With his rather
versatile personality and good looks that can send any girl to dreamland,
illrhymz is indeed a bundle of talent enveloped in a beautiful façade and would
very much be caught engrossed in and recognised for his many works than the
pleasures of the earth.
On lover’s
day, when most were celebrating this day of love with their loved ones, at
specified designations, he was at home sleeping, “Yes I would very much rather
say I’m married to my work. I’m very much a bachelor, it helps keep me groomed
and focused on my work” Sounds like he must really love his job so much, and though
popularly known for his radio and TV shows, what most do not know is that the
genesis of it all, began with music.
Creation
In the
beginning, God created the heaven and the earth and a certain young man who is
fondly seen on Local and international TV screens. What most are not aware of
is that it didn’t just start from presenting. It has always been music from the
go. Called Baidia by his parent, he was rather known for his Yoruba name (as it
was easier to pronounce), Bola in high school amongst his friends where, as a
boy inclined to music at a young age, he rapped a lot. His friends would appraise
him saying his lyrics were ‘ILL’ and his music ‘Rhymes’ and that his ‘rhymes
are ill’ (an informal way of saying his music is good)and that was it. He put
the two together to form Illrhymz and has been known with that for seven years
and running now, “Even my mother calls me it from time to time. It’s like a bridge.
It connects all the differences that I know into one. It’s like a general name
now’
Modelling
His entrée
into the professional world was as a model. After high school, illrhymz
proceeded to model for major brands attributing his luck to his set physique
and perfect features. He modelled for brands like Coca Cola, MTN, Benson and
Hedges and the Nigerian Fashion industry. But like nothing in the world is
indeed perfect, it wasn’t as easy to get as it sounds. His gift became his
curse, thereby ironic that his looks turned out to be his major hindrance from
getting modelling jobs as no one believed he was Nigerian due to his very fair
complexion and American accent.
Writing and Advertising
Being in
that scene gave him ample opportunity to explore. He transited into writing
advertising commercials via his brother who introduced him to the industry and
writing being one of his many passions, it came naturally. He went ahead to do
radio commercials, jingles and voice-overs having the perfect voice for it. Along
the line, he met up with a certain young man named Emmanuel, who eventually has
turned out to be now Manny of Coolfm, together they worked on reviving his
musical career. Working on a musical track as far back as then when studios and
musical instrument weren’t as rampant as they are now, these duos were able to
pull through releasing two singles as gospel acts. “I was very much in touch
with my gospel side so when Manny suggested we do tracks as gospel artistes, I
didn’t hesitate” but it didn’t take time; they reverted back to doing
commercial music.
Idea impressionaire
Another area
he found himself in was Information Technology- creating content for an online
platform. He met up with the owners of Mtech Communications through a friend
and together, he created the first ever online magazine called Vibe weekly back
then. “I would be spotted with a camera trying to take pictures for the
magazine and remembering it baffles me now because I see all these young people
with cameras on their necks and I would wonder if they knew how it all started.
I was the only young person amongst old professional photographers”
He created
mobile content for Mtech for three years until he left but he didn’t leave
without getting noticed. Sooner than later, he started been recognised for his
work and just as expected, he started being called for jobs related to it, one
being his Nokia endorsement for the one time reality show, Nokia First Chance. He
got the job accidentally by trying to sell mobile content to the brand, not
knowing that would be his big break onto the screens. He went quite alright to sell his ideas
giving them tips on how to promote their brand and the reality show they were
about to hold and in the midst of it all, he overheard them at one point
arguing over host for the show and his
friend encouraged him to go ahead. “He said I had the features for it and since
I was a big critique of the Nigerian TV industry, I should try it out and
defend my judgement and that was it”
But that
still wasn’t what brought him into limelight. After the first (and only) season of Nokia First Chance, he
proceeded to Nigezie, a musical broadcasting outfit run by Kwame on HiTV, by
request to help with creating TV content for the Station as it looked to being
run 24hrs- the first of its kind in Nigeria. “I was with them for only three
month but within those months, I helped bring Nigezie to limelight as the Brand
Manager by introducing musical videos but local and international and featuring
of various international acts, as well as fix
24 hour schedule for them to work with. It helped stabilize the
programme while it existed”
TV
All these
steps were leading him to the very place where he would be great. With what he
did for Nigezie, he was further introduced to Tajudeen Adepetu of Sound City TV
and this kept him more on the TV screens than it did while he helped with the
production work. With this venue, he got to meet international acts from all
over and more and more people started pinning his face. But yet again, he left
Sound City to take up another job with Glo GBAM show where he was called up.
But then, there was almost a case of mistaken identity. “Mr. Adenuga didn’t
believe I was Nigerian. The South Africans that handled the audition/appointment
had to ask me to scan my passport and send for confirmation by 2am. By the time
he saw it, he was shocked and I was told I got the job”
This opened
many other doors for him including Nigerian idols, although at that period he
had to take a break from the screens as he had just finished shooting the final
season of the G-bam show as that of Nigerian Idol was about to take place. “They
couldn’t have me on air right after the previous show I had done as it won’t
tell good of the brand image but I was assured of my job and that’s why I
confidently went off air to return to take it up” this huge step was what led
him into the next phase of his life.
Radio
The one year
long break gave illrhymz time to reflect and garner him together. He ventured
into brand consulting and content production fully while working on various
other things. Amongst them was his radio show, Radio Out Loud, which featured
no just artistes but celebrities as a whole. He had movie stars and the like
come on to talk for a period of an hour. “I got Nokia to sponsor my radio show
because I had created content for one of their TV shows on Sound city called
Nokia Xpress Music and they liked it so they didn’t hesitate when I approached
them with another idea of mine that can promote their brand” his idea was to
create a platform where the Nigerian music industry can be exported to the
world with equal quality as we receive from them. ‘We can do this but we are
limiting ourselves and that’s why we produce mediocre stuff’ he was in charge
of the production for the MAMAs by Zain and he created a lot of quality content
that was questioned if truly was Nigerian. He sees idols as a window to the
world for Nigeria and believes Nigeria would be recognized one day for quality
products.
Back to Music
In the
beginning it was music, and at the end it shall be. He was in a musical band
called SOL, which also included his long time friend Manny, and for some time successfully
made gospel music which was aired on most radio stations until they got
sidetracked and had to change their genre back to a more suiting Nigerian feel
for the musical audience, “Nigerians love party-dance type of songs and we
decided to give it to them. This made us to change our names to ‘Confused’
because at the time, we were confused on what to do having reverted from our
normal genre”
It reigned
for a while and took a shallow turn. It was then he decided to break free from
the band and create his own type of music. With his own home based studio and
his relationship with people in the industry, he produced a song with Doktar
Frabz in which the slogan, ‘No mago mago,
no wayo o’ was frequently used on Coolfm. He continued to make music to the
taste of Nigerians and so far it has gone viral, especially to the online
community. His major one was a track he made with Femi and Yeni Kuti, depicting
sheer brilliance and bringing back the Fela! Feel in a youthful way. He is
looking to release an album this year with a bang.
And other things…
He doesn’t
like to talk much about his private life but he did reveal his fun haven was
his studio. He would unwind at clubs and parties, partying hard and having fun.
His family is very supportive about his music but encouraged him to proceed to
the University which he did 5 years after his mates. Though this attitude
wasn’t new to them as his mother revealed at an early age of three he would
hold money in his hands and take pictures. They knew then that he would be
business oriented and indeed he turned out to be but for this young guru, the
sky is but a limit for him, as he has just begun.
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