Ibejii - The Anonymous Man Who Sees It All
Part mysterious and part virtuoso, Ibejii speaks on his latest single 'Gonto', his passion for music and what burdens him the most.
It’s a grey afternoon in the city of Lagos and Ibejii’s car roars into the parking lot of where his Naija Times interview is scheduled to hold.
Ibejii’s lean frame is covered in all black clothing. His dome is not left out of the monochromatic colour scheme with a black beanie head warmer.
The singularity in his appearance betrays his versatility in the arts. Ibejii is more than an alternative singer. He is also an author who is now dipping his toe into the movie business pond.
For now, Ibejii is fixed on his latest single, the moody and weepy ballad with an air of epicness about it, ‘Gonto’.
“Gonto is October 2020” says Ibejii in a slight British accent. We are now in the confines of his office, a neat and elegant space where he speaks more about his latest song.
“Gonto is a story of the big man that will not let the little men, the little people occupy space. Whether you are the king in the town, a governor, a president, Gonto is a request you give little people a voice.
“Gonto is you and I. And when you don’t give us space what we will do is push back. That is what resulted in October last year. October will not be a rarity until we get to a point where we all feel that we have space to speak, to own, to act, to possess and to direct” he explains to Naija Times.
October 2020 refers to the 12 days young Nigerians protested against the police unit Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) infamously known for profiling innocent young Nigerians, extortion, physical harassment, torture and extra-judicial killings.
The protest which was amplified on (now banned) Twitter and reverberated around the world marked a pivotal time in the socio-political awakening of millennial and Gen-Z Nigerians.
This tipping point is what inspired not only ‘Gonto’ but his next body of work, an EP called “Intermission.”
“Intermission is really the story of that year (2020) that was really a break in transmission certainly in our lifetime. It (the pandemic) brought the world to a standstill. We were all experiencing the same thing - death, dead bodies that we couldn’t bury, social isolation, mental illness” explains Ibejii.
He further says, “Now in our case we had the added misfortune of October 2020. I thought it would be remiss if, notwithstanding the fact that I released a project in June 2020, I didn’t document the times. It was such a major event, a human event. Aside from the fact that unlike the rest of the world we were promised something special for 2020, Vision 2020.
Vision 2020 is “a long term plan for stimulating Nigeria’s economic growth and launching the country onto a path of sustained and rapid socio-economic development” conceived by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006.
One of its major aims was “by 2020 Nigeria will be one of the 20 largest economies in the world.” We know that never happened.
“We were promised good, we didn’t get normal, we got absolutely nothing. I have a song called ‘Pandemonium’ which challenges the question “if this is great vision then give me blindness” says Ibejii.
This singer is far from blind. He is burdened by what he sees in our society, the poverty and pain. He is also baffled as to why Nigerian leaders are not doing anything to alleviate the suffering and encourage young Nigerians.
“In much of what I do, it grieves my heart. I am almost in a state of constant trauma and it bothers me that I drive down the streets of Lagos, Abuja, wherever it is, and there is pain everywhere” he says in slight frustration.
Ibejii channels these thoughts and frustrations into his music.
On December 9, 2017, dressed in all black again (but this time with an Afro), Ibejii was on the bill of the BrymO headlined concert at Terra Kulture. This was the first time I had heard of an Ibejii but I was transfixed by the discipline of his performance and his effort to enchant the audience. Since then I have not forgotten his name.
Pulse Nigeria had this to say about his performance “One would expect that the grandest of entries would be reserved for the headline act but it would not have been Ibejii if he had simply walked on stage.
“Backed by a 5 piece band and an equal number of backing singers, the singer's set was about much more than the music, a mix of juju and traditional Yoruba folk music.
“His charisma, almost aloof at times, allowed him to remain the focus as the audience swayed along to a performance that seemed much like a family communing on stage.”
Ibejii belongs to a growing alternative scene in the music industry consisting of the Headies winning The Cavemen and the Billboard flying Tems. With four albums in three years, Ibejii has made a name for himself thanks to his growing discography and impressive live performance skill.
“I think I’m obsessed with music, truth be told. I find it such an incredible tool for telling stories. As Africans we are storytellers first and foremost because we are situated in an environment that generates natural stories.
“If I don’t get my stories out I will die a very frustrated man” explains Ibejii on why he has been on such a prolific streak. His next project is coming out with a movie. You can see clips of it in the music video for ‘Gonto’.
Clearly, he wants to express himself every way he can - “artistry is a continuum so whether you are expressing through writing, whether you are expressing through music, whether you are expressing through the small screen or big screen, or on stage, whether it is through fashion, through food, anything that is creative, is just another means to express.”
In an era where clout is the new gold and artists are forced to strip tendrils of their soul and offer them to a mob who pays them back in likes, retweets, comments, Ibejii is intentionally private.
From his stage name we can deduce he is a twin. In this interview he reveals he was brought up by a “pretty conscientious father” who he also describes as “revolutionary”. He grew up in a house where they danced a lot. His aunt was married to the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (GCFR).
Don’t bother finding out who that aunt is. MKO Abiola was a Yoruba man to the core- a real polygamist. Ibejii is also Yoruba and also British- a duality that is not hard to notice. “I’m very British but I’m incredibly Yoruba '' he clearly states.
“Ibejii has always been about the sound or the music and not the man. I never wanted it to be about me. I didn’t want it to interfere with the sound. It is very difficult to do that in the world we live in today. People want to see you and know you better. I have had to lend a part of me to the process but if I had my way it would be strictly music” explains the Nigerian-Brit on how he has been able to navigate living as a public figure.
Another thing we do know about Ibejii is that at some point in his life music saved him. “A couple of years ago music saved my life because I needed that thing to hang on, to believe in and music was that thing for me” he tells Naija Times.
And how did he get into music? “The music thing came accidentally. Someone dared me to go into a studio. I did and I just never left it. I enjoyed it so much and here I am.”
Music is an outlet for him to express things he is concerned about from “the oppression of people, the oppression of black people, the oppression of the LGBT community, the oppression of Christians in the North, the oppression of Muslims in the south.”
This is why after his EP in September, he plans to drop another one followed by an album.
“I only have this one life and it’s not many years. If I don’t get my stories out I will die a very frustrated man” says Ibejii.