Revealed; Reasons Tuface don't perform for politicians

Tuface, (inset) Efe Omorogbe

The cerebral manager of Tuface Idibia and boss of Now Music, Efe Omorogbe in this chat disclosed reasons his client, Tubaba does not like performing for Nigerian politicians. He also spoke on his passion for music and why he cannot engage in other ventures outside entertainment.

 You are quite popular in the music industry; please tell us what you do?

My name is Efe Omorogbe, I work in Now Music primarily. I am a talent manager, entertainment and event consultant.

How did you come into entertainment?

From the very beginning, I grew up inside music. Music was my first love after my mum. I have been involved in music in all types of ways. As a writer, a producer, a performer, as a journalist and as a TV Producer; I have always been around music.

Many people didn’t know you as a performer

I was a rapper; people who know me well will tell you I was a rapper. I used to have a group called Mega Mop.

What made you go behind the scene as a talent manager?

I lost interest in being a performer in my second year in University of Lagos. I found myself doing more of writing and producing, looking after other people.

Who was the first person you managed?

The first artiste I managed was a guy called Slick, who also happens to be a younger brother of mine too. Once I got into the University, my perspective started changing; I started focusing more on writing and producing stuff for him. Financing and recording for him because he was very young.

What is talent management all about?

Talent management is talent development and brand management. In football one person gets on the pitch to play as a striker another person stays on the sideline and play as the coach and do strategy. Another person’s job is to be a player’s agent who goes out there and negotiate. For all his skills and talent maybe a Lionel Messi might not be able to negotiate his way out of a tissue paper deal. He cannot be that patient enough to sit down and spend hours negotiating a deal. He might not be able to sit down and come up with the right kind of strategy and understand the strength of the opponent. That is another realm; it is still football, but another realm. So there is division of labour, artiste performs and the people who are behind the scene do their stuffs.

Did you choose this career path or you fell into it?

I went to school to get an education not a certificate. I had never had any doubt about what I wanted to do when I was in the University. I never thought of working somewhere other than in the entertainment industry. It wasn’t one or another for me, it was entertainment or nothing.

How has the choice been so far?

I feel blessed, I am happy because I am fortunate enough to do what I love and at the same time pay my bills. To me that it is a tremendous feat, because the worst thing would be to work and get money to sort out your needs without really fulfilling your purpose.

You are also a strong advocate in this industry, what inspires that?

It is our industry. We all agree that things are not the way it should be but they are two ways to react to that; you are either complaining or you try to do something about it. I have always said that politicians will not solve our entertainment industry problems. The Government can try and do a few things and even give Nollywood some money, that in itself is useful but it cannot solve our problems in the industry. It is we that make a living out of it, we that are committed to it.  I don’t own a business somewhere, I do not sell drugs somewhere, this is all I do, so if in the course of my business I find out that there are challenges with distribution, marketing, implementation of the law, branding, strategy, the image of the industry and any other area, it falls on me to do something about it. I am not a professional activist; I am not a guy who is looking for the next stuff to scream about.  Five years ago, Alaba people were the ones running this industry, now their influences have died down, they are no longer the problem.  Now there is another problem, we must continue to find ways to make this industry better.

What then is the problem, how would an artiste earn money apart from shows and endorsements?

When people even say endorsement, how many of our artistes today have that. If out of a thousand artistes, only 20 have endorsements, how do the others make money? Endorsements are not the solutions; an industry should not be built around endorsements. You cannot invest millions on an artiste and be waiting for endorsements to get your money back.

What was your growing up like?

I grew up in Warri, Delta State. I spent the first 11 years there and the next six years was in Sapele, so I am a full fledge area boy. I did a year or two in Benin before I got admission into the University of Lagos, since then I have been in Lagos.

How have you been able to avoid scandals in the entertainment industry?

Maybe I have been lucky. I don’t even think it is in our place to do that, we are just business men, and we are not artistes. If an artiste can afford to party too hard and get a hangover and miss a flight, you as an executive cannot afford to do that. If you are in the background and you are not level headed and party too much, then you probably want to be an artiste. However, I have been particularly happy because I am what you call a ‘dry guy’. I do not drink and I have never, I never smoked, and I am not an outgoing person. If you give me a free month, what I would do out of that one month is spend like 20 days in my bedroom. That is how I live; I come out when I must come out. You have to give me justifications. Often times it has to be because of a business meeting, a strategy session or I am coming out to witness something. If we are not talking music business or charity works. I rather just sit quietly and just read.

Talking about charity, you are known for always bringing your artistes out for charity causes, why?

We Nigerians have been able to tell ourselves lies that we can isolate ourselves from the problems of our society. People who are even in the middle class, what do they do, get money somewhere, buy a second hand SUV, have a home somewhere and think it is finished. They don’t care about what happens to others. It is wrong, because at the end of the day, when all hell lets lose you will be affected. That is why I bring out my artistes for charity works. They must give back to the society; they must connect with the people and help them. That is why you will never see somebody like Tuface going to perform for a politician, especially one who is not the people’s people. He is connected to the people of this society, because this same people come to his shows, buy his albums and show him love, so giving back and staying connected is the least he can do for them. I try and instill this mentality into all my artistes and so far so good, it has been going on well.  

By STEVE DEDE