With her petite look and baby-like voice, one could easily push Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye, better known as Simi, aside. But you only do that at your own peril, as you may soon regret it.
Even as a child, the delectable singer was a nut too hard for bullies to crack.
“While growing up, I was a bit defensive. I was so small and I felt that everyone wanted to take advantage of me. I have always been a strong-minded person. So, before you gave it to me, I would have given you plenty. I have a mind of my own and when I think of something, I say it. I had people that wanted to bully me, but I was not easy to toy with; so they gave up. I had to understand, at some point, that it was not all the time people would take advantage of me. But my voice has always been an advantage for me because people treat me like a child,” Simi says.
When you are doing music or anything in the entertainment industry, your life becomes part of entertainment also. Yes, I am in a relationship. I’ve never denied that, but I will not reveal the identity of the person
After some impressive collaborations and singles, Simi recently dropped her sophomore album, ‘Simisola’ in which she featured only Adekunle Gold. This has continued to fuel speculations that there may exist some romance between the two of them. Of course, both of them had tried to avoid such related questions in the past. But she says she isn’t trying to pay Adekunle Gold back. When Adekunle released his album last year, Simi was the only artiste he featured in it, too.
She explains, “It is just a coincidence and I understand that, but I didn’t try to payback. I wrote ‘Take Me back’ four years ago and we’ve already decided we would release the song early last year.
“This is my sophomore album, I had a gospel album in 2008. The gospel album did what it could do, but it was definitely not as big as this one and I was definitely not as big as I am now. I left gospel music because I wanted to do more with music. I wanted to be an artiste, not a gospel artiste.”
She admits that she was nervous on the eve of the release of the album. According to her, when she released the album’s track list, certain people didn’t like the fact that she didn’t feature other artistes. But she knew that it was impossible for everyone to like her album.
Simi says, “Even for music legends, there is someone that doesn’t like them. So, I felt that there could be people that would not like the album and I knew some people would like it, too. I was more excited to see how people would react to it. One thing is that I am never afraid of failure. I think one learns when one fails. For me, I expect people to notice certain things I did wrongly that I didn’t notice.
“Some of the biggest songs I have done were collaborative efforts. I don’t have problem with working with artistes. There were things I wanted to do, but they didn’t work out. By the grace of God, the lifespan of my music would be long; this is not the end of my career. So, the fact that I didn’t feature artistes in this album doesn’t mean there are no plans to do that in the future.”
In spite of sharing some good chemistry with Falz, the son of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who is also a musician, Simi shocked the world by not featuring him in her album also. Her reason? They recently released an entire EP together.
She, however, denies claims that she’s tired of working with Falz, insisting that they will still do things together.
“But I just felt it was unnecessary to have him in this album. If you want to hear something about Falz and I, we have an entire project. So, I wanted to do something else, something different,” she says.
Simi says she wrote all her songs in the album herself, except Adekunle Gold’s verse and her version of Ebenezer Obey’s ‘Aimasiko.’ The songstress, however, emphasises that the album is a compilation of stories and things she has experienced and that of others, too.
“I am from a place where tribalism takes center stage. If you date someone from another tribe, they would question you. They would query reasons you wanted to marry someone from the East or a different tribe. I’ve seen Igbo people who are quite tribalistic as well. I like to sing about real life, things people can listen to and relate with,” she further says.
Till date, her love life, to many, is still shrouded in mystery. There are insinuations that she’s in a sizzling romance with Falz and Adekunle, but no one can say for sure which of the two has really won her heart.
Attempts to make her talk was abortive. “One thing I like to keep very close to me is my personal life. When you are doing music or anything in the entertainment industry, your life becomes part of entertainment also. Yes, I am in a relationship. I’ve never denied that, but I will not reveal the identity of the person,” she insists.
For Simi, there’s nothing problematic about a lady taking a decision to profess her love for a man. She actually thinks any man who takes advantage of such magnanimity or thinks the lady is cheap for doing that, is naïve.
“Though there is definitely a limit a lady should go, it is not a big deal. I have seen ladies who are very rude and dismissive to a man who likes them. For me, I think it is unnecessary. If you don’t have feelings for the person, you just say it politely,” she adds.
The 2008 graduate of Mass Communication, Covenant University, maintains that her love for music has been so strong from the outset, regardless of the challenges. At some point, Simi says her mother was worried that she would leave the university without completing her course of study.
She adds, “But I am not that type of person. I like to finish what I have started. From my school days, I already knew I wanted to be an artiste.
“When you become successful, people know you. They don’t know your struggles or how you got to where you are. After NYSC in 2009 in Abia State, a record company approached me. I was not sure of them, but they were very convincing. I got signed to them for four years, but it didn’t go down well. I’m sure you don’t know any song I released under the label.”
Though her parents have always been supportive of her decision to do music, she says her mother wanted her to have other plans, as she was concerned. But, according to Simi, too, her mother didn’t try to be overbearing and also respected her opinion.
“I have never wanted to stop music. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but I don’t have a lot I am extremely passionate about. Music is one thing I cannot just give up, regardless of what comes my way. When I was with my former record label, I was really frustrated because I knew I deserved better. But again, that was the period I found my sound, which was towards the end of the contract. I was frustrated but I was thankful at the same time. If I had not gone through all that, I wouldn’t have felt that I needed to improve on myself,” Simi says.
She will not deny the fact that she sings mostly about love and men. But, she brags she does not say the same thing in different songs. According to her, if you listen to her songs like ‘Love Don’t Care,’ ‘Smile For Me,’ ‘Thief’ and ‘Jamb Question,’ they are all telling different stories.
Simi adds, “I think that love is the most universal thing in the world. But if you listen to my album, I have songs that are not about love.
“I am a loyal lover. Once I am in, I am all in. I can only be out of love if you betray my trust. For me, trust is the main foundation in love. So, if I don’t trust you, it is hard for me to be with you. If I decide to date you, I believe you know what it means and what I’m bringing to the table. Whatever I do for you, I expect the same from you. So, if I feel that I cannot get that, there is no point being in it.
“Nigerian men are not and I don’t know why. Maybe they feel they don’t have to be. I am not saying this to rubbish anyone. A lot of men grew up with the feeling that they don’t have to fight for anything; so there is this sense of entitlement. I don’t blame them; I blame the culture and our mothers for encouraging that.”
