Cobhams Asuquo
Acclaimed Nigerian music maker, Cobhams Asuquo, trained as a
lawyer, but veered into music full-time to fulfill a lifelong desire.
One of Nigeria’s most accomplished music producers, the visually
impaired music maestor has shared the stage with international acts such
as Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Common, Cold Play and Pearl Jam.
The father-of-one let PREMIUM TIMES into his entertainment company
in Lekki, Lagos where he opened up on his career and the Nigerian music
industry.
Excerpts:
PT: What’s the inspiration behind your newest single “Starlight”?
Cobhams: It is a tribute to lovers. I came down for breakfast one
morning and was just drawn to my piano and I started to play what would
become the intro to the song. I just had to hum the melody, it’s a
pretty simple song, nothing earth changing or life shattering. It was a
regular normal day and the song just came to me from the heavens.
PT: It appears that many Nigerian music producers are becoming artistes.
Cobhams: I think it probably comes from being comfortable enough to
do it feeling like you don’t hate your voice. For example, I always
hated my voice for years and still don’t know if I can call myself a fan
of my voice but at least I am comfortable enough to use it.
I think part of it comes from that; I think it comes from the fact
this is always what you always wanted to do and have been
procrastinating and getting to appoint where you absolutely have to do
it recognizing that you have a message to share and a voice to
contribute to the world and you just do it. I think it’s all that
PT: Why did you hate your voice?
Cobhams: No particular reason maybe its because I was always used
to it or wanted it to sound a certain way. I think it comes from knowing
yourself too much and I have come to find out that a lot of musicians
are not crazy about their voice, maybe that’s a good thing but I am also
happy that I can take out time and put my voice to good use.
PT: How would you describe your sound?
Cobhams: I would say my sound is honest. I make music because I
want to make music because I love it. It can be reggae today, tomorrow
it can be country. I think its honest, I think it is always saying
something, I think my voice is always present, its always sorrowful and
moving.
PT: Do you think the Nigerian audience will embrace alternative music?
Cobhams: So far, I have tried different styles and they have been
well received, for instance ordinary folks have some country nuances and
you know people have received it quite well. ‘O the right thing’ has a
pretty rock vibe and ‘Blue Six’ is something I did with Falz, straight
up Hip-hop and Nigerian experience and was received pretty well ‘’Star
light’’.
I am not really sure what that is. I guess I have just made good
music and people have received it quite well. In terms of trying out
other genres with other people ‘I go go’ is a pretty much straight up
reggae song with Omawunmi and it was received quite well.
I was privileged to produce ‘’Lagos Music Salon’’ a jazz album for
Somi an Ugandan-American Jazz artiste. We had the likes of ‘Common’ and
Angélique Kidjo on that project. It was a jazz album that has been well
received.
PT: Lets go back in time to how your love for music blossomed.
Cobhams: Music had always being a part of me. I had wanted to try
other things. I always wanted to be a lawyer and work with the
International Court of Justice and that was not to be. But I am thankful
I am doing what I am doing now.
Music has always being a part of me. As a six year old I would play
the blues and whistle. A piano and radio will always excite me so music
has always being a part of me.
PT: So much appears to have changed?
Cobhams: I would say the music industry is growing and I can say it
can potentially be Nigeria’s biggest export if we manage it properly. I
think there are some areas we need to pay attention to; we need to be a
little more intentional. I think some things are happening just like
that.
I think a lot of things are talent-driven, culture-driven but I
think a lot of things should be driven from a business and
sustainability angle. I feel we had the opportunity with Fela and
Afro-Beat, but don’t know if we really made the most of it and I feel
the opportunity is really presenting itself, which is one area.
I feel another area is connecting the dots from a financial
standpoint and how are we able to connect musicians with the finances to
push their projects, to build infrastructures and get the projects to
reach their audience.
We don’t have enough statistics to convince investors to invest in
the music industry. I feel we need to build more data, I feel we need to
place more value on our music. I feel we need to have more data on how
many people consume our music and how potentially we can become an
industry because these numbers can translate into dollars and cents.
I feel we need to have conversations, which engage the players,
those who actually see the value of this music and how it can relate to
dollars and cents and how we can build a sustainable industry
PT: There is this argument that a lot of budding musician
are only crazy about being famous and not building a sustainable brand.
Cobhams: I think they really need to be as grounded as possible,
the business of music is a business and they have the attributes of any
form of business. Talent is great but talent is not enough, talent is
only scratching the surface. Talent is what makes you live from hand to
mouth understanding the methodology of sustaining a business is what
helps you build a lasting legacy. Poverty has done a lot of damage in
our space and a lot of people are concerned with the basic necessities
of life. It goes beyond that because people are able to build cities and
businesses based on proper business principles and managing and
exploiting talents. I think that is a serious conversation that needs to
be heard and I think we need to understand the value of proper talent
management that is why I said people from the Legal and HR need to get
more involved in music .We need to have a holistic view of the talent
industry and sort of position people so that it can become a perfectly
oiled machine so it can run smoothly, musician have their role to play
in understanding the process and value of the process.
