Soundcity Music Video award winner and Nigerian Pop music sensation, Dipo Ogundele also known as Dipp is best known for his energetic and eclectic dance sequence in his captivating music videos. A graduate of Building,the Usher Raymond look alike and executive of Effyzzie Entertainment, is set to release his debut album, ‘The Future is Now’. He speaks on his foray into music.
When is the album dropping?
The album is going to drop in May. We are going to have series of listening parties and concerts to usher the album in.
The album took you about six years to make, what made it take that long?
It was started by a couple of friends and I, we actually set out to make music that people can listen and dance to. That is a growth process, vocal lessons, and getting things right and coming all the way from Kaduna to Abuja before finally getting to Lagos to make things happen took a while. Some songs that we recorded that are looking very good in the past are not so relevant now. That is the chain of process that has been happening over time but of course in the end you get better. Also we had to put our structure together as a team. Also I wanted to be done with school, because it was very important for me to be done with one thing before moving on to the other.
During these six years were you doing other stuff aside music?
I studied Building at Ahmadu Bello University and there are a couple of contracts that come in every now and then. I get some real estate construction jobs and I also do a little bit of marketing here and there. I believe I do music as Dipp and run other things as Dipo; that is the sense behind the ‘Half Man Half Amazing’ catch phrase.
How did the decision to make music sit with your family?
I don’t think any parent will have a problem with their child doing music as far as the child is comfortable. Where parents normally have push backs is when they fell the child will not make it financially. That’s why they tend to try to make the child do things that worked for them. For me it was more of a question of “are you sure about this?” “Is it what you truly want?” And eventually my folks supported me.
Do you see yourself more as a dancer or as a singer?
I see myself as a performer; that is incorporating all the elements. For me I consider four major things; the beauty of the song, the perfection of the dance, the costume and the logistics you attach to it. I love performing on stages and one of the contributions I hope to bring in is to up the way we do shows in the country. We are already getting there with some concerts but I believe there should be some extra excitement to a concert than just the songs and the dance. Although I see myself as the all-rounder, dance is something I have been doing ever since and it is just an added advantage but primarily, music is the most important thing because without music, there will be no dance.
Have you ever taken anyprofessional lessons in music or dancing?
No; I’m just like most average Nigerian that started singing in the showers. It started with imitating Michael Jackson at school and all that. One way or the other I just got to be better with practice. I have never been in a choir or anything. With dance, I surrounded myself with other people that dance and you get to learn from others unique movements; it’s like feeding off each other’s energy.
What inspires you as an artist?
Everything around me, including females. I find them very strange, not in a bad way though, they are very interesting; . What is even more interesting is how we men react to them.
What will the album be themed about?
The album is talking about love, broken heart, how decisions should be made in terms of marriages in the African contest. The album is basically addressing us as a nation from my own perspective. The album is the expression of Dipp. The album is 70 percent me, then I have Modenine, Munachi, Kel, Dagrin, Illbliss, MI, Waje and Blaise. We are completing works on the music video of the track that features Dagrin.
You actually had a video with Dagrin all this while?
It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to hold the video this long but the truth is most of my videos are like green screen videos and a lot of time goes into post production. The video was actually shot at the same time with ‘Pop off Selecta’ that is in December 2009. ‘Pop off Selecta’ took several months to finish and the same goes for this one. It is actually going to be a sequel to the ‘Pop off Selecta’ and it titled ‘Ko si oro nbe’. You are going to see Dagrin in a total different light.
Your video is characterised by sci-fi like graphics, do you do this yourself?
No, I work with a very talented video director, Mex. Since the time of my first single, ‘Dangerous’, I have always wanted to do things differently. Michael Jackson is like a mentor to me and it is not just because of his dance moves and singing alone but also because of how he doesn’t limit himself in his imagination. The reason he stood out from everybody else is his ability to bring his imaginations to life and he doesn’t mind how crazy it sounds to some people. So after going around with the script for ‘Dangerous’ for a long time, I met Mex and he believed it was possibleand so we did it.
How do you react to people calling you the Nigerian version of the famous American singer cum dancer, Usher?
I think it’s a good thing because it means people accord me the potential Usher had; where it’s bad is it can be compromising for my own identity. I know overtime people will learn to see the difference in us. P Square went through the same phase but see what they’ve done for themselves.
Did you at any point set out to be like Usher?
Usher? No; Michael Jackson? Yea.
