One of Nigeria’s A-list musicians, Timi Dakolo, has reflected on his journey to becoming a professional singer in the entertainment industry.
The “Iyawo Mi” crooner, revealed that music began as a hobby for him rather than a career.
In a recent episode of the On The Record podcast, Timi shared that he chose to pursue music professionally after emerging as the winner of the inaugural season of Idols West Africa in 2007. He said,
“I still see myself as an accidental musician. Yeah, I used to sing in choir. I used to just like that I sang. The first idea of music was during morning devotion.
“Then, we started singing street songs. We used to have notebooks where we write songs and they were girls to impress. So music was not something I thought I would do professionally. It was after Idols that I decided to do music professionally.
“I said to myself, ‘Okay, we are here. Sometimes you meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it.”
In other news, Timi Dakolo has stressed that he is not a gospel performer.
The father of three emphasised that his musical approach is broad and that he cannot be classified into a single genre.
In a recent interview with Cool FM Nigeria in Lagos, the host, Dod2tun asked, “People kind of categorise you into gospel. Are you a gospel musician?”
Dakolo replied, “I am not, by any chance. I always say to people, ‘Is there a gospel banker or architect?’ It is you that decided that is what you want to do. Art is art.
“I am just an artist. In fact, I am not an artist; I am a creator of art. You can box my music into a particular genre. I am much more than a wedding singer. ‘Great Nation’ and ‘Wish Me Well’ are not wedding songs. If listen to my new album, you are going to hear that [my diversity]. ‘Men Of The South’ is a song about cultural pride.”
He added that he performs at gospel events because he is a Christian.
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