Time was around 7pm. Venue was the Departure Hall of the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria. It was Sunday May 22,
2016, and passengers besieged the various front desks of the airlines available
to either make enquiries or process their travel itinerary. It got crazier as
the clock ticked and everyone wanted everything done in a jiffy.
“Oh, Adekunle Gold, let me take pictures with you,” a
handful of female fans said as they walked up to the Orente crooner.
He was trying to check in and was on a queue. Not a pleasant
time for pictures but with a smile, he obliged.
Then another bevy of ladies came again. He obliged. He
eventually checked in and some guys also walked up to him and requested for a ‘photo
shoot’. He gladly had photo sessions with them.
Hours later, I met him at the boarding lounge. Adekunle Gold
was in his elements as he talked with his manager and other passengers present.
He was also granting ‘photo sessions’ to many especially the ladies. We were about catching a flight to Banjul,
Gambia for the 10th African Union Commission’s Youth Charter in
Banjul. There, the musician, and many others are expected to discuss at the All
Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) conference that hold on May 25, 2016.
The theme is, “Using Music, Culture and Entertainment as
tools for a new Africa.”
But our flight was delayed in Lagos and I decided chatting
with Adekunle Kosoko aka Adekunle Gold.
“How have you managed to take pictures with everyone despite
the crazy hustle and bustle of checking in?” I asked him as we sat down outside
of the airline office at the airport. We were angry that our flight would be
delayed for another two hours!
He smiled and said, “I’ve gone through a lot of drilling and
I’m able to cope. I’ve done this over and again. We have our different ways of reacting
when under pressure, but I have learnt to be calm over the years. When fans
come like that, I greet and agree to taking photos with them. It’s no big deal.
If they didn’t like me, they would not have come anyway.”
Dressed in a colourful tie-and-dye couture top, I decided to
ask, “So many ladies flock around you, how do you handle female fans?”
“I love them. Hope you know that I am the ambassador for
Orente? I’m used to women and they
inspire my work a lot. That was one of the reasons for my songs, “Shade” and “Orente.”
Women can never be ignored,” he answered amidst smiles.
“So what kind of woman do you dream of marrying?’ I asked.
He said, “I love and want a woman who is hardworking, because
I cannot stand laziness in women. She must be smart, pretty, and just be an Orente.”
He grew up with parents who are Muslims. His conversion to Christianity
will always amuse him. He recalled that, “I followed a girl to church and found
that I became a Christian instead. That was in 2004 and I have remained a
Christian ever since.”
His parents’ reaction?
“My father didn’t like the idea initially but later everyone
accepted me for who I am. I am cool being a Christian,” he said.
Delving into music was not pleasant either for his parents.
“My mum was always asking me why I would always use the
money that I should utilise on myself on recording songs. I was a lover of
music and I grew up listening to a lot of sounds. While at the Lagos
Polytechnic, I would always run to record songs even when I started working, I was
like that too and my parents didn’t understand what I was doing. I continued
this until I dropped ‘Shade’ which became a big break. They support my vocation
and are my number one fans,” Adekunle said.
Then, I asked, “Will you too also have a Baby Mama?”
He laughed. “I don’t want it and I don’t like the idea,” he
said.
He agreed that though not everyone loves marriage, everyone
wants a peaceful home.
“The idea of Baby Mama depends on who are involved. I’m sure
that those involved now were not disposed to the idea at some point. I don’t
like it and I speak for myself only. Yes, not everyone wants to get married.
Sometimes you think about marriage and what have been happening around couples
and you get scared. I am like, ‘no, I don’t want this’ but I know I want
marriage and want to be happy in it. My woman has to be an Orente, that is, a
good woman. I want marriage but not a baby Mama,” Adekunle reiterated.
According to the Orente crooner, who revealed that he writes
all his songs and also does the graphics, he would be dropping an album soon.
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