Why Our Video Is Heavy On Bum Tweaking

•Skuki

•Skuki

Tumininu and Atewologun Laolu-Ogunniyi, are two dynamic brothers which make up the Afro-pop duo known as SKUKI. The talented singers, better known as Vavavoom and Peeshaun, had a successful career in 2013 and they started the same run in 2014 with the release of a new single, Silifa, accompanied by a controversial music video. SKUKI, the 2010 Headies’ Next Rated winners, in this chat with FUNSHO AROGUNDADE, speak on their music career and influence of their father, Laolu Ogunniyi, the creator of 1980s hit series, Winds Against My Soul and Opa Aje, on their own art

How would you describe your career in 2013?

To God be the glory, 2013 was a great year for us. The acceptability for our music was really huge. We switched our style and ensured that we were as consistent as ever.

•Skuki
•Skuki

How do you mean by switching your style?

We switched our style to stay close to our fans and keep them up to date on goings on about Skuki. And I can tell you that it really worked for us. We hope to improve on that this year.

What would you consider your greatest challenges and accomplishments last year?

There was no challenge at all as everything that happened to us happened for a reason. God is in absolute control of all our affairs. In terms of accomplishments, we would say our endorsement deal with Nairabet.com, and also being selected to work on the theme song for the biggest event in Lagos ‘The Lagos Countdown’ by LASAA. This came with a lot of benefits. The benefits came in terms of money and other opportunities. God has really been faithful to us. Also the video of our single Voomva made the Top 5 Most Played Songs in South Africa.

What are your plans for 2014?

Our plans for 2014 are huge. Our album will drop later this year. But we shall not be focusing only on music. We are going to be getting involved in the business of music more. We won’t let out the cat from the bag now.

Your new song Silifa has been enjoying rave reviews. What inspired that song?

Well, Silifa is inspired by what we see on the streets. Our Silifa represents that pretty girl which every guy on the block would love to date. Apparently, she is not interested in those guys who flaunted material things to woo her.

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What about its video which many have condemn of having too much booty tweaking? 

There is nothing wrong with the video. It is inspired by those unique quality which set apart richly endowed African women from skinny European women. It is only people who suffer inferiority complex that complain more about the video. They believe we are imitating the western world with the tweaking. But they didn’t understand that booty tweaking is African. If they observe very well, they will have noticed that Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s girls used to tweak on stage, even way better than what Miley Cyrus does these days. Honestly, tweaking started from Africa; it has always been part of our dancing culture. Yoruba call it ‘Redi’. So, why are they trying to rubbish it?

But what is the connection between the song relics and the video?

Well, it is all part of the entertainment. Sometimes the dancing or tweaking in the video could be to flow with the beat and not necessarily for the lyrics. If you study Fela’s music very carefully, you find out that sometimes, he would be singing about the government, and his half naked girls would be shaking their booty behind. It was part of entertainment. A music video can follow the lyrics of the song, or can just be a dance routine to the beat. It depends on the angle the director wants to take it from.

Not many people know you are sons of legendary Laolu Ogunniyi. Tell us more about your parents. 

We have the most understanding parents in the world. At times, our mom questions some of our actions, but she still remains our number one fan. Our dad, Mr Laolu Ogunniyi, lectures abroad. He is a playwright who produced the first ever soap opera in Nigeria,  Winds Against My Soul. He also wrote and directed the 1980s television blockbuster series, Abija. He is currently working on The Return of Abija, which we are looking forward to ourselves as his number one fans.

How has he influenced your music?

His name and reputation have opened many doors for us in so many ways. He is a great man who shot the first soap opera in Nigeria back in 1979 long before Vavavoom and Peeshaun were born. He was the first movie producer to shoot outdoor scenes in Nigeria, and today you can’t talk about the history of television in Nigeria without mentioning our dad. This has really helped our career, especially when people get to know he is our father.

What kind of person is he?

He is very generous and kind hearted man. Although a disciplinarian, it is all for our good and helped us as creative beings today. We called him the unsung hero in Nollywood. When there was no Nollywood or movie industry in Nigeria, our dad has been producing movies.

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