I WAS ONCE A NIGHT CLUB DJ — BUCHI

 

Here is a very interesting and eye-opening interview done with Gospel reggae music minister, Buchi. By NFC

Where he talks about his life and the way he became a Christian, He is indeed one of the revered and successful brothers propagating the gospel through this genre. Ride on

The last time I saw you, you weren’t looking this good. What’s the secret?

If you mean my weight or something else... Well, I give God the praise. I have been living the higher life.

What do you mean by “higher life?”

It’s a life in Christ. The life that does not allow failure, sickness and does not admit the negative. It a good life. When you live there, you will have no struggle. I have been living that life.

Are you saying you’ve never been disappointed, sick, short changed et cetera?

I do not recongnise them and it is possible indeed to live without sickness. The so called disappointment has now become a part of man’s expectations and so they now become stepping stones for them to higher greatness. Something may not happen without the so called disappointments. It is natural to man. Many are the afflictions of man but the Lord delivers him from all, the Bible said.

Not many of your fans know that you’ve been in the industry for a very long time even before you came out with your first album. You didn’t start up as a gospel act, did you?

Well, I’ll want to say I did. Before now, when I didn’t have an album, I was a night club DJ with my friend Raskimono who was also plying the same trade For years, I came into Christ in 1992 and since then I have done nothing but the gospel

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You were a DJ for how many years?

I started in 1986 till 1992.

How did the transition occur then?

I got born again as simple as that. I gave my life to Christ and things changed. My values changed. The things that gave me pleasure and my lifestyle changed as a result. It just went like that. I lost the appetite for the old life.

Who was the person that brought you into this new life?

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. I went to see him to ask him some questions actually. He received me in his office and spoke to me for quite a while. I asked him a lot of questions and he answered all about life in general. That was on the 30th of December 1992.

So, when did you go into music?

My first album was released in 1999. That’s seven years after I got born again because I didn’t think I should naturally continue in music. I needed to find out why I came to God and what he would want me do, not just jump into anything. Even when he told me what I ought to do, there was a time of preparation. He separated me to teach me the word. So, it wasn’t just about music. I am first a Christian before a musician or anything else. So I had to deal with that part of it because music in life generally is a slippery terrain. If you are not grounded in the word of God, it won’t be difficult to sweep you off your feet. Events, people will come your way. Would you be found standing after everything?


Would you say it was within those seven years that God told you to be a reggae artiste?
(Laughs) No. he didn’t but I had reggae in me. I grew up listening to it and even in the night clubs it was strictly reggae. When God wants to do something through you, he uses what you already have.

At the period you came out with your first album, Reggea music was the reigning genre. Many people would want to think that you used that opportunity to launch yourself, what do you think?

Everything we do is subject to various interpretations. You could do something for a reason but a hundred people would find a hundred reasons why you did it. For me, it had to be reggae because that was what I had and God used it.

Don’t you think Hip-hop has taken over Reggea in the country?

I don’t think so. A lot of the songs we hear today are indeed reggae music. Some people play Root Reggae, some Rubber Dub, some Raga while some play dance hall. Some play another form of dance hall which is peculiar to Nigerians. It a combination of Reggae and hiphop. You have got to know this music to hear it in all the songs. We have a mind set of what reggae is, that’s why we don’t hear it in other songs. They play variants of reggae but in different styles. We do not have a lot of artistes elevating reggae the way it used to be in the country. There has been a decline in the appreciation of the genre but this isn’t the first time it is happening. Inspite of this we still have many reggae lovers in the country.

How many albums have you released so far?
Four albums. The last one was released not too long ago. It’s called The Sound of Life. How would I rate the albums? The first was a huge success eventhough it was not an instant market success. It won an award within two or three months after its release but it took about two years before Premier Music signed it up. In 2002, I released So Beautiful. This song had It is well. In 2005, What a Life was released and it had songs like Nmama. It was a success too.

The main reason of me uploading these interview when I saw it and using that type of headline, is that there is no body the lord can’t use irrespectable of what you are doing as living