Mum Went Through Hell Raising Us Alone– Yemisi Odegbami

Once her name is mentioned what readily comes to mind is Segun Odegbami, the then popular Nigerian football star.

Yemisi Odegbami, popularly known as May7ven is actually the daughter of the football guru, Segun. She left the shores of Nigeria for London at a very tender age. However, she is back in the country to actually give back to the society where she really belongs.

In this interview, she narrated her life experiences and how her mother went through hell to raise her and her siblings when her parents separated, her music career and life in London.

How long have you been in music? 

I have been singing for over 15 years, but professionally, it’s about 10 years.

Why music? 

Music chose me. When I was a little girl, I wanted to sing, just by religiously watching the likes of Michael Jackson and Fela Kuti. Also, my dad is a sports man, a professional football player. He is an entertainer, he entertains on stage. I guess if he wasn’t into football, it would be music at some point. So, I have been working, not only as an artist but as an entrepreneur, learning about the industry and trying to do what will help others.

Are you saying that your background influenced your choice of career? 

It matters, my dad was always entertaining people, a great role model and guess I wanted to be a great a role model whatever it took. I wanted to play football at some stage, but I was discouraged and music is just in me. I live and breathe music; it’s only natural for me to become an entertainer someday.

What kind of music do you play? 

I do Afro-beat, they call me the queen of Afro-beat in the UK, even in Nigeria. I started out here in 2007 when we did not have many female artistes. I was doing it in the UK and I am still the only one doing it big time out there. So, I came to Nigeria and I was encouraged to keep putting in a little Yoruba language while I am selling it to them in Europe which has been a challenge. But I maintain that when I do my R&B.

Are you resident in Nigeria now? 

I have just moved back two months ago. I have been based in the UK all my life. I left here when I was about six, so yes, most of my life.

So, why did you decide to come back? 

I decided to come now that I feel I have done what I could in the UK as a Nigerian entertainer. I left here at a time when there was no film or artist, but now there are a lot of us, a lot of female artistes, big name artistes in the air. And our music is being looked out for all over the world.

I try to keep myself attached because it’s kind of out of sight is out of mind, no matter what kind of music you play. So, I need to be in the system to be able to continue to enhance or develop a bit more. The infrastructure still need work, the management infrastructure are bad. The PR, everything still needs work. And now that the world is looking at what we are doing, it is very important that we get it right. So, apart from being a singer or an artiste, I am also a business person. I have a platform in the UK, I want to bring what I have learnt out there to Nigeria to help entertainers. I have booked a lot of artistes from Nigeria to perform in the UK, a lot of them, with at least 12 shows in a year. I will bring some of my expertise to Nigeria to further develop the entertainment industry as much as I could.

We have a lot of artistes, both male and female, what makes your music so unique? 

I was the one who started my style of music which is R&B and Afro beat putting it together. I am never worried about competitions, we are in this together, we are trying to develop something. My music is definitely different because I am heavily influenced by Michael Jackson and Fela. I call myself a vision of Fela and Michael Jackson. I do not think there is any other artiste that is doing that. I am a dancer, still the only professional female dancer in the Nigerian industry right now. So, when I go on stage, it is a different ball game. Apart from my creativity and what I do in the studio, I am trying to be a whole package. I do not want to look like any other female artiste here. I am not here to compete with anyone, I am just here to join and also stand out as well.

Have you thought of collaborating with anybody yet? 

Yes, I will love to collaborate with Omawunmi, I think she is a fantastic singer, Tiwa Savage- she was a good friend of mine, and we grew up in London together. I love to collaborate with her; she is more established here, so she can show me how things work. I do not believe in competition thing, I believe we are sisters in this; women still have a long way to go.

Do you see male artists as a threat? 

No, not really, people are just doing their own thing. The moment I start seeing them as a threat, then I lose what I am trying to do. I see them as human beings and everyone has something very unique about them, Davido is different from Wizkid.

You have been in London all your life. The few moments you have been here, how can you compare the two? 

