Popular singer, Waconzy, talks about fame and fortune
Why I shaved off my dreadlocks
As a matter of fact, I wasn’t born with dreadlocks. I just promoted that look. The main reason I shaved off the dreads was because I was getting more matured and considering the kind of business I do, I decided to look like a CEO that I am. I also considered the fact that I want to get to the next level in life and looking at my friends that are also CEOs, most of them do not sport dreads. I took of my dreads to compliment the Waconzy 2.0, that it is the new Waconzy, the elevated, rebranded and upgraded Waconzy. To a reasonable extent, it will reflect in my new songs and my new album, Money Back Guaranteed. The fact that I took of the dreads does not change me, if at all, it makes me look better.
About my company
I own DV8 Innovation. It is the parent company, DV8 media is under it. I bought it for over $100,000. I paid them off their equity. The company was worth about $300,000, but I had more equity then and I had to pay everybody off their equity. Now it is a lot bigger and I thank God for the journey so far.
How I was able to come up with the $300,000
I am a graduate. People should not just look at me as an upcoming artiste. Even if you have a shopping mall and you started a new business, maybe a barber’s saloon, you must become an upcoming barber. Any new business you start, you must become new in it. The fact that I started doing music does not mean I have not been doing things before now. I have always had a project management degree and I have always been a project management professional. My life still goes on, I have always been doing things in the past and I have always been a businessman. I have been running all sorts of businesses and I also handle contracts. People should not just look at me as a musician. I am a graduate and a businessman.
My other businesses
I import cars, inverters; I have an event solutions company. We have equipment for events, speakers, lights, smoke machines, cameras, and other things.
Why I relocated to Lagos
I moved to Lagos because the major seaport is in Lagos which is in Tincan Island, Apapa. Also, Lagos is the hub of entertainment in Nigeria. It is the powerhouse of entertainment in the country. It is only wise for me to move to were it is happening more. Before now, I used to ‘live’ in the air, travelling from one place to another. Most my businesses had always been in Lagos, so I decided to relocate to Lagos instead of shuttling from Port Harcourt to Lagos and other places.
Frequent travels
I was travelling a lot during the period of frequent plane crashes. I was not afraid because if you are always scared, you are as good as dead. What will happen will happen and God has always told me that I will never find myself in the midst of negativity. He will always be there for me. I was scared for every other person, but I was not scared for myself because I believe no negativity would come close to me. That is my belief and it has always worked for me. I thank God that nothing bad has happened to me.
Surpassing my hit song, Celebrate
Celebrate was just like every other song that I did. The same inspiration I got for Celebrate is the same inspiration I got for Too Much Money, and other songs that I have done. It is by the grace of God that everybody loves Celebrate. It is not because of the song. I did not sing what nobody has sung before. I did the song based on the inspiration I got at that moment. I believe that in my new album, Money Back Guarantee, the grace of God will be on lots of songs. I took on serious issues in the album. It is a 19-track album and they are all wonderful songs.
My source of inspiration
No matter how much you have, if you are not adding to it, the money will finish before you know it. I am always trying to make things happen. I am always trying to elevate, from one level to another. My inspiration does not come from my hustle per se; it is about what I see. The fact that I am somewhere and I see a lot of people, I try and draw inspiration from them. How they perceive life and how I feel life should be. My relationships–family but it has to be real–my music is real. The fact that I have money now does not mean that I will not work harder to surpass where I am. My inspiration comes from anywhere, my travels to other countries and what I have seen abroad. My new single, Club on Fire, was actually inspired by what I saw in Amsterdam. I was in a club were the club was actually on fire. Inside the club, rain water was dropping, it was a wonderful experience and the main songs we heard there was techno, the same kind of dance song in Club on Fire. I actually brought it down to African style. Everything I do is as a result of what I have seen to a reasonable extent.
My acceptance level worldwide
I have toured lots of countries both in Africa and beyond and I am still going to tour Europe soon. I feel blessed but no matter how much of a star I feel I am, I always remember to give God the glory because without His grace, I am nothing. I always remember that I have to be humble. The last time I travelled, I was treated like a superstar 14 hours away from my country but when I got back to Nigeria, I know I had to keep a level head.
Crazy things fans have done to me
Some have given me their ATM cards that I should shop and exhaust the card. Some have told me that they want to marry me and that I should not be scared as they will take care of me. A lot of things; I am sure they do that out of excitement. I let them understand that my music is different from me. I try and bring in reality but I still have my direction in life. Just because I am doing music to make you happy does not mean that I do all you want me to do. Just as some people still want me to keep my dreadlocks. I tell them if they really want the dreads, they should keep one. I can’t keep dreads for you, you have to keep one if you want it that bad. To a reasonable extent, I have been able to distinguish between my life and my music which is very important.
Collaboration with other artistes
I have always liked to work with myself more than working with other artistes. This industry is one where not everyone is educated, some of us are. When working with others, they might not come with the same energy, the same spirit. You do a song with some and when it is time to do a video, you will have issues. It is the same way I don’t believe in partnership for my business. I believe in sole proprietorship, that is why I bought over my company. I decided to do collaborations this time because my fans said they want collaboration from artistes they like so that they would feel both energies together. I have done collaborations with Banky W, Naeto C, Faze. I also did one with Truth Hurts from America, and my producer Chimaga.
I have trust issues
Seriously, I have trust issues. While I was growing up, one of the things I did was to delete the word ‘trust’ from my dictionary. To a reasonable extent, I have trusted people that have proven to me that I can trust them. I don’t really believe trust exists. Since you can not trust yourself, how will you trust the next man? A character of human being is change, it is constant. They can change to better or worse. Not because they want to change sometimes, but because they find it inevitable and they need to protect their personal interest. I barely trust people like that. I am not a snub. A lot of people know me but I can not know everybody. People think I am a snub because when I first meet you, I act like I have known you for a long time and the next time we meet I might not remember you. When I am walking, I also always keep a straight face. In the past, I have greeted some people and got snubbed maybe because of my early days or they do not remember where they know me from. So to play safe, I keep to myself. I am not crazy about having too much friends because a lot of challenges come with having too much friends.
My relationship
I have a young lady and I believe that she is the one that God has sent to me, but she does not know that yet. She has been on my case for about four years and she has been the best. I know I have not been reciprocating well. But for now, the love of my life is my mother. I know I cannot marry my mother but I hope in the near future, God will show me clearly who my wife is supposed to be as she has to be a superwoman.
About my mother
My mother is very proud of me now. They call her Mama Waconzy or Waconzy mother. That is what her friends call her. She is a superstar now and she is happy. I love my mother, she loves me. I love my wonderful family. I am a mummy’s boy even though we have issues a times but we always settle. She gets to understand that the older I get, I have my own journey to make. We love each other and I always represent her positively.
What I am working on now
I just finished working on my latest album, Money Back Guarantee. It came out on Friday. It is marketed by Obaino Music and there is something in it for everybody. I like to authoritatively say it is the best album coming out from the Nigerian scene. It was produced by Chimaga, the best producer in the world. Cover picture by Kelechi Amadi. The songs were mixed and mastered by Indiana.