Director Pink On Creating Afrobeats’ Most Watched Music Videos | Afrobeats Intelligence

If you know love, he recommended me actually and that that was when it all started when I went into uni

I said exploring other things like I exploit that graphic design I made some money from graphics. I made some money from animations Then from there I decided to go into photography, but then they stole all my cameras and stuff Oh, it was a lot of stuff. It's like which one do you want to cry for? Do you want to cry for your mom? Do you want to keep crying for your mom? Do you want to cry for your camera? Do you want to? So there was like everything that was just that was just in my head I grew up in Monchet. Oh, okay. Yeah, I fed these sides. Okay, from there. Yeah, but then I went to Leckie

Everybody's crazy about money who has the best Lambo who has the best this who has the best that that's literally What everybody talks about right now? I really like who he's a champ for example. Yeah, he's in his own league

“So one thing about eagle music video was that's everybody on that set didn't fake what's the felt?”

They were extremely happy to be there and they enjoyed the song But when we see that. Oh, we're trying to compete with international people with his that's a bring-out culture. You see color blush every way Because you know at the end of the day that culture still wins Hey, my name is direct to pink and I just spoke my church on Afrobeat intelligence Afro-bits intelligence

Presented by okay Africa the democratizing African music with joey account It's good to see I think this is the first time I'm ever having a conversation with you Yes, in general. In general. I think the last time I saw you was

“When quality content they did the shoots in your in your building”

Yeah, that's the long time yeah long time ago and I spoke to your partner and it was like and even when I wanted to Get you for this episode I hit them up on the head. I want to talk to that. The fans like oh, short

Yeah, I've always respected your work. Oh, thank you. Yeah, the way you work with you majoring the

a lot of your work is very striking There's a lot of there's a lot to see and then it has depth and dimension and so I'm interested in How you can put together such and whether you find the intersection between what goes into your yeah And what people should see hmm. Okay. That's a very good one. That's a very good question

Okay, so I can answer now. Yeah, of course. So When I get the song right now is really for Afro-bits You hear some songs and it's really had it's getting harder sometimes to really pick out like What you would want to represent visually

But most times when I get the song I always analyze few things like okay

“What's the song talking about then how I research about the artist as well?”

And I also you know Brainstum and what the song actually needs like what because definitely like the song will need something that the video We need something that would actually like push the song more out there. Yeah, so how to actually like both to the song with the video It's very very in presence and also like maybe key things that you can they can use in the video to actually like promote it For people to like watch so there's like things apart from even just having the craziest ideas like there's so many things to still

Putting to it from like the marketing like point of view So there's a like some of the things that actually put in while thinking of like a concept So to create the concept of a song you'd have to also think of the marketing of that song. Yes, I do that So would you say Music video in its essence is

Marketing for the song. So yes, it is marketing for the song and also for the artist himself because it makes It brands you as an artist for people to see you in the kind of lights So the reason why because there's a difference when you just shoot like A random video with your phone for example, and when you actually like you know have a team together to create a Proper plant music video because that way we're creating and we're building like a world for you to be in

Of entering your how Lepits it's your mind right the way you look at the artists

So you see some of them you've seen like some very music videos you you just always respect the artists

So you see the artist as a bola or you see the artist as man this artist this guy is a weekend guy

“You know like his ruthless. I think that's the word”

Yeah, so it's really the way we portray them in the videos and it's almost like movies as well You watch it that's glimmer. You find yourself hits in the guy. You find yourself loving the guy You know, so there's so many characteristics that you there's a main details that I put inside that you don't really see But like everything has a way of you know making this possible even down to like the colors color choices That we pick from our fixed colors to the way the set should look and everyone from the lights

And so yeah, cinematography is a very deep thing. Yeah, it is deep because a lot of it is manipulating the psychological state of people You can use your to inspire love inspire anger inspired tears inspire all of that What really gets me is how much it pegs the visual represent how much it pegs the feature visuals representation of an artist Someone drops a record and the record is

You know doing this thing with people people are dancing people are congregating to it If it's a song there has Emotional touch points. It's you know tweaked start part of people and then they come to you and say hey I want to look like the song

But the key thing here for a lot of people is music videos

They sort of just frame this artist You frame that think of when Ashakai came out for example all the work he did with T. Jermoy was what gave us a visual identity for Ashakai So for you you do build visual identities. Yeah What how do you approach a task like that you meet an artist and he goes hey, I need a visual identity

“Well, what do you take into consideration and what do you do that in shows that you hit it right?”

