ADEBAYO DAMILARE ADEEYO known by his stage name, Bayo Ododo is an Ogbomoso-born talented folklore musician and songwriter, who is also passionate about art and design. In this interview, the Ibadan-based artiste speaks about his genre and music with The Crux’s Editor, REMI ADEBAYO.
What genre of music do you play?
I am a folk music artiste.
Your music is rendered in Yoruba with so much cultural and traditional flavour and message. How did you come about that?
My deep appreciation for Yoruba culture and its values influenced my music style and growing up to be immersed in Yoruba traditions, music, and stories so much that I can’t stand its decadence. While growing up, I listen to Yorùbá music, listen to Yorùbá tales, observing our ways of lives and avidly savouring its richness in morals, artifacts, language and even our historical background.
It feels so good to explore and unveil more discoveries on why some things are done in certain ways and not otherwise. Many times, I’d pounder on how much every aspect of our culture aligns with my personal philosophy. How would I have allowed such invaluable cultural heritage to suffer ravaging malady of extinction that has been engaging the whole African culture in fierce fisticuffs that seems unabated! By that very fact itself, I eventually found my talent conniving with my desire to preserve the sanity left in our culture from being fully infiltrated with junk from the Western world. In short, that is the why’s and how’s of how I become who I am today.
What motivates your music?
My music is primarily motivated by my love and profound appreciation for Yoruba cultural heritage, as well as a strong desire to contribute to its preservation.
Who do you look up to as a mentor in the music industry?
I consider Mr. Segun Akinolu, also known as Beautiful Nubia, Baba Jimi Solanke, Orlando Julius and others in that direction as my mentors. I listen to their music a lot, even long before I dreamed of venturing into a music career. I love their composition, melody and rich message embedded in every line of their lyrics. I must confess that those legends are masterpieces, and I aspire to achieve a level of excellence similar to their achievements in the industry.
How many albums or singles have you released so far?
I have so far released 15 single tracks and one album.
In an era where pop and other genres of music are fast paced and others with lewd orientation are popular among the youths, how have the younger people accepted your music?
Well, that has been a big challenge, and may I say that it’s not still a challenge at the same time. The world is generally turning upside down –adopting nudity as dressing style, public display of romance, foul languages, and other forms of indecency. Values are changing. Not only are they changing but also changing dramatically and our youths are being caught up in its whirlwind on daily basis, hence, reversing such changes that seems irreversible is the goal of every lyric of my music. I believe that with time, my music can purify the polluted minds and promote the good things that have been demoted by those mentioned music. The reaction of younger people would never be a barrier in raising the banner of decency again!
Could you tell me about the success so far recorded?
There is so much record of success that can exhaust the entire pages of this paper! But, just to mention a few, some of my notable successes include the successful launch of my first album, significant sales, and requests from movie producers to use my music in their films. Additionally, I continuously experience improvement and growth, releasing my music under a US record label.
How about the challenges?
There are no challenges beyond the same that everybody faces in normal day to day business of life and survival such as financial constraints, the need for continuous improvement, managing my band and fans, and maintaining consistency in my music career.
Did you study music in school?
No, I pursued a degree in Arts and Design at a prestigious university in Nigeria.
Listening to a few of your singles like Moremi, Oladekoju, Ajanrete and others will give nostalgic feelings to Yoruba listener, does your music also appeal to non-Yoruba listeners and why did you choose only Yorùbá to convey your message?
Of course, my music is also aimed at appealing to non-Yorubas, in fact, we are actively working on creating music videos with English subtitles to appeal to non-Yoruba audiences. And the choice of Yorùbá, as stated earlier, is to strictly promote its cultural heritage hence, conveying the messages in Yorùbá language would be indispensably appropriate and after all, we all leverage on what we have absolute advantage at.
Apart from connecting and reconnecting people to their rich heritage through music, who are your audience again?
My music is for everyone, regardless of their cultural background. I aim to connect with anyone who appreciates meaningful and culturally rich music.
Would you describe the Nigerian music industry as rewarding today?
The reward in the Nigerian music industry can vary depending on one’s perspective. For me, the reward is in consistently delivering meaningful messages through my music. Other forms of reward may follow, but passion remains the driving force.
What should be done to further attract, encourage and mobilize talents like you into music?
We should collectively encourage and support emerging talents. In a world filled with discouragement, let us play our part in nurturing and bringing out the best in them through morally and legally acceptable means.
