Some years ago, his song “Love Me Jeje, Love Me Tender” ruled the airwaves. Not only was the song and the accompanying video a must play for on-the-air personalities on radio and TV, it also earned the singer Mr. Jeje as a nickname. He followed it up with a sophomore album, which unfortunately did not make much wave as the first one. This might have forced him to take a break to repackage for the big task ahead. And the result is this Nigerian born-US-based artiste, Seyi Sodimu, is back with a brand new album, “Africa Soul,” which he plans to release in Nigeria soon.
And as a prelude to the release, last Sunday, the singer, who is now fondly called Mr. Jeje by fans, was on location in Lagos to shoot the video of “Boys Will Be Boys,” one of the songs in his new work. Directed by Clarence Peters, with producer ID Cabassa and Cobhams in the production team, the video featured notable Nigerian celebrities.
“I’ve done a lot of songs about ladies, but in all my collections, I don’t have any about men. So, this time around, I’ve decided to do a track that will celebrate men. The audio is ready; I’m only here to shoot the video,” he said.
The video, according to Sodimu, will also feature his 12-year-old daughter, Simisola, who accidentally got involved in the recording of the track in the U.S.
“She wasn’t initially part of the recording, but situation brought her in. We were supposed to record the song in the studio but my back-up singer was nowhere to be found; by then, I had already paid the studio fee. It was while we were waiting for my back up that my daughter offered to take her role. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea, but the studio engineer resolved to give her a trial. By the time she finished, I had to call my back-up singer not to worry coming.”
On the choice of Lagos as location for the video, Sodimu explained that, “Nigeria has become more conducive for music recordings; things have moved on. So, it’s normal that I come home for the video.”
Though no exact day has been fixed for the release of the 10-track work, there are indications that the album release would be a bang.
“I’ve been away from music for sometime now. So, for this work to make impact, I need a big launch to tell people that Seyi is back. We are also planning a music tour of major cities in Nigeria with top Nigerian artistes on the bill. But most importantly, I plan to hunt for young music talents in Nigeria.”
Talents discovered, according to the artiste, would be exposed on the international platform as part of his contribution to the growth and development of the music industry in Nigeria.
“I’m an international artiste and I’m bringing my experience back home. I plan to invest in the young talents, giving them the necessary exposure as regards music. Part of my plan is to bring my record label, Goodlife Records, to Nigeria – that will help in the project.”
For those, who had been asking the whereabouts of Seyi, the truth is that Mr. Jeje will be very much around most of the time from now.
“My family is already here; I brought them back so they could learn Yoruba language. I speak my dialect fluently, so, I don’t understand why my kids won’t speak Yoruba; they are here now schooling. For that, I will be spending most of my time in Nigeria. And with my music project, I need to be very much on ground to get things done,” he said.
Aside from music, Sodimu has diversified into other businesses.
“My brief absence in the music scene has to do with the fact that I’m into a lot of businesses now. I’ve got a clothing line, oil business and a hotel, which I’m building in Nigeria. So, most times, I had to attend to business. But music is a passion that would never die.”
Seyi’s style of music takes traditional African rhythms of Juju, Highlife and Afro-beat, with a fusion of modern sound of Jazz, R&B and Hip-hop, which he refereed to as “a unique blend Afro Soul.” His music celebrates life, love, truth and the spirituality of a higher being. Sometimes, he acknowledges the struggle of the oppressed people, yet never animated in hate or revenge.
Though based in the U.S, he has amassed a huge fan base in Nigeria where he has done numerous live performances.