Okay, so it goes in different ways For example, I really like working with new artists right that won't why do you artists? No, it's just like not like it's a preference like I had sometimes I really enjoy that part because of like the process of Actually creates and then building like an image for them because you get to build from like scratch Right, and not like so when you go other directors you're trying to build from what they have done

So what I do mostly is if it's a new artist for example, I analyze the song Yeah, if it's an old if it's like, you know On popular, you know, artists and stuff. I see like they're what they've been singing generally like what kind of vibe

Then I kind of like attached it to I always have like asked some kind of questions like

You know, what are you what's your vibe like what kind of artists do you listen to because most times They kind of artists do you actually listen to influences like what you sing So I kind of act with questions like okay, who is like your some of them are also taking over people like some artists even artists like no longer like they're like they're very old already They have like left to legacy some of them want to like actually you know photo like some of those footsteps, you know

So it's more like also trying to understand and know that artists deeply than from what's every other person since I actually tried to bring that out

“So in terms of also like visual identity if it's like a new artist, they always like check. Okay, do you need something change?”

We'd like your hair Yeah, do you need something actually something that you know puts you out as a very different person from other people because at the end of the day Everybody doesn't music you're just to stand out So how best can you like stand out was like the style so we always even have like, you know Meetings as well so I always advice most times for artists to always have like a creative director

You know that would actually understand you because we really work well. We creative directors because you know we can actually just talk Okay, this is like what I'm trying to push out. Then like there's just like marriage of ideas So that way it's even easier as well to even think of like concepts for the song So if it's like a new artist as well I trust we're not to do too much in terms of the kind of the stuff I put in the video all the past

Yeah, exactly like not too much of that you can focus on the artist you can focus on the talent and he's actually like standing out There's no like so much of like distractions so that you can actually so if it's also like his style

You know this you know different studies have like this style and that way you can be able to pick out like who actually works for The kind of artists you're working for and you can suggest some of them already have which actually makes it easier Sometimes they want to try something new. You know, there's a time when like even artists do want to rebrand You know, they don't want to look or feel like this anymore They want to be somebody else

So you know, we actually like all this every important elements and also like colors to play with that would you know Feet like your skin and fit like you know the kind of artists you're trying to bring out there because there's there's some artists that they can There's there's like a pesky little set of colors. You can actually they wouldn't want to wear Yeah, and there's some that you know, so they're some like very Doc tone to kind of colors. Why why didn't they make this choices?

Doesn't it fit with the brand?

“Why do they make what this color choices? No, I make the choices. Oh that's what I'm saying”

Like I make the choices like this is what I think would go for years So it's not like I'm also imposing, but it's more like you're just bringing my impute and then you can You know, just for that and be like looking maybe yeah I agree with this or no, maybe we then found like a middle ground

And has have have you always found success with these artists because sometimes people would say hey

I've seen people would say hey, maybe all their lives. They have Chased being a lover boy and then they come to you and then they say hey now I'm in my I want to be a They're not terrorists to say I want to go into the bush and become a different person I want this particular song to act like a new capsule just to capture this particular feeling I have

And then you're they're demanding for something that's very leftist of what they've always done How do you marry that to ensure that Continuity is still main things itself within the work. Okay, so one thing I always say is one thing I try to do is make sure that you don't bombard your audience with something different almost entirely You take it like bits by bits. So I sometimes I try to find out like is there

Are you guys working on some contents before hand or before the music video is dropped for that actually like you know Just subtle subtle subtle like what's the what's the strategy like before the actual video drops because that we it helps me know What I'm planning for so that I don't just put it like out there sometimes if it's like maybe if it's the entire album And maybe there's this the entire album has the whole terrorist. No, sorry Gangster kind of vibe, you know, I I would actually like we could you know what this album has to do with gang

This is your gangster phase. So from the very first video with my trying to take it Sotally being not too much we can marry with the lover a bit of the lover and then he on niches like his gangster Then from there you can angle gangster gangster But not just give them something just out of the blue sometimes it works like you know when you just come out of the blue

“And just be like I want to be gangster, but at the end of the day you need to we're still humans”

You need to test run some things and it's just try it out beat by bits So that they can your audience can actually accept it. Yeah And isn't that test run that that's run might not be done and I a big budget music video Maybe on social media. Yeah, that's what I said does your hands trying to those places to well

I always do suggest that's why I said that I always try to find out it's like what the strategy is like before hand

Because that way I can add advice like okay, you know what this is you can go all Gangster and these or you can just go so to or you can just find a way to blend this in between So yeah, sometimes I actually put my hands in the What's got in the social media in the social aspect of it. Yeah, when day requests. Yeah Okay

You seem to be very grounded in the technicals of this

“Well, I was in this week. Yeah, how long have you been doing so professionally?”

