I have not stopped making music —2Baba

By wazup on July 23, 2023 Comments Closed / 68 views

Music artiste, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba, is being rumoured to have turned his back against music but he said there is no iota of truth in the claim. In this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, the singer speaks about how his involvement in humanitarian services has kept him busy and how nothing can stop him from making music.

Recently, Grammy Awards added new categories for African music, but some stakeholders believe the body is restricting African artistes. What do you think about this development?

It’s commendable and this is a testament that African music has taken global presence and we have become a force to reckon with. The addition of the Best African Music Performance is a good one and there is still room for a lot of additional categories. I understand people are worried that we will not be able to win in the global category anymore but we should appreciate what we have and work even harder as artistes. They will be forced to reckon with us. Hopefully one day, we would have our award and we would also invite them over to our space.

What is your thought on artistes making use of Artificial Intelligence in creating music and how will it affect individual creativity?

For me, making use of AI will make creative people lazy to write. This could be likened to cheating because you are depending on the computer to make music; it even makes such creative work lose human touch. As far as I am concerned, robots can’t replace the place of music talent and representation. It must be original to last long, and once that’s missing, what you have is no more real. Music is real. It must be real to be appealing to the soul.

You were conferred with a Fellow of the School of Music at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife. How does that make you feel?

Nothing else could be compared to joy of fulfillment. I am not a product of the school but the institution honoured me as a result of my contribution. In my way of saying thank you, I built a state-of-the-art music studio where talents would be harnessed and music stars would be made. The aim is to give the students a standard space for creativity and I hope that the next generation of superstars will emanate from there.

From music to humanitarianism, what’s fuelling this desire?

Let me just say this is a cause that I am very passionate about. I have been doing this for the last 15 years and I am glad it is yielding results gradually. I am excited because it has contributed to the growth of the nation. I have been blessed to be in a position to make modest contributions and lend a hand to fellow human beings in need. Through my ‘Vote Not Fight’, Election No be War’ campaign which was birthed in 2014, we have been able to preach the gospel of peace to youths.

How do you think President Bola Tinubu can deliver on his promises to Nigerians?

It’s very simple. Let us all work together in a good way, by that I mean irrespective of the political party you belong to, culture or tribe. We all need to be united and also have it at the back of our mind that the presidency cannot do it alone.

As a creative person, what are your expectations from the government?

Just like every other country; there is a need for the government to protect people’s intellectual work by enforcing laws that will guard against copyright infringement. I understand there are laws guiding that but how many defaulters have been brought to book? Also, the government should ensure the safety of lives of creative people by creating an enabling environment where we can function well. For instance, a lot of filmmakers have come out on their different social media pages to report cases of assault on crew members. I want to believe the new administration has a lot to offer Nigerians.

You talked about some of the projects you have done in a few IDP camps. Can you share some of the exciting ones you have done so far?

Honestly, there is nothing exciting about it because these people’s condition is terrible and you could tell by looking straight into their eyes. As I said earlier, we cannot do it all, I have only been able to do the little I can and extend such others to well-meaning Nigerians to support the cause. It’s quite difficult to measure impact because when the team is busy trying to set up an IDP camp properly; you get calls calling your attention to another problem happening in a different locality. One key thing about all that I do is the fact that the beneficiaries are happy that few people still care about them.

Can you share some of the projects you have embarked on in the few years?

My team and I have been involved in several commendable projects that include National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC’s) campaign against fake and substandard food and drug products, the Net Nation anti-malaria campaign, C.E.C.P’s Cancer Awareness and Fundraising efforts, disaster relief work with the Red Cross of Nigeria, IDP intervention efforts with UNHCR, and multiple One Voice Nigeria projects with Enough is Enough, Nigeria.

In the course of you giving back to the IDP camps; have you been able to discover any talent from those camps?

Well, definitely there would be a lot of talent there but I have not really paid attention to that; maybe because that was never part of why we were there in the first place. But it’s equally something we can look into going forward.

Aside from music, what other talent do you have?

I would have been a goalkeeper.

Do you still play football?

I stopped when I had an accident that affected my knee.

For the love of sport, any plan of having your football academy?

I used to have one but because of my inability to sustain it, I closed it down.

With many projects at hand, is 2Baba retiring from music?

Retire? Never! I still make good and conscious music, it’s what I am born to do, no backing down anytime soon.

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