She did reign supreme and won many hearts as one of the best things to
happen to musical revolution; that was in the tail end of the 90s and early
2000s when the hip hop tradition was in its upward projection. Hers is a
typical story of falling from grace to grass. May it never happen to
us and may God review her case for good. She began life with a beautiful
romance with destiny, she was about to cross the rubicon; her hands were almost
clutching the baton of riches, but at the very brink of stardom, she fell from
the cliff of the mountain to where she never thought. Her name might have gone
into oblivion but she’s one of the first set of parody-artistes in Nigeria. If
you don’t know or never heard of Funke Olayode, a.k.a African Celine Dion,
please take a while to check her song, Oun To Ba Gba from
Google, before continuing reading this. It was shortly after Banky W. hit the
studio with his fans teeming ‘Ebutte Meta’ song, a perfect imitation of
Rihanna’s popular wave making album, Umbrella that she followed suit to release
her own impeccable mimicry of Celine Dion’s song, ‘If That’s What It
Takes’-translated to an incredible Yoruba version ”Oun To Ba Gba”, a
super single and mega hit that uproariously pushed her to instant reckoning and
sudden fame.
She became one of the most sought after budding artistes there and then
as she began to grapple with different opportunities as the offer lasted. One
of the most dangerous moments in the life of budding artistes who’re prone to
fame is the ability to take right decisions when it matters, it is like drawing
a line between life and death, unfortunately the black and talented beauty fell
on the wrong side of the coin; she got carried away, maybe not particularly for
material gains but bad gang or probably what she believes it’s a spiritual
problem, ”they want me dead, it’s a plan by enemies”, her belief.
There are so many angles to her grace to grass story. She got signed to
Atunda entertainment owned by a prominent resort owner but the relationship
never blossomed, no one knows how it all crumbled but according to her, “the
man stole most of my songs, ceased my international passport and got me
kidnapped for days before I miraculously escaped”, she had said in one of her
interviews.
The next phase of her story was when she was spotted at the Femi Kuti’s
Afrikan Shrine where she was seen dancing for the Positive Force band, at that
time, the news in town was she was involved in marijuana and drugs, though
denied, “I heard the marijuana and drugs story but there was nothing close to
that, all I know is I was depressed and I took to smoking and drinking but
never did drugs, the closest I’ve seen drugs is on the television, she told us.
That’s how the talented, velvet voiced and promising Funke, the black
beauty who’s an epitome of an African woman fizzled out from the scene when her
contemporaries like Banky W, The Remedies, Plantashun Boyz band of Tu Face
Idibia, Black Face and Faze, Olu Maintain and others were struggling for fame,
money, limelight and above all, to revolutionalize the Nigeria hip hop
industry, she caved in to the heat of that moment and until recently, no one
knows what she’s been up to.
In our typical daring investigative adventure, National Enquirer was
able to caught up with her in far away Ogbomosho, Oyo State where we managed to
find out what she’s been up to. She was adamant, she was not ready to say
anything but she’s okay, she’s fine the way she is, “it is too late to offer
anything now, am not interested in anything, too late for whatever. Thank u,
the circumstances surrounding my life permit nothing, it’s as simple as I have
said it”, her words.
And we later probed further how she copes with life, daily bread and so
on, “how I look for daily bread, I do hair weaving, nails and other petty
hairdressing stuffs outdoor, in front of our house gate in Ogbomosho”
Everything about her words is in parable and when we asked her about
relationship with man, sex and so on, her response, “like I said, the
circumstances surrounding my life permit nothing. On a side of life where
family is a weapon of destruction, when you are setup with psychiatric unit and
regarded as being mad and for destruction, there is just nothing you can do to
help my situation, do believe me. Relationship can never happen in this life...
I do nails, lashes, manicure pedicure for people locally and hair too... am at
war, just living each day as it comes”, she submitted sympathetically.
We’re so touched and confused that we’re thinking of what to do to help
her plight, such a great talent must not waste, she’s blessed with a good voice
but happens to fall victim of circumstances that could be beyond human
comprehension sometimes. Aside physical affluence and attendant cosmopolitan
look that would have glamorized her total being like her nouveau riche peers in
the industry, Funke is still in her good shape and she told us as a parting
shot, “I have always been a fitness freak and I hope to start living on it
somehow someday too”, which means she’s conscious of her physical appearance.
We shall be looking forward to suggestions, advices and supports anyone could
think of, to help her plight. Please let’s work on a project, “Bring Funke
Back” to the industry. Get in touch if you think so too.
Tunde Moshood