I was they on professionally like this is when you turn the fly right. Yeah, it was like 10 years like since we're almost 16

10 years, yes, since we're almost 16 like I always like she's like I was like some brand people

Like just like actually give you like a bronze like this is I just see you and lies

Yeah, so that was but and that's 16 years. There's a nine kid that went around telling everyone how to look

“Sometimes sometimes I used to sometimes my aunts like me has a rest in V's like there”

I'll just suggest like I haven't like just let's go away. What's if you chose like it's not your style. Oh, like I have a first-aid chest

Yeah, and Did she did she love did she like it? Well, yeah, she and she just she just they actually were like Oh, maybe they they actually suggested them you are very good in I don't know they put me in acting that could be good in acting I don't know if I'm right so they just put like, okay, you could actually be good in this whole You know film kind of things and yeah, and this wasn't they guys. Yes, yes, yes, I grew up in like a little pot

I grew up first. I grew up in Okay, I find these sides. Okay, from there. Yeah, but I'm going to let you See you you've done the you did the food journey. I yes, no my house was my house in It was beside the real train truck or something almost every minute. Yeah, you're the train

“We used to sit down and chill by the rails of the train. It's just outside the house”

And how are you able to like be creative? That's the environment. They are to your creativity I didn't I didn't stay like so long So I let we live they like when I mean 2006 if I remember from 2006 we moved to like to Spaddle the other yeah, yeah, and What happened that?

What happened to you that put the camera in your hand because a lot of it seems like you have just had a knack for it What what what put the camera in your hand that's 16 Okay, so the first stuff it was just from church. Yeah, and I kind of said someone doing it was a lady as well, and I just I just really liked what I saw and I wanted that as well

It just it was just something I like I had never like you know

There's a particular it's almost like liking someone or falling in love with someone You just see them for the very first time and you're just like I really love this person

“So that's how it was for me like I just saw something and I just saw someone holding the camera”

And I just fell in love and I was like wow I kept looking at how to throw out the church service And I was like I think this is what I want to do here. It looked so cool. It looked it looked cool And for the fact that apart from even being cool It just would dare in because she was the only babe, and they were like other guys Controlling the other sections of the camera parts yet

Did you go to her? I didn't go to her. I went like we do lead no because she was gonna be dead So like I didn't go to her directly. I was like the shy person I just went to the video elite that I just wanted to add it to join the team So he taught me like he introduced me to come to like his wedding

Start to shoot and also taught me like some bits and bits of edits in which I took her but then again I really did not really focus on that when I went into uni I said exploring other things like I exploit like graphics design I made some money from graphics. I made some money from animations Then from there. I decided to go into a photography

But then they stole all my cameras and stuff. Oh It was a monster. What did they steal all your cameras? I had I put in you like it was just like right after my mom died So I was like oh because I had she died of like cancer So yeah, I kind of like we already had like you know when you do like money contributions You know meet some people

So what's he got contribute? So like I didn't I wasn't like even half of what we wanted or you know planned for her treatment and stuff So then he happened so I can wax my dad like Right now what do we do and my dad was like my dad was already getting retired and he already wanted just a shop You know how this man do so he just said you know, just she's it's you know I know he ringing new like I was already doing this whole I had like a laptop then

That wasn't really doing much in terms of editing. It was just graphics. I know that and I was always complaining

She just I know just she's it to buy whatever you want that would help you expand your your crafts And which is what I did so like that I would like a camera I bought an laptop and that those things did not last with me for one week. I it's even my very You took them to school. It wasn't school. I was in school when I was doing it So, but there was this I I was shooting

I remember so there was this particular man that just said oh wow that he really liked like what I was doing And all that he would love me to do like a job for him. So I actually thought it was a job that he wanted me to do Then he said tell me how he knew don't jazzy shouldn't me. I don't even know so the doctor's video Apparently that oh that he would really like love me to do that That this is really nice like he liked me pictures. I was there for the graph as well

So I was like okay, no problem. Then that's fine. So like the next day He said that we should go and have a meeting and stuff like that. So I told like I wasn't really comfortable

I first took my friend my friends for me

So when we went and I was just holding like just my camera at then when we first went through then went to like an retreat to just see then this you know And just talk and stuff

“Well, he wasn't really seeing anything substantial and I noticed I remember when I was going I carried my camera”

I was like no, I was just dropping in the car. I wasn't really comfortable. I security with me So I we did the whole meeting then on getting on coming back Then I had like a call because I just recently bought the camera so it was up on like my mom's barrel and stuff and I don't know when I stay crying and the car so The man kept asking like what's wrong with you and all I was just I didn't want to say anything then my friend

Just they like say no my old family history like us but maybe she thinks about me Because I don't I'm not kind of present to see my stuff out there So I'm like oh they're sorry about that and all that and he was like oh that yeah that there's something He has something we can on people and stuff that when he wants us to go and check out like some And what's he called that he's trying to get a camera for what he wants to do like I plan

According to what he had we are talked about say one in like a camera. So I said okay I could help him recommend and stuff. I don't know we can go there we can go there so my friend was like Sorry to have like shouldn't go anymore. So I was like so I wanted to go inside you can't bring a laptop by your camera

I never thought that's I was good

I kind of wrapped up my camera. I'm a reflection of everything I thought maybe like oh because I was always I always wanted to shoot anything any way at the time Did you mean that you were obsessed exactly like I was like okay, maybe we could make contents

“So that's right I carried everything so the last thing I remember was I was in a store in ICM”

