I PLAY A DIFFERENT GENRE OF MUSIC ENTIRELY – UZEE B

I PLAY A DIFFERENT GENRE OF MUSIC ENTIRELY – UZEE B

Uthman Bello is an upcoming musical artiste with a clear determination to go places in the world of music; he wants to take his music not just within the shores of Nigeria and Africa but the world stage. Uthman with stage name as Uzee B plays Afro hip-hop with Islamic tunes which makes his kind of music a rare genre. He was a guest at Enquirer Magazine’s office and he told Murphy Fadairo how music started for him, what music means and where he intends taking his kind of music. Enjoy the brief but interesting interview.

Tell us more about you?

My name is Uthman Bello. I am a musical artiste and my stage name is Uzee B. I am also a student of the University of Ibadan. I do hip-hop, afro hip-hop and sometimes Islamic classic.

Since when have you been doing music and when did you start it professionally

It has been a while. I think I started doing music professionally in the year 2008/2009

A lot of people go into music for various reasons like money, fame; what inspired you to go into music?

Music is something that is in my blood. I won’t say I went into music because of the money because I am not a kind of person that hasn’t seen money before. My status and activities got a little bit compounded that I wanted to like lay low in music but somehow it still kept showing in everything I do; so I felt like I can’t continue to do this. I had to push the music. So what inspires me the most is the fact that I want to change some things out there. It is not really the music industry because only me wouldn’t really do much but definitely am going to make a huge impact in people’s life, correct things and also people will groove too like the normal thing.

You do afro hip-hop and some Islamic tunes; how do you combine this type of music?

I do the normal hip-hop song that everybody wants to hear; you can call it commercial song. Then I will say I invented my own Islamic tune; that is doing Islamic song in a hip-hop way. It is still on a basic platform; everyone can understand what I am saying except the Arabic part because I understand Arabic to a certain level. I know they are two different kind of music but the fact is that I can’t stop what I am doing. I have to come out in one original way; this is what I am doing and I am not going to back out.

Do you have an album in view?

I will say yes and no.  I already recorded a full album of fourteen tracks but I just need to do some finishing before I push it out. In a matter of weeks am going to release my single Bismi Lahi and the full album will be out probably before the end of the second quarter of this year by the grace of God. The single had been released before but I didn’t give it the necessary push because I was not around but now I am back. So my fans should just watch out for me. My main motive in song is for people to learn. Although you are going to dance to an extent but after that you still go back and listen to my music in your car and make sense out of it. That is where I get reward from God and that is what matters to me

Have you been signed under any record label yet?

Right now am not on any record label. Although I have some that I am talking to but their strategy or terms may want to affect me. And whatever is going to affect my education, I will just stay away from it.

What are you studying in school and how do you combine the rigours of having to go for lectures and may be rehearsals?

That is actually something that is making me answer the name when they call where a man is because apart from being a student of the University of Ibadan; am also a student of an Arabic University Mahad-Ul-Arori Al-Nigeree also in Ibadan. That is another school separately. I do these things; I try to shuttle them and I am doing very good. There is no day you will come to the schools and ask from four to five students about me that they will not point me out. There are over four hundred students in the Arabic school and it is the same thing in the university. What matters is that you have interest in what you are doing; if you have to do it you do it good. Once you have the aim of doing it you do it well. I believe whatever is meant to be done should be done properly. If am going to back out of Arabic school I won’t do it at all; since am doing it I will do it good and put in all my energy. Same goes for music. My father says half knowledge burns out at the end of the day; if you don’t learn something fully, it will fade off. I believe in that and it is what keeps me going.

Is it true that if you do Islamic music you should not play musical instrument

From the little knowledge I have to an extent, music is allowed; the instrument part of it is true to an extent but to me I believe it is the message that you are passing across. That is what determines the kind of reward or punishment that you will get from God. What matters at the end of the day is your intention.

Where do you see yourself in the nearest future as a musical artiste?

Talking about music I am going to come out straight and I will like to say this “I don’t brag”. Whatever am going to do I won’t say but all I can tell you is that I am the bomb. My kind of music is something that is classic, it comes out the way I want it. I control music, it doesn’t control me. So I am very much deceptive positively when you talk of music. In the nearest future I see myself as a Nigerian ambassador of good music, from there an African ambassador and then to the world.

What is your parent’s reaction to you doing music?

My father used to do music. That was the story I got. But due to his business he could no longer do music but doing well in his business. My mum is in total support of my music career. I still go to school and my Arabic classes. So it is all good.

One last word to your fans

They should just expect nothing but good music from Uzee B.