Why I chose to marry Annie and not Pero or Sumbo -Tuface

Sensational musician, Tuface Idibia, is an interviewer’s delight. He doesn’t hesitate to respond to any question. Indeed, he seems to have a ready-made answer for almost every question popped. But there are two questions you can’t get the singer to answer at the moment. Will he father another child from another woman? After five children from three women, with another one due in March, would he still have more? However, Tuface opens up on why he chose to marry his long time girlfriend, Annie, over and above Pero and Sumbo, who are mothers of his children. He also talks about other issues. Enjoy:  

Living legend
 Calling me a living legend is a very heavy title. For me, I just think people say that because they have seen me come from way back and I remain relevant till today, and also from the type of music that I do and the type of message that I pass. I think it’s basically my person, though I wouldn’t know all the reasons why they call me that. Do I get scared when they call me a living legend? Like I said, for me, it’s not something I easily agree with, but I am working towards being a legend, so if they call me a legend already, I thank them. Definitely, I want to leave a mark in the African music industry and the world at large. I want to leave a mark.

My type of music
 I think it’s my talent. That’s God’s gift to me. I thank God. I just laugh when I hear people argue that Tuface does not write his songs. If people write for me and I can deliver it fine, I don’t owe them any explanation, and for the people who think I don’t write my song, when they see my album, they should check the list of songs and see who it was written by. I do welcome write-ups from people, many of the greatest artistes, not all their songs were written by them, but the Nigerian mentality is just somehow, they think once you can’t write your song, you are not a complete musician. Yes, you don’t have to write your songs to be a complete musician. Once you have the talent to sing, that’s all, some great songs might come from somebody else.

African Queen and other songs
 African Queen was not written for me, it was written by me and Blackface. The song was written by both of us together, it is an equal contribution. A song like “Right Here” was written by OJB. The key part of  “Implication” was interpreted to me by AJ Prestige, I can’t remember the others.

Why I remain relevant
 For me, it is the positive mindset that I have towards my work and I try to work really hard and keep my head up. On my relationship with young and old artistes, I just try my best to be myself and I respect everyone, I don’t look down on anyone, so I think that’s the reason why I am very much likeable, because I respect people a lot. I also try to listen to everyone’s music, I listen to lyrics a lot, and it is quite easy for me to listen to a song so, believe me when I say it’s easy for me to do that. I listen to other people’s songs a lot.

Charging fees for collabo
 It is true that I have started charging for collaborations. Yes, I don start to dey charge, if not I go do collabo tire. You see music never ends; it’s an everlasting thing, I think what’s left for me in music would be to conquer the world.

International acceptance
 Despite the fact that our music has been accepted at the international level, Nigerians musicians still find it difficult to break into the mainstream because one thing is that these people took their time to build their industry, so, they won’t just let anybody get a break into the system and collect the benefits of what they have built over the years. That is why many of us from this part of the world find it difficult at that level. For instance, no matter how I am in Africa, a South African record company will first of all make a South African a hit before they make me one. So, we in Nigeria have to build up our own industry so that our home-based acts can be made.  I feel we are gradually getting there, but we need to organize the industry in order to get it right.

getting it right
 There are many things wrong with our music industry. There is the issue of copyright law which has not really been addressed and these are some of the things that scare investors, nobody would want to invest in an industry where there are no guiding laws. So, until that is taken care off, we would still be doing things like we are doing now.

On my last album
 You wouldn’t expect my last album to sell like the average N150 CD but that doesn’t suggest it didn’t do very well. We had a plan in mind: we knew that even if we sold the CD for N1, 000, the pirates would still pirate it. We wanted to have a standard copy. Some fans complained it was too expensive for them, but we are going to have the economic pack and the premium pack next time. My fans should expect another album from me a couple of months from now.

On international collaboration
 For now, I can’t say anything about the international collabo, I can’t really talk about it yet until it happens. I think it is a good move if you can feature an international act in your album; it is always good to do that.

On marriage proposal to Annie
 I think it’s about time, I have known Annie for over 12 years, some things just made me realize that this is my woman and I couldn’t deny it any more. When are we getting married? Don’t worry, I will keep you posted. Some people think I should just continue living like this and not get married? Well, everybody has a right to their own opinion. And what other people think doesn’t concern me. You don’t have any authority over what others think. So for me, if that’s what they think, I’m sorry.

Annie and I are soulmates
 All my women are very respectable. I can’t answer that question because I have already proposed to who I want to be with and I won’t want to create any type of answer that will be odd. Of course, Annie and I are soulmates. We are mature people and I know that they understand my decision. Did I tell them about the decision? Of course, yes. Did they raise an issue? You know what; I don’t want to answer the question, so, let’s change the topic.

Tuface in labour room
 Unfortunately, I have never been in the labour room during the delivery of any of my children. This is because I am mostly in other countries. I only get the information that the baby has been delivered. How do I react when people say I like women? Is this coming from the guys’ or ladies’ perspective? Well, let the guys tell me if they don’t like women too. And for ladies, they too will tell me if they do not like men. Maybe all of them should convert to Reverend Sisters.

Asa and I
 I would love to do a collabo with Asa. With D’banj, I did a song entitled: “I’m Feeling Good”. Yes, the video has been shot. Well, expect a classy song. On the international scene, I would like to work with Lil Wayne, Damian Marley, and many others.

How I keep fit
 I jog every once in a while and I go to the gym once in a while.

More kids from Tuface?
 Will I ever father another child from another woman? How do I answer this question? No, I am not going to answer that question. No, I did not say I won’t have more kids. No, I didn’t. Who knows? That’s left in the hands of God.

On The Sun awards
 Yes, I’m performing at The Sun Awards today. So, expect a good show, good music and a crazy, peaceful and spiritual outing.
 By Samuel Olatunji