Zaaki Azaay, a major act in the Nigerian music industry is our guest
today. In this chat with Sunday Entertainment the Benue State born
Hip Hop musician talks about his music career, the music industry
and more.
Excerpt:
Give us a brief history of your background?
Well, my name is Zaaki Azaay, that is my real name, it is not a
stage name, I was born and brought up in Kaduna State but I ’m an
indigene of Benue State. And I’m from Vandeikya Local
Government. Musically I have eight Albums I have just released the
latest one titled “Speed,” with my single “catch fire” still number
one everywhere since December last year.
How was it growing up as a child?
I was what you may call an ‘aje_butter’ of a kind because my father
was a Director General at the Federal Ministry of Information. As a
child we had drivers, cooks, gardeners, guards and a big house. It
was interesting because we had very good neighbours. But all that
changed when my father died, we had to start from the scratch
and that ’s the my story.
When did you start your musical carrier?
I started in 1993, I have been singing on T.V in Kaduna, but
professionally I released my first album in 1993, I was just 18 years
old then when I moved from Kaduna to Lagos in 1991 and started
chasing how to get a recording deal which nobody was willing to
give me at that time because I was doing hip_pop and the in thing
then was reggae and dance hall and raga music, but eventually I
got a recording deal with E.M.I,
That was the beginning of Zaaki Azaay and that was also the
beginning of hip_pop in Nigeria, and that is why everybody call me
the pioneer of hip_pop.
I understand you grew up in the North, does that account for why
almost all your songs are done in Hausa?
No, I can also speak my language very well. Most of my songs
have a lot of Hausa in it because there are more Hausa people than
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