In 2010, the tables
turned for Modupe Oreoluwa, popularly known as Mo’Cheddah, the sole
female act of the KnightHouse crew. MTV Base named her as the
pioneering act for its ‘Brand New’ program; she also went ahead to cart
away several awards including The Channel O Music awards as well as the
MTV Africa Music Awards. The 21 year-old undergraduate of University of
Lagos, who released her debut album,‘Franchise Celebrity’ late last
year, speaks to X2 within the premises of her school.
The album is enjoying a lot of airplay right now as well as critical commendations; does this reflect in the bottomline profit?
Commercially it is
doing really well, the marketers love it, the masses love it so it’s
selling well; at least that is what the marketer is saying. I’ve gotten
amazing feedbacks from the album, different people like different
tracks off the album which is a good sign.
It took a while for the album to drop, what was it like recording it?
It took a lot of
energy, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of music making. Even after
recording all the songs, the selection process was also tough. We had
so many issues on how many tracks should be on the album and at some
point we wanted to make it a twenty tracker album, eventually we did a
survey using random people on the street to get opinions on what they
like. It was an amazing process and I keep thanking God for making it
happen.
You have a lot of buzz around you even before your first album; did this put you under any form of pressure?
Sometimes I can’t
help but feel the pressure but I had a lot in me I just wanted to let
out. Yeah, I was worried at some point if people will accept my voice
or my kind of music,but eventually I just had fun while making the
album. I told myself it’s my first album I’m experimenting and so far
I’ve been getting very positive responses.
Speaking about style, you are a singer and also a rapper, how do you determine when to sing or rap over a beat?
It depends on how I
feel about an instrumental, how it moves me. Sometimes I have an idea
before an instrumental is made and I’ll know if I want to rap. I rap
when I want to be feisty, when I want to be clear and short and
opinionated about a particular subject without wasting time. My rapping
is unapologetically in-your-face and it’s hard.
Back to the album, how much influence do the other Knighthouse crew have on it?
I think I am
versatile because I grew up with the Knighthouse. Rogba is a pop head,
Gomie is Hip-Hop to the teeth and Lanre is Rock and I am very
‘RB’. So you see everybody has his influence on me one way , so it
was really hard selectin the songs on the album.
What is it like being the only female in the crew?
It’s cool and I’m
so used to it because we are a family basically; I’m their mummy,
they’re my daddies. I tell them what to do; they tell me what to do
it’s like a roller coaster. The amazing thing is we love each other so
much it goes beyond the music and the business.
What inspires you as an artiste?
Life in general; I
take every little thing serious. Like I watch a movie and I’m pondering
on what I just finished watching, I meet a child today with a beautiful
smile and I’ll see the character traits of the child. I take every
friendship and relationship serious. And I also sing about my personal
experiences.
In 2010, the awards came pouring in, what does it feel like to score multiple awards with your debut album?
It was
unexpected,because really I made the music for people to enjoy not for
the awards. I was very happy when the awards came in and to top it up,
the international ones which made people to know my stuff and that it
is not based on sentiments at all.Some of these awards came from people
I’ve never seen before in my life so basically it’s a result of hard
work. When I got the Channel O nomination I couldn’t believe it because
I didn’t even know they know me that well in South-Africa.The awards
are calls to more hard work, I have to defend the titles by working
harder to satisfy my fans.
What is it like mixing schooling with making music?
It’s
hectic,absolutely. I have my moments when I get very stressed and tired
that I just want to lock myself up and shut down, but God has been my
strength. I have very amazing friends and the media has been
co-operating as well. They know I’m in school and are not reluctant to
have interviews in school or somewhere close by. Everybody have been
helpful and supportive.
Which do you prioritise the most?
Both, because I hate to fail in anything that I do, I always put in my best in both music and school.
How easy is it coping with shout outs from fans and people who recognise you on campus?
I’m getting used to
it now, not like I enjoy it but I’m not scared or surprised anymore.
Now I know this is who I am and if I go to certain places, they’ll
probably recognise me. Although once in a while you see people going
crazy but majorly what they do is just stare when I walk by.
Now that the album has dropped, is it like a form of relaxation time now or are you still working?
No I’m not
chilling; this year you guys are going to be really proud of me. There
is a lot going on this year; 2010 was just an introduction, we have so
many projects ahead of us this year. Like I’ll be taking up movie roles
soon, I’ll be performing bigger concerts, planning another album, and
Knighthouse just signed two new artistes, Willy Bang and Phenom, so you
should be hearing something from us very soon. And definitely more
videos.
