Nigerian music star Waje has touched on several personal issues including her journey as a single parent and more. In the exclusive interview with Genevieve magazine in June 2016, the singer also talked about battling weight issues, competition in the music industry and more.
On her infamous Twitter experience in October 2013 as a result of being deemed ‘fat’, she said
“That was after my performance at the Guinness Colorful world event in October 2013. I trended on twitter but not for the right reasons. I did not trend because of my performance, instead I trended because people were uncomfortable with my body size. They had an opinion about how I looked. The things people were comparing me to were hideous.
“Someone took a picture of a remote control and said I looked like that. That made me say to myself, ‘you know what Waje, music isn’t for you’. I had come out with an album, but when that happened, I said you know what, I can’t deal with this. I cried for hours that day at Eko Hotel. And interestingly, I started feeling the way they said I looked. So, I started drinking. I became bitter. I told myself I’m done with music. I’m going to find something else to do. I didn’t eat for days. I became angry with every family member who came to talk to me. I had no reasons to smile or be happy and decided to sign out of all my social media accounts.”
On how she recovered from the issue eventually and grew into accepting herself for who she is, she said:
“I started working with Uzikwendu of Uzi’s Burnout. And Uzi did not just work on my body, he worked on my mind, also. Through that, I separated myself from the negativity and focused on what I wanted to hear. I started to create an environment where the only thing I heard about myself is positive and great. So if you are my friend and you don’t compliment me, I’ll never call you. I edited my friendship. I then became more outspoken because initially I used to implode. I started telling it as it is.
“If I don’t like it, I say it. I had to tell myself, you are over thirty, if you don’t start telling people how you feel about their behavior, when will you start? That change made some people uncomfortable but that was the only way I could deal with it. You know, I used to think that my biggest fear in the world was failure, but I got to find out that my biggest fear was validation.
“As an artiste I wanted so much to be accepted. But now, I don’t care. Someone can say I do not like your song and I’ll say thank you; because my brand is not just about putting out good music but selling aspiration to women as well. But it gets difficult sometimes when people tell me that I am not a typical Nigerian woman because I am a single mother. So there are certain things I shouldn’t talk about, because I don’t have authority to talk about it. Even in the corporate world there are some jobs I can’t get because I am not married.”
On her songs and commercial success, she explained further in the Genevieve magazine interview:
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“It is not the number of airplays a song gets that make it commercial or not. Sometimes, people quietly buy songs that appeal or ministers to them without making news of it. That’s why Asa has a market.”
On plans for her new album, she said she chose Cobhams to solely produce everything because she wanted the sounds to remain uniform. She also touched on a likely collaboration with Asa for the new album. She said:
“We are working on it. You know [Asa] can be busy, sometimes. I am currently working on an album with Cobhams, only: I chose to work with him alone because I want the songs to marry each other. I don’t want to have different sounds going on.
“I want an album that has symmetry from start to finish. So, I’m hoping that Asa will be one of the people I will work with on that album. I’m definitely going to work with Timi Dakolo as well. Timi is such an amazing singer and he’s one person who has stayed true to his art and a lot of people are beginning to appreciate him. Younger people have now embraced that genre of music in Nigeria because Timi and a few others stuck to it.”
On the gender equality bill in Nigeria and her opinion of its non-passage, she said:
“The core problem we have in this country is knowledge. So, a lot of people misunderstand the reason behind the things we do. A lot of people believe asking for gender equality means trying to lord it over men or struggling with men.
“But a lot of successful women understand how difficult it is to succeed in any economic endeavor in this male dominated world. That is why they speak and make demands that will make it easier for other women to succeed in their economic endeavours too, even with the peculiarities of feminity.
“I believe that poverty is sexist and the only way we can eradicate poverty is by creating opportunities for women. My core passion is in the education of girls. When we start with education we are making sure that people have the ability to ask the right questions, approach issues from the position of strength and make the right decision.
“Most times the problem women have is information; you hear a woman say I know that the reason he beats me is because he loves me. That is why I came up with my African Woman platform where I can invest in the young African woman by sending her to school. If women themselves can start helping each other then we’ll be better for it. For instance, a neighbor who hears her fellow woman going through domestic abuse can do something about it by reporting to the police! We have women in the police, don’t we?”
Aituaje ‘Waje’ Iruobe is a Top Nigerian music star who has released several hit songs over the years as well also won several awards. She shot to prominence following appearances in P-Square’s Do Me in 2008, Banky W’s Thief My Kele in 2009 and MI’s One Naira in 2010.
The 35-year-old is a single mother as well as a brand ambassador and philanthropist.