And I was in the dressing room. I don't remember. I see I'm that's a kejase team Yes, I didn't remember anything at all. I just remember the last thing I remember was I just came outside and Demand said gets the security guy said I dropped my My bags with somebody The person was always to be found nothing like there was nothing my phone everything. I was just like that

No way. That was how it like that was it. I don't even know what like you don't even know how you got into that store It was jazz. I don't know That thing for ever be like a mystery my life like that's like the most mysterious thing that has opening my life That's so strange So you joined him in the in his car you're fine drops off. Yes, exactly and then that was the last thing you remember

I was last in when you came to when you came to you in a store in ICM Burr that was all like I was just there like I was holding clips in my hand. That's but I'm like I didn't come yet, so you know you're like I didn't come yet to change or I didn't come yet to buy clothes Like what I'm right doing here next and I just I just quickly rushed out like the next

“And I remember that was my laptop my camera and my phone I just went out and I was like sorry”

I'm looking I just I like it was such a big question, then we went to the hold CCTV they said that the secretary of the said that we could not check the CCTV that I have to go and get Something like the way so I probably would think it wasn't working at that point safe very Unhelpful That must have been so hard breaking yeah, that was you. I and I had exams appeared

So like Did you pass? I did I did actually I was still smart me Well done and how did you bounce back from that? Well, it was just like just having

Dispoints because I had everything I had I was always by myself

I just thought that's to tell my family members to help me my aunt especially like she's in London So she actually like she just gave me so many you know, I just used this and buy what you want by like For laptop at least just even stacked up again because I had like so I had even clients That used to the graphics for and also they could even reach me I had like a job at already shots and everything was just there so like I didn't have anything at all

So I was even on top I was even on me. See I didn't have anything So after everything I said saving up I got the she gave me a lot I got the laptop I added money

So this small camera than what I had before but at least it could do the job so that was like my baby So for the loss like that it's really when you come when it's off the back of you grieving for the loss of your mom That that could throw anybody off Thank I swapped for the guy. Oh, oh, why? Yeah, I want those swear

But apart from like the financial aspects of you all in people for jobs That experience. Why didn't why didn't it throw you off? Did you even consider it? I mean I did at the point But I was just I don't know how to I don't know how to do it like it was there were so many

“Just things like I lost my more like it's like which one do you want to cry for it?”

Do you want to cry for your you want to keep crying for your mom? Do you want to cry for your camera? Do you want to so there was there was like everything that was just that was just in my head I was I had I still had exams so like I was sad but like I did not just let you bring me

I still had to hope that I was gonna catch the guy I ever put it to the police those ones did no if one I'll never seen

See Just put these guys they did not even to they haven't asked me for more money and more money Bro, they said today they'll say this the they got information is in Abuja that should pay them So go on look for him on home. Same down in Abuja that they are months like somebody told you that they lost everything Yeah, saying that pay your facilitation feeds good so Abuja to go on catching is it like you don't have brunch or people in Abuja

I cannot communicate to them to talk to get to them like it was just it was like the airplane with my head at the end of the day So yeah Why did you choose the music industry because you were you obsessed with film generally and I know you've done Lady quite quite. Yes, I have yeah, so you I've obsessed with film

“Well, I think I did Lady quite quite so early though, but yeah, why would you think so?”

Because I I was just in a rush. I just wanted to do something and I had like a partner who just also was interested in doing like something like that again I was like I really loved the whole horror John Russell. I wanted to the whole horror thing. You love horror. Yeah, so you watch true crime to relax Yes, I do actually I actually watched documentaries. I was I

Killed her mother what our hand I've always found this this is something that I've always found fascinating

Lady would say oh my god. I've had this stressful day I have a very long day. I want to call into bed and just watch my favorite show and then when you sneak in to check it's How Santa I am died. I have loved it for the long years. What do the what are those things provide you? Well, it's more number one maybe information to keep myself safe

But that the only time I don't watch I watch it's when I'm here. Wait, I mean Nanger When I travel to the outtop, please, I'm not okay But I tried with you. I'm very good. I don't watch it because it's like it's like it gets real like Okay, this is when the app ones like I don't want to watch it, but yeah, like I really love like it's a very How like it's it's very very intriguing. I like to know how

These people think because sometimes they actually talk to like the criminals, you know, I know Like you try to know what's isn't their head. You know, it's almost like giving yourself tips on tactics Maybe maybe you might not know. Maybe they're all Syracca and I don't know I was trying to do like a copy cuts. You know, it's tricks. So I'm already wrong. Okay, so Safety are the worry. Okay, we have the safety. What's the entertainment in there?

It's I don't know if anybody you ask they actually love crime documentaries It's just they just we just like it because it's it's real life. It's not like some

“It's not like some story that was just fabricated and told that that's why I really like it's everything you see there”

It's actually real. So and you could even inspire you to not do anything bad. Okay Inspire like maybe a particular story or something. And so Lady Clay Clay was that a product of

Your enjoyment of horror. Oh, well, yes, and also because it had always been like a boarding

I had checked and nobody had really done anything of such before. So I took it up as like a challenge She actually do like oh, there's African folk tales and stuff

“Okay, well, why did you become early? Why did you think it came early?”

