GOLDIE
Goldie Harvey ral name SUSAN OLUWABIMPE
growing up in a family where music was
virtually the only bright spot in a tripartite
existence that revolved round home, school
and church, it did not come as much surprise
that Susan Oluwabimpe Harvey now known
as Goldie chose to be a singer, songwriter
and performer.
If it was to give vent to a childhood social
denial, available indices indicate that Goldie is
making a resounding success of her career
choice.
If it was to prove to her hitherto unbending
dad that her sometimes rebellious streak as a
teen was just a quest for her true essence,
she has equally succeeded. And everybody
must indeed be very proud of this young lady
because less than five years into her musical
odyssey, the crown of Nigeria’s nonpareil pop
diva now nestles snugly on her golden mane.
Since her emergence onto the pop culture
radar a few years ago, Goldie has cut large
swaths though the fields of musical
accomplishments; exemplifying a special
conception of musical heroine who can say or
show anything while providing a view of the
bold, confrontational and liberated woman.
Colourful and cerebral, Goldie’s musical
strength and depth, sensuality and serenity
have appropriated her as the high water
mark that other female singers have to live
up to. Add to that mix the fact that the
multiple awards-winning singer has created a
smouldering, public persona that borders on
the eccentric and eclectic, otherwise creative
and precise, but engaging enough to keep
you talking about her. Despite the
mixed reactions to her musical style and
outré outlook, Goldie has fitted perfectly into
the role of Nigeria’s most consistent female
performer of the moment.
EARLY LIFE
Indeed, in the case of talent and passion, the
apple does not fall too far away from the tree.
Goldie was born In the early 80s to very
educated and successful parents – her mum,
late Mrs. Olabisi Betty from the illustrious
Olaiya family in Ijebu, Ogun State was a
former managing director in a bank, while
her dad, a native of Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State,
also retired as a director in a new generation
bank. He is now into full time clerical works in
Lagos. The first of four kids, Goldie’s
education began at the Green Springs
Montessori Primary School and then St.
John's College, Palm Grove, Lagos where
Christian Religious Knowledge, she said, was
her favourite subject because she didn’t have
to study too hard to pass it. In fact, by the
age of 10, she already knew so many bible
verses that belied her age.
She recalled, “My childhood was very
interesting but regimented. My Dad was a
leader in church and very active too while my
mum used to lead the choir. So, as their first
child, I took very active roles in all church
activities – drama, choir, bible classes and so
on. Church was the only social life we had. On
Mondays, we went for bible classes;
Wednesdays were for prayer meetings and
then one Friday in a month, we went for vigil.
I never had toys or friends because my father
thought they would lead me astray." Thus,
her mum was her closest friend. However,
the bond that held mother and daughter
together snapped irretrievably in 1994.
LOSING HER MUM
Goldie described her mum as a woman of
high intellectual and moral values.
“She was the first to have a scholarship in her
family. She was an avid reader and had a lot
of certificates and degrees.” Every night,
when every other person had gone to bed,
Goldie and her mum would stay up chit-
chatting and watching television. She was
the only friend Goldie had.
But she died too soon after a long-drawn
battle with cancer, leaving behind four kids.
“It was a traumatic experience for me
especially because it was like losing my only
friend and confidant. I cried bitterly and even
up till now, over a decade later, the pain of
her demise has not left me.”
Goldie is however consoled that she now has
another mum in her step-mother who she
describes as God-sent.
FORAY INTO MUSIC
A prodigious kid with a strong flair for the arts
and everything creative, Goldie recalled
drawing sketches of anything that caught
her fancy but whenever her dad saw her
drawing, he would tear it, asking rather
erroneously how many people have achieved
outstanding success in arts.
This however did not deter the blithely
ambitious young lady from wanting to give
vent to her dreams because like the cliché
goes, music expresses that which cannot be
put into words and cannot remain silent.
Goldie had found music through the prism of
divas like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Toni
Braxton. And even at that age, she was
already learning the style and nuances of
pop, even emulating Braxton’s style of
keeping her side burns oiled.
At that time too, it had become pretty
obvious that Goldie was an embryonic diva.
“I’d been flirting with music all my life. I don’t
remember exactly how old but I was
incredibly young when I knew that I’d
go into some form of entertainment.
Everybody who knew me back then knew
that I could sing because I was always
singing in school or church; I’ve always had
that artistic flair.” So, when she got to the UK
where she had been admitted to study
Business Management at the University of
Sunderland, she and a couple of friends
formed an informal group which
performed for friends and family. The group
even did a couple of demos which never
really made it out.
GOING PROFESSIONAL
Interestingly, Goldie’s return to Nigeria in the
mid-2000s did not quite signal an immediate
take-off for her career. Rather, she
concentrated on building her date-reminder
services business. In the course of this, she
needed to do a jingle and was introduced to
Mani of Cool FM who bowled her over with his
production aplomb. They talked about music
and what they’d
like to achieve. The young lady evinced
unadulterated passion and determination
which prompted Mani to introduce her to
industry players.
Then, she met renowned producer, OJB
Jezreel who would produce her first single,
Komole. This was followed by three other
singles Spin Me, Nothing
has Changed, and Shift, which all formed
part of her compilation CD. Since then, there
has been no stopping her. Through the
turbulence, drudgery and
seeming imperviousness of the music
industry, Goldie held her own, talent for
talent, and creativity for creativity. After a
tentative management
deal in 2009, Goldie was signed on to
Nigeria’s foremost music label, Kennis Music
in 2010.
A few months later, she released her debut
album, Gold, which given Nigerians’ apathy
towards pop music, has been a critical
success. The album exudes the audacity and
flamboyance of Goldie, and has spewed a
couple of provocative, smart, and infectious
videos; You Know It, JawoJawo and DTMB
(Don’t Touch My Body) The 3 songs are now
certified street
anthems with increasing followership. “For
me, the clothing, the props, and the creative
direction must be properly coordinated
because I want my fans to have very specific
imagery in their head when they're listening
to the music and watching the
accompanying video.” Continuing, she says,
“Entertainment as a whole has gone visual.
The best way to sell yourself
and your music is to make a video… I will say
for the record though, that I love shooting
music videos, that’s one of the highlights of
being in my profession; I like bringing my
fantasies to life. A good music video is just
one of the many ways to do this.” Little
wonder, the video for ‘You Know it’ won the
best female video at the 2010 SoundCity
Music Video
Awards and also picked the award for best
use of costume at the Nigerian Music Video
Awards; while DTMB picked up best Afro Pop
video at the 2011
Nmva’s.
TRIVIA
A movie buff and avid reader, when Goldie is
not in the comfort of her home, she is making
good music at the Kennis Music Studio.
Though a nocturnal person, you can hardly
find Goldie at Night clubs because she
believes in channelling such hours into
creative engagements.
ACCOLADES
Goldie is an ambassador of Project Alert, a
world renowned not for profit organisation
aimed at advocating Zero tolerance to all
forms of violence
against women and young girls. This rare
honour was bestowed upon her after the
president of the organisation saw all the
charity works she had been doing on her
own.
Goldie has so far in the past year nabbed a
total of ten (10 awards) including Exquisite
Lady of the year (ELOY) Best Female Artiste
award and City People Best Female Artiste of
the year...
She has also been inducted as a Federal
Celebrity Special Marshal alongside other
notable Nigerian
Celebrities.

Goldie is not dead