DB - How did you go from a masters degree in management sciences to music?
Cabasa - before music i was a banker i worked with savanna bank and oceanic bank for a couple of years after my service year. after oceanic i decided to go back to school for my masters, it was during this period that music moved from an hobby to a real career choice. this was after a lot of persuasion from within myself and someone that i respect a lot, my pastor, who advised me to really look into music since i seem to do it without any stress. then i discovered that i was getting fulfilled unlike when i was at the bank, even though the money wasn't coming at first i was still fulfilled and with that came the financial reward. now i can say boldly that i cant compare what I'm making now to whatever i would have been making in a bank
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DB - Why did you go into production and not singing and other aspects of music?
Cabasa - It was like fitting into the right hole. i weighed all the options and discovered that the singing side of it, i know it, i even lead my church choir and i can teach people how to sing, i know vocal harmony but my voice range would not make me a proficient singer, i am more of a conscious singer but when it comes to going the extra mile i cant do it. so what really flowed was arrangement of music, i can play virtually any music instrument that i lay my hands on and i understand how music works so that's why i went into production. all i was doing then was getting people who knew how to sing, train them and produce them.
DB - who was the first person you recorded for?
Cabasa - i cant recall cos as at 12yrs i had started going to studios as a young secondary school boy and helping people record. but when i truly embraced production some of the guys i first recorded for are still with me, like Lord of Ajasa and 2phat
DB - what was the chemistry between you and 9ce?
Cabasa - before 9ce there was lord of ajasa, ruggedman and even faze. but i met 9ce through someone in my church who was in the same group with 9ce and wanted me to work with him, there was just something about him that i liked, his warmness, he has a listening spirit and i actually wanted to train him in production. but i realised later that he had a very good voice and he is a good writer who writes lyrics. i started encouraging him to sing because he never really believed he had such vocals. He did and from there, the chemistry between us was like that of a lab mouse and a scientist. what i couldn't do as a singer, he did. it was a complimentary relationship and he could listen and take correction. he was staying with me then. the chemistry is not restricted to 9ce, its more like a coded tunes thing. for instance if you see Olamide now you will talk about the chemistry but its something that any artist who works with coded tunes feels, once you pass through the system you begin to conform to the coded tunes way and that helps to produce the best
DB - when did coded tunes become an official record label?
Cabasa - 2005. i created the record label with 2phat and lord of ajasa signed to the label.
DB - do you have any artists signed to coded tunes now?
Cabasa - im working with two new artists presently, Meaday and B rank. Meaday is a R&B singer, he is a complete singer you need to see him on the piano, he is very good. B rank is a reggae/dancehall artist. they both have singles out right now and have we are working on getting them out there. but we also have some other artists who we are still watching out for to sign but we need to be sure about them first.
DB - if you had the opportunity to work with any artists locally or internationally, what two names would immediately come to mind?
Cabasa - if you asked a young producer that question it would be really easy, but for me ive worked with just about all the big names in Nigeria, 2face, banky w, olamide, 9ce, ruggedman, Eva and all the others you can think about, i think the only big name i haven't worked with is Dbanj. so if there are any two artists that i want to work with right now they would be the two next big things coming out.
DB - how do young artists who want to join the record label get across to you?
Cabasa - there is a system here at coded tunes, first 2phat who is the managing director performs the first audition, cos he knows what we are looking for, if the person passes that, he comes to me for a 2nd audition and then i perform some character tests.
DB - Do you think there is an opportunity for other people to come into the industry?
Cabasa - more than enough, the A List artists in Nigeria are very few same with B list artists and even C List artists and fewer producers. I'm even very concerned about that, i need more guys to come into production, I'm happy that a couple of people have come in now. because someone is reigning now does not mean your turn will not come. the stars we see in the sky are so big its said that the number of stars in the galaxy is more than the sand on earth yet there is still enough space left
DB - what inspires you?
Cabasa - I'm inspired by a lot of things but most especially the word of God, from it i learnt simplicity. i believe anything worth doing is worth doing well so the need for excellence inspires me to work hard. excellence is my driving force. nature also inspires me, after spending time at the beach and with nature i start to think of lyrics and music and by the time I'm in the studio it all comes out. also I'm a thinker, i spend a lot of time thinking especially when i travel and i go on a lot of vacations, I'm not saying i worry but I'm a critical thinker.
DB - where do you see cabasa in the next 5years?
Cabasa - its really about where i see me but where coded tunes will be in the next 5yrs. we actually have a 10yr plan but in the next 5yrs we plan to take Nigerian music to the world. i believe that by then the international community will come to us for our music, to the point that we will be the ones signing big artists like Akon or whoever is big then. we see ourselves churning out the kind out the kind of music the world wants to hear
DB - if you had the chance to steal three things one body part, one personality trait and one material thing from any person or persons what would they be?
Cabasa - i would love to have Daddy Adeboye's gentle nature, I believe if i have that I will live long he is so close to God , the material thing would be if bill gates could transfer his company to me, then body part would be to just add some weight cos I'm too skinny.
Find out more about ID Cabasa and the entire coded tunes family at www.codedtunesent.com.
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