Are you sure you're not benchmarking Lady Clay Clay with the humongous success that you've enjoyed in the music industry? So I am I'm really not I just feel like I should have it's it's just some form of I should have like Maybe I should have submitted it for like um film festivals which I did not I was I just want it Like you know when you just want I don't want to keep my work. I want the whole world to see But that was just what happened at a point that sometimes for like a community was too early, but I know

I feel like it's not I mean, I'm not the kind of person to ever regret or anything so I feel like it happens Everything happens for a reason, but when there is another time to do another movie I would want to do it properly And when did you when did you get to music?

“So that was in I think my final year in school so what happened to what year was this year for okay?”

What year that was I finished up okay? So now the thing is gonna be tricky now because I stayed one whole year Out of school because of COVID. So that was 2019 yeah, that was 2019. Covid was 2020 Yes, that was 2019 so in 2019 I met some I what I did was I just went on Instagram I just decided to just network like with the various filmmakers, but you know when you when you check

Maybe someone's basically opposed to you see like something you like different day you know

move to another person another person in music another person's page you then see what you like so I didn't realize that it was just a music video just I was really really liking So from there I was able to like you know connect with people like I think that was like a colorist Then I tell him that oh, I was just that you know like I really loved like you know the whole film thing What was striking about music videos? What drew you into them?

Well it was just it was just making number one it was just making images like the fact that you could be able to do anything in just three minutes. So it's not like film where you are probably stuck to just a particular story and you can go you can go outside the box a bit but it's not that you don't

“really have that much leverage. Yeah, you have to be cohesive. Exactly. So with music videos you're just”

you can do a million and one thing and nobody there you know like you know binding rules to it

you can think any how you want to do and it's like it's still creativity at the end of the day And so you spoke to this guy and how did you get your fair shot? Well so he introduced me to a director who then said I could come and said for free not for not like you told me for free but it took me like a comment center like that. So he told me a comment set and you know just watching see what was going on. So I used to do like AD assistant director for him and stuff.

So and while doing all the projects then I think a particular day Karen Spitzer has reached out because he was on the he used to work with Clarence Pizza and so Clarence Pizza is um that's the same as um the alien. So Clarence Pizza is asked him for like recommendation that he was looking for it. It also had to get like a little female director and he wanted a female director to do like a particular project which is the cheekier and me

or if you know love. So then I got like he recommended me actually and that was when it all started. So Clarence Pizza is giving you a recommendation to cheeky. Yeah exactly and this cheeky that I've worked with for like the longest. Yeah you project them did you did you meet him? Before did I meet cheeky? Your partner Clarence Pizza is before? No it was the cheekier drop that brought us together. Yeah Clarence is a great guy. He's a he's a personal friend and yeah some

of my best times and they go says when I just spend time. We're here right? You know he has this the thing with Clarence is it has this on Kimmy ability to spot like trends or visuals but then having been someone who has lived it with a father like that. So he's seen a significant portion of the early generation play out in front of him from a from ringside perspective. Yes yes he is

he's such like he's always he was always like ready to help and assist with anything. He was when

I got the job I really did not like I knew what I was going to do what like I didn't know like maybe

now I had no idea of them but I just knew that I would like to create and I just said yes you know one thing is just starts that's just it so he was he was very open to like we didn't know true because apart from me we had like a female gaffer like the lights versus we had like we had like a female DOP as well. Oh so it was intentional. Yes he was very intentional and he wanted to be

sure it wanted to be sure but an old female curl. Wow. I've never this blows my mind. Yes I like I don't

do I think sometimes he just and since then that was like literally what just you know I did just it just sparked the entire what's it called the entire thing from me. I think it even made it like even in many smoother you know there are people that don't really get like this kind of opportunities

“and that's why I'm always very thankful you know because it just made everything easy I made everything”

smoother like they could see you already have like some form of portfolio as well that you can put out for what people to actually believe and you are trusting you know because if you don't have

things like that there's always very hard for people to trust you. Yeah and in an industry where

everything is based on what people see and what people believe. Exactly you might be good but without visual representation or evidence. Evidence that you you'll explain tired. Yeah you would and Chica you've stuck with Chica for so long. Yeah we're basically family. Yeah what was what what what's the affinity? Well um so it's basically me, Chica and Ogagos, Chica is having a good

“guy. I spoke with him this way. Yes Ogagos is having Chica's money dress so Ogagos has always”

