Africahit - Nigeria: Mode 9 - the Music, the Man and the Mania

Unique artiste, lyricist and towering talent - Mode 9 is all these and more, but he recently scooped three prestigious laurels at an international awards show in South Africa. Who is the man behind the music? Weekend Magazine cornered him and dishes you the red-hot details.

The winners for the 2006 Chanel O Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards were announced at a glittering ceremony held in South Africa last weekend. Nigeria shone at the awards with Mode 9 (featuring Nnena) taking home three awards, followed by 2Face with two awards. The show was hosted by comedian David Kau, assisted by Channel O VJ's and top bands and artistes including Freshly Ground, treated the crowd to vibrant performances. Masked singer Lagbaja also took home the Best Male Video. Nigeria dominated the awards by carting away a whopping total of 9 awards including 'Video of the Year', again by Mode 9. But how come Mode 9 is suddenly all over the Nigerian entertainment scene?

Speaking to Weekend Magazine, Mode 9 recalled his humble beginnings in showbiz. "Just when I was preparing to quit the game because of all the nonsense and politics in the Nigerian music scene for the umpteenth time, I got pulled back in by a couple of friends and some die-hard fans always buzzing me, sending e-mails, text messages, calling my mobile phone and stuff like that." The rapper said he could not take it anymore, so he quickly assembled some old tracks made over the years and after a little tinkering, the album was ready. "I had to find a marketer who believed in me. and I got one T-Joe the guy who agreed to market the mix tape even though it wasn't your average Nigerian rap thing with a lot of broken English and simple lyrics - he still wanted to sell it."

Mode 9 said industry people walk up to him all the time and tell him he needs to come down to the level of the man on the street, in reference to his polished and well-written lyrics. "I'm, like, get lost! Some producers even try to force me to rap in Pidgin English. I did that seven years ago in 1999. I've got nothing against it. It is a bandwagon thing now, and I'm not going to jump on," he told Weekend Magazine. "For the past four years, friends and associates tell me that I'm not going to sell in Nigeria. That I should go to the United States or England(where I was born) ...but I'm one stubborn punk," he said, smiling as he added "I'm out to prove all of them wrong - and I think three Channel O Awards say that loud and clear."

Mode 9 claims to have written his first rhyme in the late 80s. "By 1992, I had recorded a rough demo called whatyallsayastyle is? After an abortive attempt to get a record deal, I abandoned the project, but still keeping close tabs on the Nigerian rap scene, which was full of trash - or so I thought anyway. For about 2years, MC-ing was an on-and-off thing, till I hooked up with a guy called Patrick Obasi in School, which was Federal Polytechnic Bida, in Niger State. Together, we formed a 9-man squad called the 'Body Snatchaz'. The group split up nearly as fast as it was formed, with me and Obasi shacking together to form another group called 'Diatrybe'. In Nigeria, producers at that time would rather sign on a reggae or highlife act than a Rap one. One actually told me to forget about it, that rap is for Americans and can never sell in Nigeria, unless it's in broken English, Yoruba, Hausa or Ibo, the three major languages in Nigeria." Mode 9 decided he had had enough, so he decided to go back to cartooning for Hip Hop World magazine. The magazine's publisher, Ayo Animashaun, introduced Mode 9 to Solodee, Paybacktyme Records C.E.O, in 1996. "The next thing I knew was I was introduced to Eldee, Baron, Six Foot Plus, Terry the Rapman & soul songstress Jiddah," recalled the rapper.

Born Babatunde Olusegun, he would switch monikers due to a talent for fixing scientific calculators in school. The 92kg, 6ft rapper was born in St Mary's hospital, Paddington, in the United Kingdom and says he fell in love with Hip Hop when he heard Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. "Back in the early 80s, it was a crazy new experience. I couldn't stop thinking about it," he told Weekend Magazine. "I read a lot and take my music seriously, even though people in the Nigerian music industry do not understand what I'm doing they have no choice but to respect me. Most times they refuse to put me on major shows because they think I'm not commercial enough, but people in Nigeria are not as dumb as they think. They feel my music. I see myself as the bravest lyricist in Nigeria. I am not a gangster rapper," he said.

Mode 9 moved to Lagos in January 2005, from Abuja. "I quit a job at Rhythm 94.7 FM and faded to Lagos because a lot of people were not feeling the hip hop thing in Abuja. Even though we have got far better talent [in Abuja], we were not respected. They would rather bring somebody from Lagos to perform at their shows," he said, adding "But after leaving Abuja, I'm on MTV, and its suddenly a different cup of tea."

Currently, and hot on the heels of his Channel O Awards triumph, Mode 9 is working on an album called E Pluribus Unum (Latin for 'One amongst many'). When Weekend Magazine asked the dark-skinned lyricist which Nigerian artistes he respects the most,he repied: "Terry the Rapman, OD and The Thoroughbreds. Jeremiah Gyang, too." He recalled how he met Gyang, then in his teens. "I was chilling at home listening to some joints by this cat called Callen (Gyang's alter-ego), then all of a sudden he offers to produce a joint for me. So I go to the studio the next week to hear the beat but I didn't like it, so I told him to play around with it and he hooks it up in ten minutes. I did my three verses and bounced. After that he called me like 3 weeks later and I heard the cool chorus he made and I was so excited.

In closing, Mode 9 said he has no issues with categorization of his music. "Hip hop is what I do, man. That whole Afro hip hop thing is a joke. So even if I rapped directly over a Fela verse, I'd still not call it afro hip hop - I'd call it 'African hop'. Reason? Once upon a time, there was an association called Afro Hip Hop Artistes of Nigeria, and they almost messed up the whole game. That is why I have a problem with being labeled 'afro hip hop'. It's the name, not the music. Hell, I did a song with Lagbaja, didn't I?"