Former Kennis Music singer, Rasaq Lawal popularly known as Rasqie, has given hint of a comeback with his new release, Na You. After three albums, he took a break from music in 2008. He speaks with ORUKPE NELSON.

You used to be a household name; what actually went wrong?

I am still a household name because once you mention my name people know it. Everything we do in life requires a break. You cannot be doing the same thing non-stop for 16-years and you won’t need a break to refresh. If you use your computer system for too long, it would definitely crash someday. So, one need that break and I took it to monitor the little businesses that I was able to run such as a concept creating company and a bit of oil and gas. But we are back; music is what I love to do and we cannot stay away from our passion forever. Recently, at the end of December, I dropped a new single, Na You, and it is already attracting air play.

I am happy about that. We are already strategizing for the video and we are waiting for the elections to be over for us to continue our usual business.

Could you recall when you had your last hit song?

It depends on your definition of a hit song because I was still able to drop good songs for my fans till 2008. After Ati Ready, I did Dapada, Mukoko and Hands in the Air. So, in 2008 I took a break and in 2014 I dropped two singles; Telemondo and Woman’s Worth and a video to complement it. My recent single is Na You, which was produced by K Solo.

Which of your songs gave you prominence?

I would say Soji in 1999 and Ati Ready in 2004.

What is still the apparent challenge?

It is still quite challenging and every business has a challenge. Basically, the difference now is that you need a huge amount of money to do music unlike those days.

But was music what you really wanted to do as a kid?

While I was young, I was very inquisitive and wanted to know everything. I have been following a lot of artistes and I discovered a particular day that I was singing a song that doesn’t belong to anybody.

I was still in the secondary school then. That was how it started and it became bigger gradually.

What is the craziest thing people say about you?

It was when people said I ran to America and I was no more singing. I just laughed. Though I traveled out of the country and I still do, I didn’t run away from music. I didn’t feel bad because it is normal for people who are dealing with the public.

How do you cope with ladies?

I am married, so I don’tthink that is an issue any more. It’s about understanding this is what you do. I won’t allow fame to get into my head. I see music as my job as a banker sees banking as his job.

The only reason women shout and want to be around us is because they see us on television or hear our music.

I got married since 2005 and the experience has been awesome and fantastic. It makes you more focused, serious and responsible.

But would you agree that fame gets into the head of most entertainers?

It is natural and this is not in the entertainment industry alone. We have people who were nothing and suddenly became managers in companies.

It is possible for those people to change. It depends on one’s orientation and how the person chooses to deal with it. Some artistes even try to protect themselves with bodyguards. I do that sometimes too, but it shouldn’t get into one’s head because there is nothing like a permanent champion.

It seems present artistes are more united compared to your days. What could be wrong then?

We were united and good friends during our peak too. Some of us are still friends till date. It is just that the business is now bigger than what he used to be. When something gets big, there is tendency for more people to start having a sort of coalitions or break into groups.

Considering how lucrative music is now; has there been a time you wished you belong to the new generation?

How about if I wished I belonged to this generation and I didn’t last for a year before I die? So, everything has time and nature has its plans. We were there that time and we still try to make sense now. Soon, people will know that I am back. Once the creativity is there, the sound is right and the music is good, everything and other things are settled.

What are those things that influence your music?

It is basically my society, things I hear and see, and experiences of people. My style of music is more like afro-pop but we now have bit of highlife, fuji and other genres in it. It is really hard to define my music because I might be inspired to do reggae today and RnB tomorrow.

What was your background like?

I am from Ondo State. I went to St. Kizitos Primary School, Lagos, and later I proceeded to Iju Grammar School, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos. I then went to Yaba College of Technology where I studied business administration.

Was there a time you didn’t want to sing again?

Yes, there was. I realised that music is not a job where you could be certain of your old age. So, the thoughts came and I asked myself if I was doing the right thing. I decided to take a break and do one or two businesses because a lot of artistes had been there but are now struggling since they stopped singing. In a situation where we have proper structure and artistes are well paid, you can make plans. Even in countries where royalties are paid too, things get bad. This gave me worries. As a civil servant, you will collect some particular money after retirement for the rest of your life. We are recording artistes and the moment people don’t hear us again it is over. But we have people who are just performing artistes; they don’t have songs anywhere and they move around the world. A recording artiste needs to do videos, singles and albums. Since I studied business administration, I thought the money I make from music I should invest it. It serves me when I cannot do active music anymore.

How do you feel when you hear the likes of Davido, Olamide, Wizkid, etc?

I feel good that what we started could be this big. You know we were basically doing it for the passion then and we never thought it could go this far. There were no corporate bodies ready to buy into music and some radio stations were only playing foreign songs. I want to appreciate Kenny Ogungbe who believed in the vision that we are all enjoying today.

Have you had an experience where a young artiste disrespected or spoke to you rudely?

I have not really experienced direct cases, but it is happening. It is really bad and I think the industry as a whole encouraged that. They don’t make them to see what these people had done, so they don’t appreciate them. Today, we cannot talk about this industry without what Kenny Ogungbe did and I think the man is not being celebrated properly. Everyone just turned to the new thing, the current champion and forget those people who worked hard for things to come alive. If Ogungbe had followed the trend of some people who only listened to and encouraged foreign music, we may not have an industry like this. Whatever contribution one has done we should celebrate such individual. We shouldn’t wait until he or she dies. The last two or three Grammy ceremonies in United States was hosted by LL Cool J, one of the old-time artistes. But we don’t do that in Nigeria. How do you expect new artistes to respect those people?