Ogagos is somebody that he has he has like the very best of ideas like he's always he walks around with ideas in his head. So you know when you just have that perfect like crew or that perfect like team I would say that where like there's somebody that just has that whole set of ideas there's another Chica on the other hand he also has like his ideas and stuff with Chica so he's a big event and I'm gonna just try to explain it. Well lots of people do by music he has to focus

on something of course and then there's somebody who is actually helping implement that and also I feel like when it's more like what we had said about like brand building as well and image building especially for artists. So if someone else wants to work with Chica they might bring something that could be extremely off from what his brand had been like so if so it's more like we have been building him like we've been building like you know that whole visual image for him so when

you see Chica you know that oh he is the Mr. Lover he is the number one go to for your weddings is that you know so all these things had been like very intentional you know in the very first stage so it was just like they just really the whole energy was there the positive vibe was there and I mean it's just it's just like okay that's just carrier and that was just it. Yeah you shot this hit

“I think one of your most defining works so far is Iggu yeah Iggu was a celebration yeah that one was”

what went into that well what were you trying to achieve there I'm well for Iggu it was more like not not making it not doing too much that's number one you know and making it just easy and just for people not like to not why not intentionally trying to make your feel sad you know I don't know if your kids it's we're just trying to just portray like people's happiness and even from the even from the production as well like everybody was everybody in sets to which is very happy to be there

you know it's just such a very sad news and you know sad thing that happened but you could tell the love they just had like you really brought that whole community to feel it yeah because Iggu for those who are not familiar with our culture Iggu is a hit song by Chica it features the late mobile

god rest is so uh and uh Dr. Pink shot the video she did amazing work what was very tricky about

it was navigating the absence of mobile navigating the sense of loss navigating the pain we all feel regarding his exit from this world and somehow you were able to

become a huge part of the visual while still being a huge part of the visual

“while you were shooting was there said was there sense of grief on set um well”

not kind of like you know grief can go in so many ways it can go in it can also be like you know

people trying to make sure that the production process goes smoothly say the agarus for the very first time

the agarus helped me oh when they when they had to have the sound yes they said god that deeply it's like so there was like agarus that's called madera agarus look like it's a lot of agarus but they're like agarus but it's a very it's a very good experience so they actually really helped then everybody as well they they wanted to make sure that we got like our shots the song was already something that everybody knew so it was one thing about it was the reason why it

drives so much emotion is because even on set the emotion was there like even down from the very

young kid to the old women and the old men they all knew the song so it was just you know it's

something when you know the song and you're just part of it and you enjoy the song even when you're

“on set and I think Rachel should have video that you know for the very first time they're just”

hearing the song so they're just trying to be in the mood but just fake it so one thing about agar music video was that everybody on that set didn't fake what's the felt they were extremely happy to be there and they enjoyed the song okay that was a beautiful video I think the video made me fall in love with the song yeah it really happens it really happens to me because I really

watch music videos now because I have to talk to you and no no because I have to talk to you

well like there's some music videos that stand out so we turn out a lot of music videos every day but they're setting music videos that serve as markers for culture maybe this is with this video

“you can now see it's one of other videos following some videos are culturally significant because of”

the loss and having to interpret such a moment for all of us and so igro video was one of those deaths to the out rojou was also good yeah rojou yeah rojou was also good but igro videos to the out and now that so but that record I didn't really care for it that much of course more bad I was one of the people who chose that song so I was part of the people who chose the records for that EP really yeah yeah he he dragged us into a room someone like he yes he did and then he's like he played

us a ton of songs and he's like let's choose our song we spent hours there just drinking drinking smoke in and just vibe in while listening to all the other songs and picking out the records that worked at some point because he also had his friends there and at some point they chose one song that he really we kicked out one song that he really wanted on the project he was so emotional about it yeah it was so emotional about I was like sorry put on back I was so good that I can't recall the record

oh like put on back yeah so yeah so to yeah a few months later he was gone and the EP did well and igro was on the record igro was yeah it just took me anytime ahead we just takes me back then just having this and knowing just understanding how how mortality works yeah right yeah and beyond working with chica you have done a lot of work for others there's whisking in there yeah yeah there's whisking in there yeah there's there's a ton of people and I'm thinking

I know you've you've said here that the beauty of music videos is how much of a wide birth you have with creativity where you can make anything become anything and it all fits rather than the restrictions of regular film making or storytelling knowing this how do you journey from or how do you transition from artists to artists to artists while maintaining a stable strain of excellence interpreting multiple stories well hey that's like one of the

have you know to be able to understand because we're also more like psychologists yeah and what

way you know take the stuff I want to know well because we we analyze the character which has made the artist and also analyze how people see him and how people would want to see him in the particular song so and also making sure like in terms of emotion wise people don't how life was it probably you would they want people want people to love him so much you know all these are what we do a psychologist of the video team of the video whatever it's interesting to proud

“no me of course no okay and so very key part of this is that your music the videos you make”

for those records they have to obey the principle of inspiring love in the people will watch them

well it depends in people want a commander aspect yeah someone comes to you and says no I don't know I want to know I want to know I want to know like they come to know not like they come to you as that's you they something I really do I don't know if everyone the other directors do it when I'm working with a particular artist I do a clean sweep of his socials like Instagram YouTube TikTok everything I reach you like the comments I'm gonna be like your stalker for that

period like actually knowing you and understanding you they're because they're some that there's

