'There is no space for female artistes' – Essence

By Joseph Akahome

Essence, born Uwale Okoro in the ‘80’s, has been in the Nigerian music industry for close to a decade, maintaining an enviable relevance in an industry accustomed to ‘flash in the pan’ artistes. The Theatre Arts graduate of Delta State University, Abraka has ascribed this longevity to the fact that she constantly strives to re-invent herself.

With the help of her renowned record label, Kennis Music and the tutelage of her mentor, singer Kenny St. Brown, she appears to be on the path of etching the title of ‘Diva’ before her name in the not too distant future.

The ‘Facebook love’ singer spoke to NET about her life, her journey, the philosophy that drives her and her music. Enjoy.

What is the idea behind the song ‘Slide’?

Music is art. The song was just a playful experimentation but basically moving with the times. I just decided to do something playful, colourful, goofy, if you like. Slide is something like a workout song.

How would you describe your brand of music, especially from the point of view of slide?

‘Slide’ is pop, but a bit different from what obtains in the Nigerian pop scene. You know the Nigerian pop scene is always mixed with some dialect or something, but slide has no dialect at all. I took it to Europe and the DJ’s quickly snapped it up because it just blended in with their style. As an artist, you need to be creative, and not box yourself in.

With the release of the video for your new song, ‘slide’, a lot of people claimed you were trying to copying Goldie?

That’s not true. People need to broaden their mind-sets. She’s not doing what I’m doing, and I’m not doing what she’s doing. Michael did pop, R&B, so who was he trying to be like? That’s why we have collaborations, we as artistes feed off each other’s energy, so no there’s no trying to copy anyone.

As an artiste you don’t know where the appreciation is going to come from. By the special grace of God, I have done more than ten years in the industry, so seriously I should be thinking of moving out. You can’t be turning around in circles, you need to branch out, you need to do something that other people can appreciate and enjoy.  We should be able to enlarge our minds, we are too competitive and so suspicious of each other. We are like ‘this person is trying to get up on my game’ and all of that, that’s not right.

How did it all start for you, the music?

Music started at an early age. I am self-taught. All the notes just come naturally. I have a two year old niece who can’t talk but can sing word for word all the songs on my album, and my sister told me this is the way you were when you were this age. So it shows that it is inherent. Music is an art form, first and foremost, and it has a message. Music chooses its own, you don’t choose music. If you are passionate about music, if you are chosen by music it will re-generate you. You don’t stay in one place.

How profitable is it for you now?

Music pays my bills. I don’t owe anyone a dime, and anyone who says I do is a liar, a thief and a hater (laughs)

So what is on the cards romantically for essence?

Well I believe it’s not my place to search, any guy who is sensible should be able to recognise (laughs).

Usually people have these stereotypes about female musicians, seeing them as irresponsible or promiscuous…

(Cuts in) It is because people are ‘boxed up’. They have these ideas in their heads and they stick with it. What is the point of education then? You need to give someone the benefit of a doubt; you need to get to know the person. You need to go and find out, go and make your investigations. You cannot jump to conclusions from what people say. It shows some people don’t have a mind of their own.

What is your viewpoint on how the industry treats female artistes?

There is no space for female artistes. We are just struggling. Then they have this nasty knack of trying to put us against each other. Everybody has a gift. We cannot all do the same thing. The industry however is not supportive of female artistes. So many odds are against us. If you do much they say something, if you don’t do much they also say something, what do you want us to do? This is unlike the movie or modelling sectors of the entertainment industry where females dominate. We females in the music industry are not getting shows, we are not getting enough money or encouragement, and at the end of it, we don’t even have a life.

Future Plans?

I just released my reloaded album ‘Quintessential’, and of course people are appreciating my new single ‘Slide’. I also shot a video while I was in the UK, I won’t let too much detail out about that, but it will soon be released. We are also thinking about releasing a video compilation, because I just realized that I have quite a number of things in the pipeline. I have a TV reality show underway which I will be anchoring, mainly for upcoming designers, and that will be coming up shortly.

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