Eva Alordiah
Fast rising female rap artiste, Eva Alordiah, talks with ADEMOLA OLONILUA about her hit track, ‘High’, family, sex and drug abuse among youths
About my weird hairdos
I have always want to be different. I
never like to blend in with the crowd. It is not just because of music, I
have been like this for a long time. I remember back in the days when
my friends were measuring their beauty with the length of their hair. I
was not interested then so I cut my hair. I had my hair coloured when I
was 15 and my mother did not really mind because I was not bringing
trouble to the house and I did not have bad grades. I was just messing
with my hair. I have been messing with my hair for a long time. I really
just like to be different. As long as what you are doing does not bring
shame to the name, Alordiah, and you are focused on school then my
parents are okay with you.
Parents’ reaction to choice of career
Because I was in school when my music
career started, they did not like my career path. They did not exactly
tell me to stop doing music. My father just told me that I had been
serious with school for a long time and he hoped that I would not come
back home and say I wanted to drop out. He advised me to ensure I finish
school. I love school, I have always loved school, I was one the best
students in some courses. It was entertaining to me. I just was not on
the path of dropping out to do music. Because he understood that, he let
me do it, knowing that I had always been good with my grades. I don’t
think he really had problems as such. My parents are very sweet and
calm. They would let you do what you want. I know that my father can not
stand tattoos. That is the one thing I know he can not stand, not that I
want to have tattoos. There are boundaries. I don’t think wanting to do
music was crossing that boundary with my parents. My parents are very
supportive people.
Coping with my academics and music
I was a science student. I was not a
book worm but I knew I had to get out of school with good grades. It has
been like that for me since primary school. There was a time in primary
school that for four straight years straight I was between the first
and third position. In secondary school I was in science class and I had
very good grades in the subjects I did. The only problem I had was with
further mathematics. I did not enjoy that subject at all. It was at
Bowen University that music really kicked in and it happened in my final
year. That was when I really wanted to start doing rap. It was a tough
year because it is a year you have to get out of school without any
problems. Luckily for me when I started in school, my CGPA was on a
first class basis. I started out with a first class and in school it is
either your CGPA increases or drops. It was difficult to increase so I
made sure I had a Second Class Upper Degree. The kind of school I
finished from doesn’t let you do anything. The only time I could express
myself in terms of music was in the school shows which happened like
once a year. I never had the temptation to drop out of school. The kind
of house I grew up we don’t get things on a platter. We did not have
everything that we wanted but we had what we needed. My father would go
out of his way to provide for us so we would not be envious of other
kids. Knowing that my parents went out of their way for me made me know I
had to be my best in school.
On artistes who drop out of school because of music
I would not be a judge of anybody but I
do not think that music alone is a good excuse to drop out of school. I
personally think that education is very important. I am not saying that
education is going to make you be the great person you are going to be. I
don’t think that is correct. But I know what is correct is that
education is very important and if you have the opportunity to be
educated, grab that opportunity. I think there are some people that were
not born to adapt to school. There are some people that are so wise
that they do not need to go to school for six years to become the great
human beings they are supposed to be in the world. That is from a
spiritual point of view. I was in school with friends that did not have
parents providing for them; I was in school with people who got thrown
out because their parents could pay their fees. Knowing that my parents
were going through a tough time providing for us, I made it my priority
to finish school and with good grades. Not to say that I passed through
school because of my parents, I did because I started out well in my
life. Why waste all those years of being brilliant in school and then
when I get to the top of the ladder I decide to stop? What happens to
all the chemistry I have been reading? I knew I would be doing myself a
favour finishing what I started.
My early years
I have four siblings, I am the second
girl. While growing up, I was a tomboy majorly because of my brothers.