“yeah actually knowing you and understanding you and so while I do that then I know okay this is”

out because you can be able to as I put a musico checking out like the like polls and stuff because you can be able to do it like it's so vague actually so you can be able to know these are this is how people see him this is I also see when people bash him you know things like that what and what so that we were able to actually understand but I just didn't know what you can provide I also see like there are records I check like maybe videos that they've done before you know

I analyze everything there because there's some times you make some mistakes of almost bringing almost cause we're I know ideas like 100% fresh you can make a 90% mistake of like bringing something that maybe I know the director had done before you don't want to make them mistake so actually taking a time to look through then also check out the grotes of the artist as well how has this has has grown throughout the years well that's been the most unique thing that has you know brought out

the grotes is they are the another kind of personality and another kind of thing that you want to another traits that you want to probably enhance more as the director you know so those are like the things I analyze and what if you what is the product because working with artists is very peculiar job yeah creativity and the people who succeed at it yeah it does a lot to our heads and what if you end up in the place where there's a discrepancy between how you want to portray

the artist and how the artist wants to be portrayed well for one thing I would say that the

artist is the one that owns the the music and the brand and everything you can you can never really

100% argue with the artist you can try your best to find the middle ground but I would not want to insult the artist experience because he's the one that is actually having the personal relationship way his fans he understands he's fans better so it's always it's always a very you always find that sweet sports when you'll find the director that even understands your audience as well that way you guys can really work together but if it's a point where maybe I have like something else

like I you we kind of I would always want to be heard like maybe try to understand where I'm coming from then if you have a good point and a good case of maybe this is not what I want I think we should go I know the way or I think we should find out find a way to still look at the bright side and look for things that I can make do with from what you have given me as the artist and generally you know

“all these themes of representation that you have to navigate when you work with artists”

if you could take a step back and then you look at the general culture and see how we like to

as a culture hmm I think most times like sometimes we kind of get it wrong in some ways because

“we it depends on the style to be honest sometimes we want to there's something that happens”

most times I notice something like when there's a particular song that is really blowing up out there you tend to hear even more sounds like it's even like even you see some artists that they kind of have like some form of style you try to you know gauge or navigate towards that style as well because maybe since people like it it could just be a potential hits then at the end of the day almost every music starts to sound like so that's where most times we get it wrong but sometimes

as well we tend to then see some people who are very strict and like this is what I really love doing this is my sound I maybe do not want to change my sound but I mean I feel like not necessarily changing your sound totally but also you know trying the way to find it balance because it's almost like you're seeing you know it's almost like guessing updates and you know on a journey of the truth yeah that's that's it you'll find the way to still use your sound to still be pleased and

like okay maybe this is what people like there's something that doesn't still like people have like

very short attention span visual by sound wise I always advice artists I feel like the very first five

“seconds of your song you need to get me saying you I just guess like even how does that play out”

that that rule that five second rule now those that play out in music videos so for that five seconds in in for what I do the very first five seconds should be Tom stopping many that you should see from stopping yes so like when you just scroll you just pause like okay I think I want to see more of this so that's what I actually think in a voice to just make the very first scene very catchy maybe from the frame maybe from anything at all I play with a lot of things trust me

and your generality of like working in the space and having like a front-hand experience of this the way we film our videos generally do you think is it's representative of our culture because

I've always been of the we've seen I've seen this happen over time the music the visual identity we

had in the 80s 90s even the 90s and early 2000s we were very diverse you could you could find a lot of like local aesthetics of course America would do it thin influence you were you could find a lot of local aesthetics but sometime within the 2000s we discovered that after bits or Nigerian pop music married itself to hip-hop aesthetics we began to we got to fall in love with consumerism with exhibitionism showing the things we have wearing our money yeah we got check our

old music videos and check what we make now now we began we began to interpret the music we make care as with the hip-hop aesthetic and now there's a focus and money there's a focus and flash there's focus on leaving larger than life as many people would say rather than telling authentic stories do you think having that aesthetic serves our culture more or it limits us in the ways in the way we can express Nigeria well what I would say is our culture is already almost more denized that's

“a help but that's how I'll put it because right now we have the new generations grain up and these”

new generations to all the generations and not really passing so much culture to the new generation so that's why you see almost like it's the beginning of the new generations live on how to speak their local languages so if they people don't even know just their local languages when you stop fixing the African aesthetics you then get like an audience that cannot actually relate to what you're putting out the at the end of the day you're not making you're not making that's not

relatively easy you're not you know making you know finding an audience probably your audience is just maybe the very yes from actually people that are still like want to preserve like the culture and stuff but another day it's more it's still the markets you understand you need to analyze

money who has the best lumbar who has the best this who has the best that that's literally

what everybody talks about right now so materialism is in that that that is what I would say that is

