SOLA ALLYSON Talks About Her 10th Album, IMISI

 •Reveals Why She Is Different From Other Singers

 

Sola Allyson’s new album Imisi is trending right now. It is her 10th album and she had a big event to celebrate it in Lagos.

Last week, she was our guest at the City People Roundtable during which she spoke about the story of her life. Below are excerpts.

 

Here's congratulating you on your last event, can you talk about the event?

The event I did, let me start by saying that I am so happy to be here and to be interviewed by City People Magazine of the legendary Uncle Seye Kehinde.

The event I did was to celebrate my 10th album. My people misconceived it as my 10 years in the Music industry, but I have been in the music industry for 35 years. Eji Owuro itself is now 19 years and it was my first album while Imisi is my 10th album. Egbejefori was my second, Ire was third, Imore was my fourth, Adun was fifth, Ope was sixth, Imuse was seventh, Iri was eighth, Isodotun was ninth, while the tenth and the last album is Imisi. The last event was to celebrate the success of the 10th album.

What were you doing before Eji Owuro?

I was a Backup Vocalist for some singers. I was also doing some signature tunes. Then, I was a normal girl trying to achieve what a normal girl would want. I worked with some prominent people like Aunty Stella Monye, Uncle Gbenga Adeboye, Yinka Ayefele, Kolade Alabi, and Debo Ojubiyi. I also did the first signature tune for MiTV while I did some voice-overs for some adverts too before I had the opportunity to sing the soundtrack for Bimbo Oshin's movie “Eji Owuro” and it was also her own first movie as a producer too.

How did you major in this aspect of your music?

Well, I don’t categorise my music as Gospel music but I know I am into music. I am a Singer and a Musician. I studied Music in school and I could have ventured into any genre of music but I am singing to honour God. I am a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ, just as He came for everybody, not only believers, so my music is for everybody. If anybody categorises my music as gospel, I won’t dispute it.

Tell us about the event.

The event was planned to be simple but the turnout was massive. I always want my events to be private but I decided to make the last event open to everybody. It got to an extent that there was no seat and space for people. It really amazed me. I was honoured. The feedback and the testimonies made me encouraged to do more for my God. The level of my confidence was raised and I was determined to continue being myself.

What makes you different from other singers?

There is no particular difference other than being me. This is me. The Shola in the house is the Shola on stage. I don’t add what is not mine to myself. I am dressing differently and singing differently too.

How do you receive your songs?

I don’t plan to write songs, songs come to me. I am always prepared and always in a prayer mood. My heart is always ready to receive. I am a fun person but I am always ready to receive that song of inspiration especially when I know that this song is my ministration.

My songs are pure and I won’t add to it. I don’t follow trends nor do I use slang. As I receive it, I write it down. I am also gifted with timing for each song and as a music student, I know how to write music notes.

Tell us about your tenth album and the content.

The title of my tenth album is Imisi and it means “Inspiration” or the “Breath”. The essence of the album is to put myself out there as a normal person that knows the things I passed through and things I want as every other human being. Everybody wants to be happy and we want to be successful. This is my way of throwing my heart to people from the words I receive so they can also pick their voices.

Imisi has 8 tracks: Iwo Nikan, Imisi, O Gbola Wa, Darimi, Idupe, Ase-Ola and others.

Do you have any projects within the remaining 4 months to the end of the year?

Well! I just did the 10th album in Lagos and I am planning to do another one in Ibadan. Ibadan was a good place to me. I lived there for 10 years. I started living there when I went for schooling. I got married there, gave birth to my kids and it was a time of organising myself. I am emotionally attached to Ibadan, so I am planning to bring the concert down to Ibadan.

Tell us about your background...

I was born in Ikorodu and I had my primary education there too. I moved to Ibadan when I gained admission to The Polytechnic of Ibadan in 1997. Childhood was very traumatic for me. I was deprived of love. I sustained some irreversible wounds and I just have to live with them.

“Life can be life but we have to live and live it good” Everybody has secrets as I do but I do show my wounds to people that have mine that they can be healed as long as mine was healed. I tell my stories as truthful as it. I was deprived of going to school at the appropriate time. I lacked a lot my mates had then. I was denied love and I tried to find my love myself. I was disappointed a lot. It was when I gave myself to God to discover me that I now realise that all those ups and downs happened for me to become what I will become in life.

I traced my steps back and I started with God again. Since then, I decided to own my story. The rest is history.

The making of Eji Owuro, was it a planned project or an inspiration?

I didn’t know “Eji Owuro” was going to be big. I do my things well. I always put my best in everything I do. I put the same spirit and energy into Eji Owuro. I was contracted to sing the soundtrack of Eji Owuro, Bimbo Oshin's movie with Uncle Ola Ibironke as the Executive Producer. I decided to express myself well in the music and looking at the cries of my heart at that time, it really met my situation, so I poured out the energy to sing the soundtrack. It always happens to me that I hear voices and whispers in my ears as to the next line of the song I will sing and the same thing occurred in Eji Owuro.

Is Eji Owuro a song or an album?

Well! Eji Owuro was a soundtrack for a movie alongside Akosile and others but you know, a movie soundtrack is not always more than a minute, so Uncle Ola said the song was too big to remain as a movie soundtrack so we decided to make it an album by adding other songs to it. Prior to that, we made a mini-video where some part of the movie would be shown and myself singing the song as an advert for the movie. Later, we made it an album with Eji Owuro as the leading title, Akosile, Aye Ofe, Orekelewa and Omo Tuntun.

Looking at your career, how do you feel?

I am on the right path and I am fulfilled but I am still trying to be more fulfilled but I see fulfilment as a day-to-day assignment. I am so happy I found myself because with the life I had lived as a child, I thought I would have ended on the other side. I am successful today and I still want to be successful tomorrow.

I am also happy that this light of mine is helping a lot of people out there. A lot of testimonies are coming in every day. I can remember a woman also testified at one of the City People Award Events I came to. She was barren and she could have killed herself but she was encouraged by my second album “Gbejefori”.

A man was stopped from committing suicide through the song “Oro Oluwa”. A lot like that.

What is your message to women out there?

My message to women is that we have our own place. We are women a man needs. I don’t want to be a man. I am not a King Shola. I am a Queen and a queen has her own place. There are some issues a King can never handle without the intervention of a Queen. Why all this gender war? A King’s personal life cannot be orderly without a Queen. I am not saying a woman is only to be in a man’s life and take care of him but I am saying in creation, the feminine power is needed all the time. It can never be put aside or sidelined.

It is needed all the time, so why will I want to take the place of a man? A fashion designer would want me to show my body with slim-fit cloth but I would refuse because I don’t sell my body, I sell essence to people. As a woman, I am not about a good body or nice shape but I sell the essence of being a woman and the beauty of my soul. Let us stop competing with men. We are different in our own ways. Men have their own functions while women too have their own. Let us discover our place and fill.