Kolade Emmanuel is the third most outstanding student to graduate from MUSON School of Music after a two-year scholarship under the tutelage of MTN Foundation.
Adamant about creating an ecosystem of well-trained artistes to push the frontiers of music through the recognition and rewarding of talents, MTNF has been collaborating with MUSON School of Music, a trailblazer in music education, to graduate creatives. This year, Kolade Emmanuel is one of 30 proud beneficiaries.
Kolade had been interested in music from a young age. However, while music remained an interest to him, he would rather pursue a career as a pilot or an aircraft engineer; flying a plane, flicking switches in the cockpit or fixing busted wings. But when a man proposes, God disposes.
‘Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in love with music. Since I was a child, if I can remember, everything around the house that looked like a drum was as good as a drum for me.
The funny thing was that I used to be a science student while I was in secondary school and I never thought that I’d study music. So, music was not part of the initial plan. I said I’d study Aeronautical Engineering but all of a sudden things didn’t work out. Then, music came.’
When the path to studying Engineering became hard to engineer, Kolade decided to embrace his natural-born talent for music. But Kolade’s mum, his only remaining parent, was not going to allow him to go that route. Therefore, he had to chart his own path all by himself.
It’s a very funny thing because when I told my mom I was gonna study Music, she was like “is this boy okay?…why choose music of all courses?” She didn’t really see music as a career or profession.
My dad is late and my mum is the only one I have left. As adamant as I was, she decided not to stop me even though she wasn’t in support.
So, I started everything by myself. I went to school and sorted things out myself. It was later towards the end at Adeyemi University of Education that they accepted that I could do my thing.
I wasn’t getting support from anywhere. It was just me alone.’
Now, it is safe to say that Kolade has convinced the world around him of the possibilities and potential of Music. With a selfless MTNF scholarship helping him to dab practical skills on theoretical quips, Kolapo Emmanuel is transitioning from an up-and-comer into a proven talent whose love and diligence for music would make a name for him in the industry.
Speaking with Netng, Kolapo shared more about his journey: the challenges, the wins and MTN Foundation’s noble cause.
How would you describe your experience at MUSON School of Music?
Well, a lot happened during that short period of time, the space of two years. And I would describe it as good. Although there were ups and downs, favourable moments and unfavourable ones. But it was all good.
Do you have degrees from other institutions?
Yes. I studied Music Education at Adeyemi University of Education. That was between 2015 to 2019.
Did you ever think you were going to get a scholarship to further hone your music skills?
No, actually I didn’t know I’d be getting a scholarship. It all happened after I graduated from Adeyemi University of Education. After my graduation, I planned on doing something else, although it was also a scholarship programme. But all of a sudden, COVID-19 set in and everything was postponed and then eventually cancelled.
So, MUSON School of Music was like my plan B. I had to give it a try and wasn’t expecting that I’d get in.
How did your family feel when you told them about the scholarship and finishing as one of the top three?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My mum and my two siblings really are proud. It was quite unfortunate that she was out of town during the convocation. But I gave them live updates via WhatsApp video call and video recordings. They were very happy.
What would you say interests you most about music as a course and career path?
Well, you know, music is broad. There are a lot of things you could do as a musician. So, that alone gives room for you to be able to explore different fields in music.
But for me, I’m more interested in the performance and teaching aspect of music.
What kind of music do you study at MUSON School of Music?
MUSON is known for Classical Music. However, the audience for classical music, as far as Nigeria is concerned, is few. Not everyone is interested in Classical Music, unlike Urban Popular Music.
By Urban Popular Music, I’m talking of Hip-Hop, Afropop, Neo-highlife, contemporaries, Afrobeats and all sorts…
That style of music has a very large audience, even beyond the shores of this nation.
What part of music are you interested in – with regard to practice?
I’m going to be doing more Contemporary Music. I’m not so interested in Classical Music but one way or the other, I would still have to play it. .
I’m going to be doing more Contemporary Music and maybe 30-35% of Jazz.
What would you say inspired you to finish among the top 3 in your class?
Actually, one of the things that inspired me the most was the fact that I was the only percussionist in my set and at the same time, I was the students’ president.
So, they’ve always had the thought that as president, you have a lot of responsibilities. They believe that you won’t perform well as a result.
But I believed that I had no excuse. I wanted to prove them wrong so I put in the work.
How would you describe MTN Foundation’s investment in music?
First, I’d like to say thank you to MTN Foundation for everything they’ve done and will continue doing. Truth be told, it’s not easy to sponsor thirty students every year on a scholarship.
Aside from the fact that they pay tuition, they give stipends for transportation and provide books.
I am very grateful. MTN Foundation is already part of my success story and I’m very sure that it’s the same for the 29 students that were my classmates and for hundreds of people who have graduated from the program.
I’m very grateful and I can’t find the right words.
What should we be expecting from you after your time at MUSON?
(Laughs) You’ll be expecting something from me very soon. An album, an EP – I’m not sure yet, but something is cooking.
What is your position on the ongoing debate about some Nigerian artistes who only lip-sync on stage and don’t perform?
Okay. Let me start by saying that not everyone that studied or studies Music will be a performer or will perform on stage.
As I’ve said earlier, music is a very broad course on its own. Some people can choose to be writers, some can choose to be producers, and some can even be arrangers.
Some can go as far as becoming film score musicians, some are interested in conducting a band doing composition and arrangement – they want to rearrange people’s works and you’d never see them on stage performing.
Nevertheless, for them to have studied music, they were once performers. For you to have gone through the process, for you to be able to get certified as a musician, you must have performed in some situations.
