Nigerian Singer and songwriter, Ọlawale Ọlọfọrọ, widely known as Brymo, recently sat with Chude Jideonwo, host of the viral show #WithChude, to discuss how his background shaped his person, his music, and the dramatic controversies, battles and attacks he has faced in the industry.
“The entire story surrounding my birth and the entire family is always weird. My mother had a traumatic experience as a teenage girl, it was in a rape incident. And for some weird reasons, she didn’t see her period anymore afterwards. And that kept on like that for three years or so till she met my dad, they were taking her around without knowing that she was already pregnant. Five months in and there was no blood, nothing. I had to kick for her to know that a child was there”.
Speaking on how his mother, a survivor of tragic experience, and how her life influenced him, he shared, “Most people wonder how I handle matters when I go public. It must have been from my mom. I remember she said she was raped by a guy that used to send kids errands. When he was done, she got up immediately, went straight home, and just said “this person just raped me”. She said it immediately so everybody could see it. It became big, and problematic. The next day, he had to come with his parents, begging and then he pretended that she was a virgin and that he wanted to marry her. She screamed at him.
“My mother was especially loved by her father. And so, if you’re wondering how a girl could be so outspoken. Yes, that’s how she got it. So, the man was just dotting over his daughter, so he let her say whatever she wanted to say and let her express herself.
So, my mom extended that to me, he added”.
Brymo speaks on how the kind of music he makes aligns with his public persona, far from what critics believe. “The problem is that people insist that they can separate the art from the artiste I think it’s becoming a malady. They can’t be separated. If somebody truly listens to the things I say in the songs, and they pay attention to the choices I make online and the things I choose to say; they will see an alignment. They should be able to notice because the freedom to say some of those things is a lot. If there was someone else who would create the kind of content I’m creating who then behaves differently from me in public, then, we can have this conversation. I rarely meet people who say, well done. Everybody says, “stop, stop, stop”, because they love me. Now, if I drop it, I will not be the same person, that they liked before.
Speaking to the controversy between him and Adekunle Gold, Brymo clarifies the situation. “Adekunle Gold came to me that we should create an album together, I said no. His wife came, I said no. Later, I heard that she had something to do with Falz. Suddenly,
Adekunle Gold and Simi got married, and the news spread that Falz wanted to take Adekunle Gold’s wife. Also, that I had something to do with Falz and Falz got something with Simi. Nobody knew that Simi and Adekunle Gold had stuff, all that period. So, I came back myself, to gist everybody about what happened back then. Then they started alleging me of asking somebody’s wife for collaboration for sex. Nigerians are sick people. that’s dark. They came to me; it didn’t happen”.
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