an acronym from ‘Words Aren’t Just Enough’ says a lot in this regard. NET engaged the beautiful mother one in this interview at a recent event she held in Lagos titled Waje: the Tale of an African Soul.
Enjoy…
What is the inspiration behind this event?
It’s just a way of emphasising more on the brand ‘Waje and to showcase the African Soul. Waje is a soul musician who believes more in live music. I am more comfortable doing live band, it makes me connect to my audience easily. We are also trying to bring back the live band culture. In the past, we used to have musicians staging concerts regularly for fans to come and have fun. Nowadays it barely happens. That is basically the motive behind the concept.
While you were performing, you said you were signed to a label for 10 years without having an opportunity to produce an album. How did that happen?
I was signed to the record label as a young girl. The record label was owned by a family friend, so I didn’t bother reading through or look at the nature of the deal I was signing. Sometime, people do have good intention but in life, time and chance happens to everybody. Even me, I did not have the ginger because I was probably waiting for them to do everything. I did not understand the culture of going out there and getting things done for myself. But the good thing is that the contract did not expire, we ended amicably when I decided to go and pursue my career on my own. At the time when I left the label, I released my song, ‘For a Minute.’ I did the song myself and at the same time shot the video. So that was what happened. It was just a question of me not going out there to get things done for myself. I was waiting to be spoon-fed. Not knowing that it is the other way that you have to go out there and hustle for yourself and not waiting for people to do it for you.
Was it easy for you to get things right when you left the label?
Like every other industry, I have to find my feet in many ways. This is because I do not know my left or right in the music industry. So, I have to learn a lot of things along the line. I am sure that is the experience of most people in the industry. I have to learn how to look for the right people to promote my songs and also learn how to look for the right producers to do my songs for me. For me, it was all about, let’s go there and sing. I did not understand that as a female brand. You are also a show brand; how you look has a lot to say about your career. Basically, it has all been me learning with affiliation of all the people I have been meeting as I pursue my career in music.
Despite all your years in the industry, do you still have fears regarding what your fans want?
Yes, I still have the fear; most of us also have the fear of what our fans want from us. But one thing I have which I thank God for is my team. I do not keep it all to myself because, you cannot know it all. So, when you finish music, play it to your team and sample opinions. I strongly believe in my talent. I strongly believe that for every single move you make there is a sound for that. And I feel that there is an audience to cater for as well. For me, African music as much as it is danceable still has a soul regardless of how danceable it is. That is why you could still get a soul out of Fela. What is soul music, most times people think it is slow music but soul music is actually any kind of music that connects to your soul. I feel that my music is all about me being able to cut across to the people I can be able to cater for. Regardless of if it is going to be hi-life or Afro music. I am a fan of reggae music. But the thing is that there are certain messages you would want to convey to your audience. Even as you are writing the song, there is a genre that influences the song that you do not even know how you derived it. For instance, I wrote a song recently about my daughter that I will be dropping in my next album. The song has 6-8 beats and I have never done a song like that before. But when I was thinking about my daughter, that was the sound that came to my mind. I recorded it on my cell phone and sent it to my producer. He did the beat and sent it back to me.
Do you have any plan to drop an album this year?
I am not dropping an album this year; it is not going to be this year. It will be next year. The plan is to drop the album the same day my last album was dropped. The same month and day and we are seriously working on that.
You started singing in the church choir, do you still sing in the church?
I go to church but I have not sang in the church for a long time now. I think the last time I sang in the church was in 2013. I still sing in my church once in a while, but not in the choir. I sing when I am invited to sing special number with the choir. I attend This Present House. I prefer not to be in the choir just because I want to be free. You know we are all human beings and most times, we judge even when we do not mean to. I want to be free in the house of God so that any day I want to cry to my God, I can lie at the altar and cry without anyone wondering whether this is Waje or not.
What has the experience been for you as a ONE Campaign ambassador?
It has been amazing. Right now it’s the highpoint of my career, and I will say that because, sometimes, you draw a plan of where you want to find yourself as a brand. I just do not want to be known just as a musician, but also being a brand that is associated with things that I am passionate about. I am very passionate about women because I have a daughter who just finished her secondary education and about to enter the university. So, if I am doing music I must be able to have a piece of mind that I have done things that can be able to change my environment. That she can as well enjoy a better upbringing and better opportunity than I had. When ONE Campaign called me to join them in this campaign, I just felt it would be good for me as a human being and also for my career. I just got back from South Africa and we performed at the World Economic Forum. If I was told 10 years ago that I would perform in such a place, I would tell the person back to sender. Sometimes, the blessing do not just come in the number of cars or houses that you have but God just positions you in places where you know that eventually you will do something.
What has the affiliation with ONE Campaign changed about you?
It has actually changed a lot about me. Because I’m thinking if I want to follow that path, there are certain things I cannot take for granted. I can’t live life selfishly. I now know that I am an ambassador and there are people that are looking up to me. If I am going to join this campaign because Waje is there, I am probably a Waje follower. If I do not act in the proper way, I will probably lead someone into doing something they are not supposed to do.
What are the major challenges you’d say you’ve faced in your career?
I feel that one of the challenges is being tagged a female musician. The same value attached to the work as well as structure as it applies to the male artistes also applies to the female singers. We put in the same amount of hours in the studio. So, if I am to be appreciated as a musician I just want to be appreciated for my work. If you want to invite Waje to a show, you said you want me to perform just because you like my work not because maybe, you have about six male artistes on the line up, and you just decided to include one female act. I feel like we all work hard. I do not think Beyonce is tagged a female musician.
We first heard you on P-square’s hit song, ‘Do Me’ but you weren’t featured in the video. People looked forward to seeing the lady behind the sweet voice then. How did you feel not appearing in the video?
Honestly, I felt defeated. I felt very sad. I was yet to get my big break; maybe appearing in the video would have helped me become popular at that time. The song was huge and the video was topping the charts, I believed featuring in the video would have helped my career a great deal.
What happened exactly, you weren’t invited to feature in the video?
I can’t really explain what happened at that time. I felt they contacted my record label. And you know the video wasn’t shot here, it was shot in South Africa. Maybe I was dropped because of logistic reasons, I wouldn’t know. By and large, I thank God for where I am today.
Did you plan to be a single mother?
I was not married, so there is no way I would have planned it.
Are you in love now?
Yes, I am in love with life.
There should be plans like that in Jesus name. Just join me in prayers. I know that when the right time comes you will know about it.
What’s the experience of being a single mother all these years?
It had its challenges to be honest. But I guess what has made it easy all these years for me is my family. My mother is an Igbo woman. When my daughter was born, I had to go back to school and my mother took care of her. I also have brothers who are close to me and are married so most times she visits them. I think my family helped me a lot. My mother is my gold, my diamond and everything. She made bringing up my daughter easier for me.