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| Chimere |
Chimere Emejuobi, a popular
gospel artiste began her musical career as a back-up singer before she became one
of the foremost soundtrack producers for movies and one of the best gospel
artistes in Nigeria. In an interview with ADA DIKE, she talks about her career
and issues affecting entertainment industry in Nigeria.
A movie is incomplete
without a soundtrack, so Chimere Emejuobi’s job as a soundtrack producer is
important in the movie industry.
The cool, calm and pretty
lady has made tremendous contribution by creating nice tracks for many movies. She
did not bump into this career, it was a dream come true. When she was younger, she
told herself that she would be a singer. One may say it is a common wish which became
a reality but it pertinent to note she has recorded tremendous success in her
career.
Her words: “I thank God
that my dream has come true. To be humble, my name rings like a bell because of
my songs and soundtracks which I have done in the past,” she said.
Men dominate soundtrack
production, so Chimere reveals how she copes:
“ I am not the only woman who produces soundtrack. The most important
thing is for one to know her job very well, so my ability to produce and sing
soundtrack has given me a lot of opportunities. I enjoy doing what I am doing.”
After her secondary
school, she relocated to Onitsha in early 1990s, where one of her uncles,
Chibest Investment, introduced her into music. “After listening to me rendered
a song, my uncle took me to a recording studio and later introduced me to one
of the biggest Onitsha based gospel bands, where I started as a back-up
singer and I did my first sound track that same year.”
Due to the love she has
for entertainment in its entire ramification, she relocated to Enugu to act in
movies, but was a bit disappointed when she realised that you have to be
connected before you get a role or else, the only role you could get would
be the menial ones.
“Initially, my plan was to
become an actress but I became confused when I saw a lot of people that queued
up for auditions. As a student then, I imagined how I could cope with the sum
of N300 they paid to some actors, while I had about N10, 000 in my bag each
time I went for audition. That was how I lost interest in acting and decided to
go fully into music and also produce soundtrack for movies. My first soundtrack
was featured in an Igbo movie called Obiora. I acted in Anti Christ film and
also produced its soundtrack.
“I encountered a lot of
challenges initially and tried my best to convince some marketers to give me an
opportunity to showcase my talent. One marketer decided to give me a
chance in a movie titled ‘Anointed’. “There was a time I wrote a song and did a
soundtrack for a movie but the producer refused to give me credit, saying I am
nobody in the movie industry. What they forgot to know is that you don’t have
to make noise for you to be known. One’s work supposed to speak for him or
her.”
One of the embarrassing
moments she has encountered in pursuing her career was a day she was singing
and walking along a road, a young man who loved her voice argued with her and
did not believe her when she told him that she sang “I Have Confidence in You.”
A lot of music and movie
makers always complain about the dubious ways some marketers do dirty deals to
ensure that producers and artistes do not make enough profit from their works.
There was a time she confronted her marketer over pirated copies of her works being
sold alongside the original ones and she saw some people hawking pirated compact
discs (CD) of her works in Owerri, Imo State and had to seize the copies of the
CD. She later had agreement with her marketer who paid her stipend.
The song that brought her
to limelight is “I have confidence in You.” She said “It’s in my maiden album “A cry for
help worship” which recorded tremendous success and it is still selling till
today. Through it, I always receive a lot of invitations from churches and
highly placed people who invite me to play for them with my live band.”
Apart from producing
soundtracks, the Imo State born lady is widely known as worship songs singer
and her songs appeal to emotion, thereby connecting people to God. Initially,
most people don’t know her face but they know her name and her music because
her manager did not put her picture in her first album. She has produced over
100 soundtracks and some of them include: Warrior’s
Heart, Magic Cap, Sleep Walker, Corporate Maid, Love My Way, Comfort My Soul,
Face of Woman, Next Door Neighbour
and Shakira.
There is no lull in her
career as she just returned from abroad, where she shot a movie for her latest music
African Praise Song. A Cry for Help, Confidence and Worship are solid albums
she has released.
The graduate of Mass
Communication, Oko Polytechnic, said African Praise is a medley she sang in
many languages including Nigerian, Ghanaian and Swahili.
Presently, she has rebranded
her music, and has stepped up by setting up a record label called DEMIDEE Entertainment
Company, which also serves as a music production unit and engages in artiste
management and modelling.
She is glad that her
talent has taken her to many countries including Ghana, France, Germany,
Belgium, the United States of America and so on. “My experience in all these
places was fantastic. At the Berlin Film Festival in Germany three years ago, I
mingled with famous Hollywood and Bollywood actors and producers including Titanic’s
Dicaprio,” she recalled.
She believed that entertainment
industry in Nigeria has improved but can be better than what it is today with
time. “I am glad that government has come in to help us through the $200
million (N30 billion) bail-out fund for the industry but there is need to be
serious regulation for the industry.”
She made a comparison between
music industry and Nollywood in Nigeria and said: “The music industry has fared
better than the movie industry because our musicians have done a lot in terms
of good and widely accepted music within and outside Nigerian markets. The
movie industry is improving but there is still a lot of work to be done in
terms of scripts, equipment and well packaged jobs. Most of the movies we are
producing are drama not movies. Also, we still use cameras and most of our
equipments are not modern compared with what other movies producers use in
other countries.
“Movie production requires
a lot of money, so funding has been an impediment to producers. If we spend at
least N50 million in producing a movie, the person may record loss because of
piracy and cheap price at which movies are sold in Nigeria.
“The bail-out fund is a sign of good things to
happen in future. Besides, President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to give us
the necessary backing in our fight against piracy so I am happy that government
is now showing interest in developing the industry. The bail-out fund is not
any loan that anybody can just apply without proving what he or she wants to do
with it and how he or she will pay back. One of the requirements is that you
must belong to a guild so that the guild will help you to facilitate the loan.
“But one of the major
problems I will want the government to address is piracy. When I released my
first album, I discovered that a lot of pirated copies were being sold
alongside the original copies and people were praising me that my albums
recorded a lot of success, that I have made millions of Naira from it. But the
truth is that I had nothing to show for it at the end of the day because
dishonest marketers made money at my expense.” She added
Chimere wanted to be a
broadcaster because she used to admire ladies’ beautiful faces on television
when she was younger, that is why she studied Mass Communication. “But I could
not leave music because it is in-born though, I have
the gift of singing as well as being a TV personality.”
Emejuobi had wonderful
moments when she was growing up. “My parents were supportive. My father was
strict while my mother was a calm woman. Ours was one big family. But I missed
being dad’s pet. When I was younger, I got all the things I needed. I am from a
family of 10, six males and four females and I am the sixth child. I had my
primary and secondary school in Owerri, Imo State. I attended Girls Secondary
School, Akwakuma, Owerri, before I proceeded to Federal Polytechnic, Oko in
Anambra State.”
The beautiful single lady
who hopes to tie the nuptial knot soon, is a workaholic but she relaxes at home,
reads novels and watches movies, including foreign ones at her leisure. “I also
write songs, poems and scripts. I get more inspiration to be creative when I am
relaxing.”
She has never done secular
music before. “But that does not mean that I cannot do it. I can do a secular
music that has something that relates to Africa but I cannot do a vulgar song.”
She observed that apart
from gospel music, some hip hop music in Nigeria have good lyrics that pass
important message across. For instance, African China passes a lot of messages
through his songs, so also 9ice, 2Face and others.
She has received many
local and international awards including the 2012 Nollywood and African Film
Critics’ Awards in North Carolina, United States of America.
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