By the time I was two years old, I was already cutting my hair. I wore
jeans and sneakers all the time. I remember growing up in the North,
back then the region was peaceful. There were horses, camels, Fulani
herdsmen, lots of mango trees to climb and fences to jump over. I had a
lot of male friends and I used to climb trees a lot. I had cuts on my
thighs on several occasions while jumping over a fence. There was this
fence that blocked us from getting into a compound that had so many
mango trees. In the mango season, the mangoes would fall to the ground
and we (children) would want to go into the compound to get the mangoes
because they were wasting. The North was so rich that everything was
everywhere; fruits, meat, they were all everywhere. Because the mangoes
were just lying there wasting we would help ourselves with some. I got
hurt few times during that quest. I once broke a tooth.
My reaction to the happenings in Northern Nigeria
I lived in Bida, Niger State and it was so safe, so peaceful and warm. The Fulani women would bring fura di nunu in the morning for you. I learnt how to make tuwo.
The mallams would guard our houses. When I came to Lagos, it was the
first time I saw fences everywhere. Everybody’s house in Lagos is
covered up with a high fence. That joy of neighbourhood love is not felt
in the city, like I felt it in the North. In the North, we did not have
fences; everybody’s house was open to everybody. I was so much fun
especially during Sallah. It used to be the best, the kids would run
after horses, we would go to the Emir’s palace and he would give us
money, lots of coins. It was so much fun, I miss that life.
The issue I have with Eldee
It is difficult talking something I do
not know anything about. I actually do not know anything about me
getting dropped by his record label. I can not talk about things I do
not know about. It happened in 2012; this is 2013, I am moving on,
working on my album right now. I can not talk about things that did not
happen because if I do, I would be telling you lies.
Why I released a song shortly after the claims of being dropped from Eldee’s record label
I love to do music and when I am held
back from doing the music I love to do, my body cringes. Soon as I have
the opportunity to do the music that I love to do, I I can not stop
myself, I do it. Releasing musical tracks is what I love to do.
Allegations that my song promotes drug use and abuse
That is the misconception people get
from my song titled high, which is one of my father’s favourites. If
that is one of his favourites, it should tell you that older people
understand better than the younger people. The younger generation does
not like reading anymore, nobody reads. Everybody is shallow which is
one of the reasons why the music we have in the industry is the way it
is. I am not surprised that the song is being misinterpreted because
that is what the younger generation keeps talking about these days,
getting high. If you listen to the lyrics of that song, it is not about
using drugs, it was about going through struggles in life. Which is what
I was going through and at the end of the day what I really love to do
which is my music becomes my getaway. It becomes my high. That was what
“High” was all about.My music does not promote drugs and drug abuse, I
am not a fan of drug usage. I do not smoke and I do not drink. My music
promotes love, unity, peace, I am all about love and happiness.
My relationship
I am single but not searching. My mother
is working on that. She is going to get me a husband from the village. I
don’t know how the search is going for her though. I think Nigerian men
are fine, we have the best crop of men in Nigeria. My major priority is
to be focused on necessary things. I don’t see relationships as
unnecessary but I see sex as unnecessary. I am not a married woman, it
is not something I would wake up in the morning and say I would indulge
in it. It was created for married people. It is seen as a part of
relationships by this generation because people are influenced by what
they see on television and read in magazines. The youths are getting
very enlightened.
About my other businesses
My life started as a writer. I was
writing stories in class; these stories were in my notebook. One of the
notebooks fell into my father’s hands and he thought it was a good story
so he was trying to help me get it published. I really thought I would
become a superstar writer. It did not happen because I got into school
and music came in. When music came, the writing part of me delved into
writing music. I was listening to a lot of Eminem and I fell in love
with rap. Writing then became writing rap music. After secondary school,
while I was waiting for JAMB result, I began to take pictures of myself
and kept telling myself I was cute and could model so I got into
modeling. That’s where my love for arts and pictures came to the fore.
Because I wanted my pictures to look like those of the models on
television and in magazines. I began to find out what make-up was and I
began to buy make-up products. I taught myself make-up artistry. Now I
own a make-up company, Make-up by Orsela, I just really love to paint
and paint faces.
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