28th January, 2013
Kwelle Violet Faith, popularly known as Dizzbaby, is gradually setting the Nigerian music scene on fire. The University of Calabar undergraduate has been featuring in top concerts and corporate shows, and has already cut a CD and done three videos. Pretty Dizzbaby, based in Port Harcourt and Calabar, tells DESMOND UTOMWEN how she has been coping with sexual advances from men
Who is DizzBaby?
My name is Kwelle Violet Faith from Emohua Local Government Area in Rivers State. I was born on 22 March 1991. I had my primary and secondary education in Port-Harcourt and am currently a student of business management at the University of Calabar. I sing hip hop and RnB. Dizzbaby is just my stage name.
For how long have you been a musician?
I began as a chorister in a local church when I was nine years old and was there till I was 13. I then began writing songs and dancing. I did dances for artistes like Duncan Mighty, Oba Omega, Nigga Raw and the dance group called X&L. Two years ago, I started singing professionally. I have done shows for MTN, Glo Rocks, the Star Trek show, Calabar Carnival and Port Harcourt CaniRiv. In 2011, my video was rated the best in the ODUDU Awards and I was the best 2011 artiste in UNICAL. My first single titled Naija Melo threw me into the spotlight. I sing reality, dreams and hopes. I also sing about lifestyle and fun.
How well have you been received by fans?
Awesome, I must say. My music is for all, both the young and the old. My fans cut across the different age brackets.
What have you been able to push into the market in terms of albums and videos?
I have launched a CD with songs like It’s Getting Better, Power of a Woman and 9ja Mello, which encourages the people to cope with the situation in the country. It also has club-banging hits like Kekedekre, Mid Nite Rock and Jekimo. The launch featured top artistes, dancers and comedians, including Duncan Mighty and Oba Omega. I have also done three videos for some of those songs. I am working on my fourth video for the song Bad Girl.
How easy has it been combining music with education?
My life is music and education is something I must acquire, so I strive to be successful in both. It has not been easy because there are lots of artistes out there. It requires hard work and determination.
What motivates you as a singer and writer?
The people around me and my entire environment.
Do you have a role model?
While I fancy Nicki Minaj, Eve, Missy Elliot and Beyoncé, my role model is Mary J. Blige. Their achievements are driving me to succeed as they have.
Where do you see Dizzbaby soon?
I see myself doing it big in entertainment, doing more collabos with both local and international artistes, featuring prominently on billboards and cover-page modelling and doing roles in movies. I am really looking up to a bigger future.
How do you handle your fans, promoters, marketers, particularly the males who will be dazzled by your captivating looks?
I show them love because I cannot get to that dream height without the fans behind me. I appreciate their love for me highly. I consider them as part of me and relate with them cordially. I politely handle male fans that may want to get too intimate or perhaps engage in acts that could be termed sexual harassment. In the entertainment industry, advances from the opposite sex are normal, but a sensible entertainer will know how to surmount them.
My manager knows I am strictly business, and he is charged with the responsibilities of arranging my shows and striking business deals. When you are good at what you do, you don’t fall prey to such little evils. I am good at what I do and I don’t need to cave in to such sexual pressures to secure any business that I know I deserve.
But how do you reconcile your seeming controversial journey from the church to the club, to the extent that some critics now label you the “bad girl of the Nigerian music industry”?
(Laugh) For me, bad means good. I am not a bad girl in the sense of being sexually naughty. You know in entertainment circles, when an artiste is worth her onions, as in very good, people tend to describe her as bad. That is the context in which the word “bad” is used here. Frankly, I have not stopped being that good, decent and well-cultured girl that had her early life singing in the church choir. I still do collabos with some gospel artistes and intend to do some gospel songs myself. My journey is not a case of straying from being a good choir girl to becoming an irresponsible club girl, but a quest to deliver on my professional calling without necessarily losing my strong-held values.
.This article originally appeared in TheNEWS magazine of 04 February 2013