FROM KSA TO TUFACE...?
COMPOSITIONAL SKILLS
KSA
This special skill
can be found scattered in our earlier thoughts on vocalization and innovation.
One of KSA's better known skills is the art of composition. A man for all
seasons; he pulls the stuff out of his proverbial sack with the strong support
of his reliance on Yoruba folklore, traditions and mores. Every momentous
occasion threw up kaleidoscope of imaginations in this creative genie; every
self-satisfying transaction with a notable individual pricks his muse-mojo.
Check out the mix-grill: Challenge Cup '67 (his break-through SP in 1968); Col. Benjamin Adekunle, (1968); Akanji
Fowope, (1971), Dr. Nkrumah ,'72,
Ololu Adenaike, '73; Pa Yohanna Yakubu Gowon, Afai Bawon Ja/Omo Wunmi, Oro Ton'lo, ('75),
Late Gen. Murtala Mohammed, (76), FESTAC '77, (1978), Isu Joba Lori Iyan, ('78), Osupa
Mi Tole, (1981) - the list is almost inexhaustible.
TUFACE
With five albums,
Tuface still has a long way to tread....but the signs are clear that this boy
is going to turn a great man, if he continues to work at his craft; if he keeps
churning out those well-grounded 'lullabies' and refuses to fall into the steps
of the current nonsense that gives the impression that less sense makes more
money. His effort in his most recent work, Away
& Beyond is quite delightful (I
have just found out it was actually released in April of 2012! And not 2013 as I erroneously reported last
week).
LIFESTYLE
Here is the crux of
the whole matter. This is where the 'son' looks like a chip off the old block -
a true 'offspring' of his musical ‘father’. Without being salacious and unduly
infringing on the privacy of the two artistes, we shall have to draw the
parallels that show forth the possible 'reasons' why the two songsters share
commonalities that beggar belief.
KSA
Even if he does not
play music, KSA will be a charmer, a ladies' man. Lithe of stature and coy in
disposition, the Ondo born grandfather comes across as one whose weight cannot
crush an ant, even if he tries all he can. In the presence of any guest, KSA
appears dovish, lavishly respectful and full of graces that hardly can offend.
His mien and speech are calm, deliberate without being ponderous. He is
self-trained, but has exquisite taste and etiquette. Join all that to his earthy
good looks, slender well-toned body frame and dancing eyes... How can such a
man escape the grabbing claws of admiring and awe-struck female fans - old and
young, home and abroad, coast to plateau?
Nimble-footed and
dexterous on the dance floor, with sex-themed gyrations and such other explicit
connotations through songs and dance; it is no wonder that KSA led the tabloids
of the 80's and much of the 90's with salacious tales of his alleged escapades,
philandering, marital upheavals and all sorts of movie-like manoeuvres in his
private relational transactions.
KSA is alleged to have several women who
either have fostered children for him, or strongly claim a portion of his
heart. It is difficult to give a number to his women or his children. Once in a
no-holds-barred interview with him, I tried to pin him down to a specific
number of women in his life; and their corresponding 'fruits'. But like a
master pugilist, he danced around the probe, jabbing lightly with humour;
feinting left and right with parables, and generally delivering a sucker punch
on the strings that you don't attempt to conduct a census of a man's offspring,
in his beloved Yorubaland.
KSA is however a kind-hearted generous
benefactor of several families indigent by the demise of their breadwinners or
sudden unemployment. Through his KSA Foundation, several are sponsored up to
university level (even when he himself missed the opportunity) and still many
more hang around his droplets of benevolence; banking on the goodness of a man
who has refused to drift from his humble origins. His homes, offices and other
interests are largely in the densely populated mainland of Lagos - marking him
out as a man with a heart grounded in simplicity, humility, and unforced
goodness. These attributes trumpet him as a great man of culture and creativity,
flawed sparingly by his intrinsic nature and the exuberance of his talents.
TUFACE
Here is the slowly
forming ' dub' side of KSA; an archetype that has almost all the finer textures
of the ‘original’, and still working hard to transform into the magnificent
replica of the ageing monument.
A staple of the 21st
century scandal-mongering tabloids and newspapers, Tuface has carved a niche in
notoriety simply by his private peccadillos - a seemingly insatiable knack for
siring children through many willing vessels. Though recently married, the
songster is noted to have fathered six children by three beautiful women whose idea
of procreation planning baffles observers, since they appear to bring forth
these little innocents in indiscriminate procession.
Those who know say Tuface is warm, humble,
generous and benevolent - guess who that sounds like? That may account for the transparent warmth
several upcoming singers in the Afropop and Hip-hop genre talk about the
influence and impact of Tuface on their careers.
With his Hypertek Entertainment outfit and
other platforms, he has couched and softened the harsh realities of life in
many lives and lifted sagging aspirations.
His decision to stick to one woman echoes a
legend's desire to stay-off women few decades ago... But if history has a way
of repeating itself; if Tuface, the star of the millennial first decade goes on
to consolidate his position in decades to come; his resolve will be sorely
tested - as history has shown us.
CONCLUSION:
In all these ' categorizations’ and
'amplification', the two twinkling stars of different but intertwining eras are
still different individuals with distinct personas.
We are unable to probe further than what we
see; or get answers to. Yet, we have enough pointers to indicate that just as
profound and relentless as Chief Adegeye dominates the Nigerian music space for
so long, and so trenchant; the strapping young adult, Innocent Idibia has the
capacity, skill, opportunity and temperament to grasp and guide the flows and
ebbs of Nigerian music for the next couple of decades.
Just check this: In all the “brouhaha”, Tuface
has only put out just five albums, in eight years (2004 - 2012)!! Fast-backwards - in the eight years between
1967 and 1974, King Sunny Ade plundered over 45 short playing discs (roughly equivalent
to over 10 modern LPs)!!!
Oh, long, long way to super stardom!
(First
published in Bubbles music magazine Jan/Feb, 2014)
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