Adasa Cookey is a name that rings a bell among the music video directors in Nigeria. In this interview with The Point’s Adeleke Adesanya, he shares his views on the issue of ladies dancing half-nude, a fad on the Nigerian music video scene. He also makes revealing statements on sundry issues in the entertainment industry. Excerpts:
What is your reason for toeing the music video-directing line?
My reason is very simple. It is because I have passion for this job. I have always been in the entertainment industry since I was young, and I have always had eyes for entertainment, especially the multi-media. Even though I have professional education in architecture and I have worked In several corporate organisations, especially in the telecom industry, I still came out and followed my passion because I believe that, in pursuit of happiness, one step you can take is to do what you love doing.
Looking at the tedious nature of the job, how do you combine it with family demands?
Though it (entertainment) is a tedious job, it, all the same, has to be balanced (with family demands). And for me to achieve this, I wake up by 4am every day and engage in the first phase of my work before I move to the office by 9am to commence the second phase, which I usually end by 6pm. After this, I head straight home to have a nice time with my family for a while, before I commence the night phase. So, all that is necessary is to balance, no matter how tedious your work may be.
How would you quantify the role of videographers in the Nigerian music industry?
Obviously, without videos, songs are nothing right now; if there’s any song without a video, it’s as if it doesn’t exist because people don’t pay much attention to music any longer but to the video of the song. So, the introduction of video into music in Nigeria has really helped to grow the industry phenomenally. And with it today, musicians now have good images that youths crave for; most of them are now ambassadors to brands and others.
For the concluding part of this story and others, grab your copy of The Point from your nearest vendor