As the world last Friday marked the world music day, not a few
stakeholders have noted that music afterall as been said to express
that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot
remain silent. Music has created an avenue for all and sundry to
have a reason to be happy at all times.
But when music stars disappear from the radar, it gives music
lovers reasons to wonder why...
Olusola Olujide Ayodele of Leadership takes a look at some music
acts who made waves in times past but are becoming less visible
on the Nigerian entertainment stage.
Bigiano
Gabriel Bablalola, known as Bigiano joined Peter and Paul Martins
in 2001 to form a group named Triple B. however, in 2004, the
centre could no longer hold and Bigiano went solo. In 2008,
Bigiano made a compelling appearance on the music scene with
themonster hit track, ‘Shayo’ and went on to become more
popular than his early group members. He was involved in
several shows based on the commercial success of the ‘Shayo’
song. He released a few more songs which made waves so to
say. But ever since then, little has been heard of him music wise.
His former group members in an interview said they knew he
wasn’t going to last in the music scene because he allowed little
things get into his head and would be unable to handle fame.
Could that be the reason why he has gone into oblivion? He
however said, his absence from the scene was deliberate, as he
wanted to spend more time with his family.
Tony Tetuila
Anthony Olanrewaju Awotoye better known as Tony Tetuila is
known for these songs ‘My Car’ and ‘E go better’. He was a former
member of the Remedies, along with Eedris Abdulkareem and
Eddy Montana. He broke out of the group and went solo. He was
hugely successful when he went solo and sadly, he hasn’t been
able to live up to the super star tag put on him. It is a known fact
that he is struggling to regain relevance as he has been appearing
in few musical videos. He still maintains cordial relationship with
people like Tuface and regularly seen at the ever bubbling places in
Lagos. He was one of his groomsmen during Tuface’s wedding.
Rumour has it that he impregnated a young lady living in the
United Kingdom. Datz all!
Alariwo
After the passing of Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, the only other acts
representing for that genre of music were his sons, Femi & Seun,
Lagbaja and maybe Dede Mabiaku. That was until Alariwo burst
on to the scene with “Yawa Go Gas”. Despite multiple efforts, it’s
been quite difficult for the crossover king to have the same
amount of relevance he managed with his debut.
Dekunle Fuji
Adekunle Oloyede Michael Olalekan better known as Dekunle Fuji
was once a toast in the music industry especially the gospel
genre. He had some beautiful songs that ruled the airwaves at
some point in his career. We can all recall the popular track
with”lelelelele , mo like Jesugan, monife Jesugan” lyrics. He
performed at shows, notably the international acclaimed gospel
show, ‘The Experience’. It looked like music wasn’t in for him here
in Nigeria as he was no longer getting shows and had to relocate
to the United States. The gist now is that he is now a certified
nurse, though he still performs there.
Deebee
Deebee, a Bariga-bred artiste burst into the music scene with a
monster hit song ‘Collabo’ in 2008. He was the cynosure of all
eyes as almost every DJ played his songs. In fact, the song was
very successful, commercially. As expected, he released a few
more songs after and just like those before him, he went dark
totally. Nothing has been heard from him ever since then.
Probably, he is in collaboration with some other pressing matters.
Ashionye
She started out as a member of girl band and then went solo like
the Plantashun Boiz and Destiny’s Child. Her song “Dance for Me”
dominated airwaves for a bit. The accompanying video was
heralded for its dance moves and also for being very colourful. In
an industry where there has always been a dearth of female acts,
Ashionye showed a lot of promise.Alas, it was not to be. These
days, she’s more of an actress, and even had a brief stint on TV
show ‘Tinsel’. Her reason for her long absence from the music
scene was because she was pregnant and had to take time out to
raise him.
JayRu
Featuring Wizkid on your song is almost a guaranteed formula for
success. That formula definitely provided a solution for JayRu. He
sang ‘Familiarity’ featuring Wizkid. The song was a success
probably, due to the fact that Wizkid was featured. “Ye ma form
familiarity” was what the people were shouting, until JayRu went
silent, and everybody also stopped forming familiarity. He has
tried to release songs into the market but sadly, they have not
been commercial hits.
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