PT: Should fame be a motivation for any budding artiste?
Cobhams: When you talk about a lot of people being interested in
fame, it is because fame is what you see and fame is what you want.
There is a general assumption that fame will bring you money, that can
be true for some and not for all; understanding the inner workings of
the music industry is what pretty much helps everyone position
themselves appropriately.
PT: How about the face-offs between artistes and their record labels?
Cobhams: I think this is partly because we haven’t instituted the
right structures to manage the labels artistes and we are ignorant.
There is bound to be error on the part of the artiste because there is a
lot to understand on how the part of contractual agreement works.
There is desperation; there is poverty because what you see is what
will help you get out of your financial condition. These artistes
forget that someone’s money goes into making you what you are today and
suddenly it doesn’t matter to you because you are now at par with your
label. These artistes are not taking the necessary steps to protect
themselves because they are ignorant of the clauses in the contract that
bind them. This is because they do not have a lawyer look at the
documents.
PT: Do the labels also share in the blame?
Cobhams: A label enters into a business without having the right
prerequisites and the right financial muscle. In time, they notice you
are running out of steam and their artiste is becoming frustrated and
bad blood begins to build.
Some don’t have the manpower or the schedule to sort of manage the
process the way an artiste will want to be managed. Many do not
understand the process of managing talents because talents can be quite
expressive and erratic sometimes.
All these issues just crop up and I mean these are varying
components it takes to put a label or artiste to work with a label
together. As a country, we need to have the infrastructure to support
labels as a business because distribution is key and we don’t have
distribution. We only have it in pockets and where there is distribution
through digital outlets like iTunes and the likes, we don’t build the
right strategy around it
PT: What are some of the lessons you learnt along the way as an artiste
Cobhams: I have learnt a lot of things, I have learnt that talent
is not enough and that music is show business, the business is as
important and the show side of things. I have learnt that I have to be
intentional, that my voice is for me to say something strong at every
given point in time.
I have learnt that you can’t build a legacy without building
structure because I run a business without the requisite structure and
we have also hemorrhaged money, that is, we have made a ton of money but
we have also lost it and we have seen how that has gone.
I have learnt the importance of variety and how I fit in and I
don’t necessarily have to conform because I have a space. I have learnt
to do things on time because that is pretty much the best gift you can
give to yourself; do things when you should because a lot of people lose
opportunities when they don’t do things on time.
PT: Lets get a little personal. How have you managed to keep your private life private?
Cobhams: Number one, my wife is a very private person and I respect
her privacy. You wont find me sharing my private life on social media;
the latter is a tool for me to connect with people who I genuinely care
about.
Social media is not a place for me to go and ‘tension’ people with
how well my life is doing or how well my family is doing. I feel I have a
real relationship on social media where I am either connecting with
people on the latest thing I am working on.
I don’t feel the pressure to impress or create an impression on
social media; that is not my focus or goal. I am a family person, a
lover I have always being, my family allows me do this with ease and I
don’t feel I have to necessarily share. I only share what is necessary.
The goal for me is to pass across a strong message. The fact that my wife being a private person also helps me control myself
PT: So you don’t get to face the challenges other artistes face with the opposite sex?
Cobhams: I don’t really consider this because the nature of my work
means I am around the same set of people for a long period of time. And
when I do have interaction with other people, the interaction is
heavily limited and watched.
If I am at a show, I probably have people from my management team
with me. So it is very difficult for a lady to show up unannounced in my
hotel room or whatever because I have my people and they are going to
ask questions. It’s their responsibility to protect me, keep me grounded
and they do a good job.
PT: Are their times when you wished you could regain your sight?
Cobhams: Not as much, lately I have realized that having the gift
of sight is a gift. But just because I don’t like to have a gift that is
not mine, I don’t sit down feeling sad and wishing I had my sight. That
wont just doesn’t happen with me but I know sight is a good gift and it
will be an interesting feeling to know what sight looks like, I guess.
PT: What other music works or projects should we expect from you?
Cobhams: I have another song coming out in September or October. I
am also having a concert later in the year and it is going to be
headlined by a major international artiste and I.
PT: Finally, do you have any remarkable career moments?
Cobhams: When I met Chimamanda, I thought that was one of the major
highlights of my career, I absolutely love her and have read all her
works. Another highlight was meeting Wole Soyinka, it was like he came
out of my dreams and into my reality.
I felt the same way when I met Marcus Miller, Nathan East; these
are bass players. I felt the same way when I performed with Don Moen. I
felt the same way when I met Common and when I met Bono. It’s just like
meeting people like Richard Branson and having conversations with them.
***
Source: PREMIUM TIMES