It is a whole different ball game. I was here in 2007, I established into the whole sound-city and my videos were all over the place. It was on radio, I was signed with Globacom, I did an 18-city tour with Globacom. So, I knew how it was then, but then things were moving so quickly. This time round, I am just lying firmly on the ground to see what is happening around. But then UK is more organised, there is way of doing things; there is a way of getting on radio and TV. Let’s say in the UK, you have a song, you get consistent air play for like four weeks, that person is going to chart or become a brand and then stages after that. It is all-party of it, at least you know there is a plan and success story. In Nigeria, No one knows.

How much of your father’s support do you get? 

Now I am getting a full support, he just left when I was about 16. I wanted to do this, he said go and study, then he kind of abandoned me to go and study. So, I tried studying but I was always performing in the night, then running off, sneaking to the studio. He wasn’t really supportive of that, not until I shot my first video. I worked on about two, three jobs they paid for because it is very expensive and I was a student, so he saw the video. I think he was with a friend and he called me from Nigeria and said: “Yemisi! Is that you on TV?”. I said yes dad. He said wow, that is my daughter. So, he took it seriously and he has been pushing me to fans, he has been supportive. He does not know more about the industry, so there is very little he can do. Now I am quite stubborn because I am artiste, I am not a famous person. I am a proper musician. I play instruments, I have been singing, so I do not ride upon my father’s name, only now I am telling people all about the name. He left a great legacy, I should be proud of him. For many years I did not want to tell anyone that my name is Yemisi Odegbami, I am a daughter of this because the first thing they will do is oh!! She is Yemisi Odegbami, that is her dad.

Who is your role model? 

Definitely, my dad, my dad is my role model. My mother is my biggest role model. She is not into entertainment, she knows absolutely nothing, apart from listening to my CDs, that is her role in entertainment but she is the most selfless person I have ever met in my life. People call themselves selfless and say their parents are this and that, but I will say there is not anyone that has met my mum. When you meet her, you have met peace.

Where is your mum now? 

She is based in London. She does desire to come back to Nigeria, she has been there for over 35 years. They did not divorce, they were separated for a while, then we struggled, she raised three of us by herself. It was really hard in London but she has come out of it and she is the most beautiful. She is so strong, you will not even see any history of the past in her face. I get emotional when I talk about my mother because she has gone through a lot and now she has come out very strong so she is my big role model.

Due to that gap between your dad and your mum, did you have anything against your dad? 

For a while I held it against him because he was famous, there was much money, there were women, so we just thought he was here having fun. But as an adult now, I have come to understand that things are not always as they seem, you may be on the outside famous and all but no one knows you are crying in your small bedroom somewhere. It has taken a long time to understand but I was a little bit angry with my dad, that is why I grew up with this fighting spirit. I want to do things myself, my way, no matter what happens. But you know, even adulthood teaches you a lot, so I started to understand even when I had my own little success in the UK.

I had my first song that was blowing up, I had a small cop that was sitting in my car, I had nowhere to live, I was literally living in the boot of my car and my song was playing on the radio, and everyone was saying May7ven. This is in London, daytime radio which is very hot, black artiste not alone the Nigerian.

So, I have done something that was described as being the historical moments- female Nigerian artiste being played in daytime radio, but while that was playing, everyone was online twitting, and I was living in my car without any money. I have understood that fame is not everything that it needs to be, people have different issues that they need to struggle with. I think my dad is going through his own issue that he can explain to me much later.

You are almost moved to tears, what did you remember? 

I remember all my mum went through in London, trying to bring us up.

What has life taught you? 

A lot, when I think about my mother and the stuff that she has gone through in life, you know, her hardship, her struggle. Some people put themselves first, ok I want to be a doctor, they are going to focus on the career. They have children but they are still very career-oriented, that is how I am. But someone meant to leave everything they believe in marriage, she took a gamble, she just flew us to the UK, no money, nothing because she wanted a better life for us. She wanted us to have best education, best surroundings. She wanted everything to be different and she did not want to be surrounded by the whole football razzmatazz, women, all that type of things. She took a risk, that risk just ended up causing heartache and pain and parting ways with her husband. Finding us food, with not having anywhere to live, no money, coming out of school, so many bad things, racial abuse beyond the league, assault. She has gone through it all, and you see her, you cannot tell anything in her face, she is still the nicest, the most pleasant person you will meet. It is weird to meet people like that in this life.

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