“everything that's what is happening right now and you can't it's not you you it's not something”

that can be stopped it's just it's already builds and everybody currently that's what's happening now so it's more like it imagine like a market in your China find consumers for a particular product you would want to go with what is already trending out there you want to want to do you most people some most artists they're not really brave to just they're brave ones that just like I really like who is a chan for example he wants his his in his own league but that that is actually good

because sometimes you could still maintain like you'd have like those fans that would always and

that's one beautiful thing about it because once you're once you're like that group once you're trying to preserve culture you're that person that you know it's trying to push things like trying to be your only and do your things your own way you then see like people or fans that actually they'll be your right or die so but when you then if you're following the trend at the end of the another person would come and out shine you in that trend they are trying to follow so

“that's why you see we have some particular artists that are almost in the same league of doing”

like almost the same thing and that's why you notice sometimes they're both kind of drops because there's a new person that's following that same boss and he's he's now blowing up more than you so the entire attention goes directly to him but once you're doing your own thing you have like your fans that are your right or dies they just stick with you they know that I just want to

listen to I want to stream this particular guy song every day every minute so it's it's always

good to have people like that that can stick with you when you actually sing songs that that's this wood that we use alternative authentic authentic original original yes you're you're almost there you're almost there ever great ever great ever great ever great what even the word ever great

“now how do you know what's ever great and they think you have to be like a hundred years at least”

for you to know what ever great is well you know to be honest you can tell some kind of songs that could be ever great because there's songs that at the end of the day they're they're very they're very emotional yeah and the express a sentiment that or the express a field or the inspired feeling that's not of a side kind of long coming is universal that's exactly okay and now you are in this you're only these were stuck in the coach and you're not stuck in the

coach you're in the coach you're in the thick of it you're thriving in it you are one of the people reinterpreting our sonic identity individuals and you you're leading from the front and then thinking I feel this to the world has happened or is happening yeah it's still happening I've obviously the world is happening and modern ever we're having our songs compete globally as a home grown director if you that work with songs that scale what what do you do

differently when you try to sell when you try to visualize those types of records records that competes internationally okay records are completely compete internationally what do I do to visualize them to yeah okay so for you know that's the that's the so it has the funny thing did I do notice something wow so when we're trying to blow the song out here we do like the whole flashy thing you know we follow like trends and stuff but then when we're trying to go international

won't we see that we're trying to compete with international people with this that's a bring our culture you see color vush everywhere you see because you know at the end of the day that culture still wins because that is what will intrigue people that it was that's what every other person want to see they want to see you then we're okay our culture is different I want people to see something different I don't know why we still do that but that's such a life so but if I want to do

something like that I definitely would like I said it's something I am also gonna give you to

people in the songs that are picked to compete worldwide I actually globally I would say I

actually songs that in some way they represent our culture so that way bringing in some form of elements you know finding a way and finding a balance between like modernity and you know and also things that have been unheritators well I know heritators well yeah I'm beautiful yeah we've done an hour of this for just for yes yeah we've done it right there yeah an hour of this

just before we go thank yeah thank you for doing this thank you thank you someone but

just before we go obsession drove you into this space yeah you were obsessed with it you thought yeah I guess so yeah but that's all you wanted to do just shoot anything yeah and now you're shooting everything so well having gone through the journey to this point where you've climbed up a couple steps of the ladder you're part of the vanguard leading what it means to visualize

music in this market and you're telling authentic cultural stories via our history is

obsession still enough at this point for you or is it time part in anyway so it's not just about obsession it's about also you know being good at what you do because you could be obsessed but you're not trying into many ways to you know upgrade your skills or your craft so it's it's really not just enough

“it's it's but it's still it's still a very good tell I but it's assets I think I'll put it like”

part feel is it's feel yeah because you can exactly it's a field it's a field to actually get better it's a field to you want to do more you want to be better than what you were last year you don't so the more you get obsessed with it the more you just want to be good at what you do yeah we're excellence you're talking about excellence yeah and how that pairs with obsession exactly is excellence is it excellence is being good at what you do is it everything is excellence

“everything yeah of course well because you have so exactly I think it is everything to be honest”

actually exciting and everything and what you're doing so yeah all right then is excellence everything I'm gonna ask you yeah I think I think excellence is what is the cherry on the cake I like to focus on great resilience yeah obsession is what keeps you curious yeah great and resilience is what makes you stay hmm yeah because it's it gets very hard but if you have great and resilience you've been very tough yeah you would kick everything in front of you and continue that's trying

obsession still if you yeah feel and cute okay okay well for me excellence is just what excellence is just what is a bit of a personal style yeah so excellence everybody got a lot of people can graft can do the graft work a lot of people can be obsessed yeah but excellence is where they begin to say this person is different from this person yeah because excellence in itself is

“shows your personal style yeah okay I think that makes sense yeah yeah yeah well done you've done”

excellent work thank you and thank you for doing this thank you so much all right guys it's a rough (upbeat music)