Nigerian dancehall artiste, Chinagorom Onuoha popularly referred to as African China, has lamented about the rape incident that almost destroyed his career years.
While talking about about his music with Punch in a recent interview, the singer also disclosed why he doesn't have any feature with new school acts.
See excerpts below:
[post_ads]
How come you are not collaborating with the new-school artistes?
I don’t have anything against them. I am friends with them and I am also an elder brother to them. Recently, I contacted Tekno for a collaboration but he has been busy. There was a time I needed to do a song with Ice Prince and I tried to reach him. His manager kept playing hide and seek with me. As a result, I lost interest. When Burna Boy was the rave, I telephoned his mum who was his manager at that time. They didn’t revert in spite of the fact that I telephoned them several times.
How come you are no longer composing hit songs?
It is not my fault. These days, if the radio stations don’t play your songs consecutively, it goes off the radar. Even marketers are no longer interested in the business because you can easily download every song you want. There are close to three million sites where you can download any music of your choice. I come from that era where we made money from copy sales. We did not depend on radio or TV stations. Now, if you are not ready to pay bulk money to radio and TV stations, they won’t promote your music
You had a rape scandal in London some years ago…
If we were outside Nigeria, I would have sued you for saying that because I wasn’t found guilty of rape. What would you say about the likes of Timaya who allegedly fled? I stayed back to prove my case. I was charged to court and I was acquitted. There was evidence to prove that I did not have carnal knowledge of my accuser.
Have you visited London since that incident?
Yes, I have been there many times. I shot the video of London Fever there and I have travelled with my family to London more than once and we will be travelling there again this summer (shows screenshots of his wife and children’s expired and valid United Kingdom visas).
Any regrets in your career?
The rape scandal is the only thing I regret because it was uncalled for. But in life, one will have highs and lows. I wish it never happened. If it was a crime I committed, I would not feel bad about all that I went through. It was all over the Internet and I find it traumatic when people refer to it. If Nigeria was like the United Kingdom or America, I would have made millions suing people for always referring to that episode because the courts declared me innocent.
How have you been able to sustain your marriage?
Thank God I have been married for nine years and I have two beautiful children. The woman you’re married to has a background that is dissimilar to yours and you need to understand that disagreements would always occur. You just have to tolerate each other as long as you’re married. No marriage is peaceful. Even the pastor you run to when your marriage is distressed has his own marital problems and he does not come to the pulpit to discuss it. When I have issues with my wife, the only people I run to are my father in-law and elder brother. I don’t even discuss it with my sisters.
No Comment Yet... Why not be the first of your Friends!