Next 2 Blow: Introducing Korede Bello
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Written by Babajide Awoyinfa |
Korede Bello is a young guitarist, singer, song writer and composer who does R & B/Soul/Folk music. This young creative fella, who hails from Lagos State, the entertainment centre of Nigeria, believes that he is the next best thing in the music and entertainment industry in Nigeria.
He has a reasonable pedigree. Nominated as Next Rated Music Artiste at the Peak Awards 2011, he won the Most Promising Young Act at the Toks Entertainment Awards 2011. He also clinched two awards, Indigenous and Revelation of the Year, at the Tush All Youth Awards 2011. This year, he claimed another laurel at the Hype Award 2012 where he emerged the Most Wanted Artist Of The Year.
This rising vedette, who draws inspiration from Asa and Tuface, is putting finishing touches to his album. Bello, currently under the management of Caspertainment and signed to Double Dice Records, had a chat with me recently where he talked about his music and where he is heading.
How did music start for you?
I started singing when I was in my primary school and my first stage performance was in my Primary 2; I was 7 years old then, that was when I discovered that I could sing. I think my singing talent is a special gift from God, I am the only one that is into music professionally in my family but everybody is a huge supporter of good music. My dad used to love Fela, Micheal Jackson, Ebenezer Obey, different contemporary musicians. Listening to different kinds of music inspired me.
How did your music journey start?
It has been a challenging journey for me; it started rough but going smoothly at the moment. The challenge that I had was, being able to convince my mum to allow me to stay late into the night in the studio and for shows. I was about to write WAEC then, it was hard to shuffle exams with music.
Professionally, my music career started two years ago, when I was still in secondary school, I recorded a song for my graduation; then I met a producer and worked on a song titled “I Love Naija” that was my first single, and I performed it on my graduation. It was after then I signed up with Double Dice Records because they believe I was good and since then I have been under the record label.
What concept do you stand for?
I preach love - everything related to love; I preach oneness. No matter how danceable, I always try to put a message in my songs. I do R&B, Soul, Pop and Folk. I am proud to say that I am the only one combining all these genres at the moment. I combine Michael Jackson, Asa, TuFace, Usher and Justin Bieber concepts. I mix these concepts to make my music unique.
Who are the artists that inspire you?
An artist cannot inspire me forever; as time goes on I see different uniqueness in different artists; any good artist can inspire me. But Michael Jackson, Asa, TuFace Usher, Justin Bieber, wizkid inspires me a lot.
Tell us about your new song “Forever”?
The inspiration behind that song is love; I try to put a message in it, and the concept behind the song is that only God lives forever, that is the secret message behind that song. The song had been, one of my favourite melodies. I had that melody for a while now. I try making the song simple such that kids, adults and clubs can relate to. I wrote the song with my guitar, that was where the inspiration came from. And I sang it for a girl I was in love with in school back then. She inspired the love part of it.
How many songs have you released presently?
I have recorded I love ‘‘Naija‘‘, ‘‘Hold Me” and “Forever”. I have so many great songs yet to be released; I am compiling them for my album that will be released soon. I have so many songs, written with my guitar and also recorded in the studio.
What are your album plans?
My album will be release early next year by the grace of God; I just want to concentrate on more singles right now, for people to really know who Korede Bello is and enjoy what I have to offer so that they can value the album because I have great messages and stories to tell.
What attracts you to music?
I think music attracts me to her; music is somebody that has been toasting me for a very long time; right from when I was a baby, music was always in me. Music actually discovered me and I am really thankful to God for that.
In the real sense, my mum and dad, back then played lots of records in the house. We had a turntable, a compact disc player and listening to this ignited and strengthened the love of music in me. Also in school, I did participate in things related to music and I wrote poetry in secondary school. I wrote all my songs which made me popular in school back then. I got inspired through my environment, friends and my country.
Which artist will you compare yourself with?
With all due respect, I don’t compare myself to any artist; I think every artist is great and unique in his own style. If people say I sound like a particular artist, that is good. But I am Korede Bello.
Do you think it is easier to make it Lagos that any other state in Nigeria?
The reason why artists come here is because Lagos is the centre of excellence, music and movie industry are mainly generated from here because of the good name right from the start.
How is the reception online on your song?
They day the “Forever” song dropped, all the Nigerian music site on the internet launched it online. The plan was that I was born on a leap year date, February 29, so they made it really special for me by uploading it in all the music sites in Nigeria. I got lots of good comment on the song, people called me that they heard my song and liked it, even from outside Nigeria. I tweet a lot and have a lot of followers. My twitter handle is @koredebello. For now I haven’t had bad comment about the song and I am sure that people are not teasing me with the good comments they have been writing.
What are your future plans?
My future plans is to take my record label higher, that is Double Dice Entertainment and also uplift the brand Korede Bello to the next level and by the next five years, I see us on top of the music industry in Nigeria. I believe that I am the next to blow, I am confident and assured about that because I serve a living God.
What is a typical day like for you?
When I wake up, I play a couple of songs with my guitar. Later I go to the studio to cook up something productive and in the evening I go for shows with my crew (if we have any on ground) and I
come back home very late most times.
How will you describe music in Nigeria?
I think we are really progressing, and people have started appreciating our music all over the world. The Nigerian songs are getting famous all over the world; people are appreciating our kind of music. Shout out to Wizkid, Dbanj, Tuface and the likes who are bringing out good music in the county.
Who are the artists you intend working with?
I will like to work with TuFace, Wizkid, Asa, Nneka, and some great upcoming artist people don’t know about yet. Right now, I am not revealing any secret now but I am featuring a lot of artist on my album.
I would like to work with producers like Jay Sleek, Lay Low, E Kelly and a lot of nice producers in the country.
How do your fans reach out to you?
If you want to reach out to Korede Bello, my twitter handle is @koredebello, my facebook name is Korede Bello, Koredebello@gmail.com
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