Over the years,
Kefee Obareki has attained some level of consistency with her Afro-pop
sound whilst also carving niche for herself in the competitive Nigerian
music scene. The Delta state born singer remains one of the few
Nigerian gospel artists to successfully bridge the gap between gospel
and commercial music. Since hitting the scene with her 2003 solo debut,
‘Branama’, sung in a blend of English, pidgin and Urhobo (her native
dialect), she has continued to churn out hit after hit. Putting behind
her the tumultuous months which saw her go from media sweetheart to
tabloid target, Kefee has gotten her groove back. Currently putting
finishing touches to her new album aptly titled ‘Confession’, Kefee
tells us more about her brand and music.
What should we expect to see on your forthcoming album- ‘Confession’?
The album is going
to be an interesting one with a lot of pleasant surprises for my fans.
More than ever before, it is going to be soothing and serenading to the
soul, thought provoking, that will make anyone glad they listened. I
will say that you wait until it is ready for release (laughs).
You are one
Nigerian Gospel artist who has been able to slightly bridge the divide
between the Gospel and Secular music market in Nigeria. How have you
been able to achieve this?
I don’t go out of my way to impress people. I write about things the way I feel, you may want to
interpret it differently, it’s alright. We live in a world where people
have different beliefs and opinions. I believe in Jesus, I love Him and
I choose to bring Him into what I do, I love praising Him, and praise
pays. A creative mind can never stick to one style. I love change, so I
do things the way I feel I should do them. I don’t follow trends, I do
what I feel is appropriate for the moment and what I believe people
want to hear.
Do you still design your outfits and what’s been happening to your label Branama Afrique?
In Branama Afrique
(Show off Africa) we work with some very good designers like Ejiro
AmosTefiri, Oba’s collection among many others and yes they design most
of my outfits.
What was the inspiration behind the track ‘Sapele Water’?
I performed
somewhere and someone walked up to me to say ‘‘Wow, that was an
electrifying performance, I could not stop dancing’’, and advised that
I should not take too much of it o!’ and I asked too much of what? He
thought I performed under the influence of alcohol and was surprised
when I told him I don’t drink,
it sounded like a
lie, he went, ‘‘ahh! you Sapele pickin, no dey drink….story…’’. I
laughed and thought of doing a song called ‘Sapele Water’ which is also
referred to as Palm Wine or Ogogoro. I don’t perform under the
influence of alcohol that is why I titled the track ‘No be Sapele
water’ .I have lot of reasons to be happy, to smile, laugh real hard
and dance. I am blessed. Like I said in the song “I for dey shine eye
like person when chop meeting money”. If you know what I mean (laughs).
No one knows tomorrow you know. I knew the song was going to be loved
because basically it had a hook and a good chorus and these are the
necessities needed to make a hit music. I am glad everyone likes it
because it is still selling.
Did you feature Timaya, a ‘secular artist’ on Kokoroko for commercial reasons?
Like I said
earlier, I don’t work with restrictions, if I think you will do a good
job, and collaborating with you would make a great song; I will ask you
to feature in my song, irrespective of what people think about the
person or their music genre. Making music is an art and that transcends
all. Moreover Timaya did a great job on the song.
What are the downsides of being famous?
Apart from losing
ones’ privacy, it’s great being famous. What has kept me going is the
grace of God ,the passion and zeal to succeed.
As a very energetic performer on stage do you have/follow any routines?
I don’t follow any
routines, I really hate doing routines because it becomes too
monotonous and uninteresting when you keep doing the same thing over
and over again.
Any update from the Kefee Peace Foundation (KPF)?
Definitely, Kefee
Peace Foundation has been working under the radar, contributing writing
materials to some kids, visiting orphanages regularly, because they can
never get too much. We donated LCD TV sets to some homes for the
elderly, because we realized when we visited the homes that they were
straining their eyes to watch a 14 inches television .You can imagine
these old people trying to get entertained as they can’t work anymore.
We are not going to wait or go around asking for help to sustain or
assist people in need. We do the best we can as we believe that we can
make a difference with what we have got no matter how little. We
sincerely appreciate individuals supporting us to put smiles on the
faces of the helpless in our society.
You have
remained relevant and a force to reckon within the Nigerian music scene
for eight years now, what has kept you going on strong?
This is because I
have a huge fan base at home and abroad, some of my fans follow me to
my shows abroad and foreigners do love to hear Nigerian music, because it’s
different from the usual genre’s they are used to. Also Nigerians in
the Diaspora always love to hear my music. Talking about the
appreciation of music by Nigerians; I think Nigerians are the greatest
fans in the world and because our music is getting better and better,
Nigerians tend to appreciate our music more than foreign music. This
can be attested to by their turn out at shows and the the music they
listen to, which is now mostly Nigerian.
Many of your hit songs have had a blend of your dialect in it, what does this mean to you as an artist?
I love languages
generally, so I infuse them in my music and I am proud to be an
ambassador of my dialect , I love the fact that am bringing my dialect
to the world through my music.
