WHY I’M LAUNCHING MY OFFICIAL ALBUM WITH WASIU AYINDE – VETERAN ACTOR, TAIWO HASSAN[OGOGO]

Taiwo Hassan, also known as Ogogo, is a veteran actor who has been rocking the Yoruba movie since 1991. Acting for him started when he was age 15. Apart from acting, he is also gifted with chant and this has really distinguished him among others in the industry. Recently he recorded his second album on traditional chant which he titled Oba Esa. Preparation is already in top gear towards the official launching of the album on January 25th, 2014 at the 10 degrees event centers, Lagos. The event is expected to be chaired by former Lagos NURTW boss, Alhaji Rafiu Olohunwa with special music performance by k1 de ultimate.

You are about to launch an album on Esa chant, what influenced that?

I wouldn’t say something really prompted the idea because this is what I met in my family and Yoruba adage has it that family’s culture circulates from one generation to another. That is why I always pray that people shouldn’t come from a bad family. If the originator of the family was an armed robber, it is very obvious that this will be trending in the family forever and that is the meaning of the adage, I was born from a masquerade’s family in Ilaro, Ogun state and my grandparents have turned Muslims as far back as 20th century.

My father was born in year 1909 and he named his children according to Islamic rites which means he has accepted the religion for a very long time, but I wasn’t inspired by the masquerade, I so much love it when people are chanting and this started right from my young age, I do see my dad joining them each time they come to our compound, he do give them money.

Every Friday, drummers will come to our compound and he will dance with them and give them money, this was how it was being done when my father was alive. The wives in the family will also collect money from him. That is the only thing I see that the culture remains in the family. I love acting and I joined them in 1981/82. My first stage play was in 1982 but before then, I practiced acting in 1974, I was 15 years old then, this was in the same house where I lived because actors also lived there.

They normally use us for waka pass roles but being an obedient child, you can’t say that you are serious engaging yourself in acting fully, and that is why I get surprised when I see some people who are of my age celebrating 40/50 years on stage because they don’t know what they are talking about. Can a 10 years old boy have freedom to dictate for himself as at then? Even 15 to 18 dare not try that.

This is more reason I don’t indicate that I started when I was 15. I started squarely in 1981 under the tutelage of my boss Awo Adebola Fabunmi who was an Ifa priest here in Ebute Metta by Odunifa Street, he lived in late baba Araba’s house. He knows how to write script stories a lot especially when he uses ’’ Opele’’ that is what he used in consulting the oracle. He can bring out more than 30 stories from one Opele, he is a gifted man. I just thank God that the man brought me into acting.

At that juncture, did you also learn how to consult oracle from him?

Not at all, I do not even know anything about that, but there is no how you wouldn’t know it because we are with him when his customers come around. Sometimes we his theatre group members rally round him when he has visitors including Fatai Adetayo Lalude, Abbey Lanre, Igba Abere and many others, we were about 50 plus then.

God used my boss to discover my talents. I do go around chanting especially when I pass through their rehearsing ground and he called me one day and told me that he always hear me chanting some family praises, do I really know that much and I said yes, so he asked me to teach the boy who always play the role.

Some chants to praise the king and the chiefs of which I did, I gave the boy about 10 naira and I left. Some days after, I saw them rehearsing and I was like let me branch to see the boy I taught if he is doing it appropriately but I was so disappointed on how he delivered what I gave him which I have mastered in, along the line, I stopped him to show him example but to my surprise, people fell in love with my voice and the people going on the street were forced to take a look because they haven’t heard such kind of tone before.

There was much noise and I was like what is so special in what I am doing that people cannot resist themselves from looking. Shortly after that, my boss convinced me to play the role for him that was how I became part and parcel of Ademola theatre organization.

After many years of serving him, we got our freedom from our boss and we formed our own group called Odu’a theatre organization, we faced a lot of challenges that time because of the name. We were told that the name was too big for us and we were of the opinion that Odu’a is not any of our father’s name, another group can float theirs and call it Obatala theatre organization, and it is nobody’s business. Obatala supersedes Odu’a because he is a god while Odu’a is a human being like us. We did this for long before it now turned to the era of video film.

When was that?

That was around 1995. Those people have now grown up, some are even more than 40 years of age now, we are gifted with people who can chant a lot in my family, and they can even abuse you with it. So later in 2008, we were in the united states on a tour, after the first show, we made a meagre $270. If I want people to know that I am around I know what to do to get me noticed.

While saying this, people were shouting that I should just chant for them, when I started with the song and the guy also wasn’t taking it easy with his talking drum, everywhere got scattered immediately, I did that for over 2 hours 30 minutes, Mr latin , Ronke Oshodi Oke, Moji Olaiya were beside me, they went to the crowd to get the names for me, it got to a stage that the guests were calling those who change dollars to bring money for them, people trooped in and we made about $6000 that night compared to the first show that we made $270.

After the show, the promoter confessed that assuming he knows that we have individual skills, he would have brought only me, Ronke, Moji and Latin, he also said he was keeping malice with me due to my reaction after the first show, even the first day we got there, he collected our passports but I refuse to give him mine because I have so many country on it. He apologized for doing so and I told them to handover the money to him, we shall see the following day.

A week later, we went to the United Kingdom with that of our individual skills without doing any stage play again, we made so much money with it, even the ones in my pocket, I pour them on the tray fro more to come in, if I am a greedy person, I will come to Nigeria with the money in my pocket because it was more than $30,000 when we came back, we all bought cars with the stage money. After getting to Nigeria, I played the CD of what we did overseas before I decided that if acting can’t pay my bills due to the piracy, I will go for this business and that is what brought the idea of the album that I want to launch. The first one I did in 2009 was done for the sake of doing it and I titled it ‘’Appreciation’’ but the marketer ran away with the money and I can’t look for him because I don’t know how to look for things even in the house.

But last year, I started contemplating, my colleagues talk a lot about holding their 50 years on stage or movie launch, I decided to go for something different and unique. I don’t do birthday or all those things because it has now turned pure water in Nollywood, Yoruba movies to be precise. I was introduced to a guy who is very creative and we went to studio for recording. Though I love everybody in the industry but I can’t toy with Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde because he has shown me love.

Recently when we went for his daughter’s introduction, I learnt from him because the form he used in doing the engagement and the introduction was superb and different and I started correcting myself immediately, for the rest of my life, I will always emulate the idea he used if I want to do such for my children. He only called the groom’s parents and two people from their family, he did the same to himself and invited myself and Yinka Quadri to testify to it and within 1 hour, the program ended. After that I told him what I want to do, and he said it wouldn’t be in 2014, I picked the date and we started planning the event. I don’t want to talk much other than to keep praying for him.