Gabriel Oche Amanyi, popularly known by his stage name Terry G, is a Nigerian musician and producer, who is widely known for his eccentric dress-sense, controversial lyrics and awkward identity. He tells Ademola Olonilua about his career and style in this interview
Why did you decide to go into sachet (pure) water business when most of your colleagues usually go into fashion industry if they want to venture into another line of business away from their career?
I feel water has no enemy and it is a long term business. I worked so hard for my money and I would not want to venture into a business that would collapse. It is something I plan to fall back on later in life. I thank God for my partner, my girlfriend and the mother of my son, who brought up the idea. I still have other businesses in mind like opening a bakery and running an orphanage as well.
Why would you want to open an orphanage?
It is because I want to focus on abandoned children. Often times, we see new born babies dumped along the road side or on a refuse dump because their mothers could not take care of them. I want to take care of such children and they would bear my surname.
Does it mean you would leave music at some point?
I can never leave music. It is still music that funds everything. It is just a way of giving back to the society. I feel I am privileged to be where I am today and we can never know who is going to be the next leader of this country. Everybody is very important and I feel abandoned children are normally the ones with the brightest future if only they have a helping hand. If you look at most of our leaders today, they were not all from privileged backgrounds.
You started music from church; do we see you going back to the church to continue your music?
Of course. But I sing both secular and gospel music too. I feel we are all disciples of God and He knows why He made the secular music singers more successful. Nevertheless, God is still involved in my songs and He knows why He is giving us a lot of fans. The truth is that I perform my gospel songs in churches. There are reasons why they invite secular musicians to church to perform and it is because they want us to bring the people from the ‘world’ to the church. In future, we can still be used by God to change people’s lives.
What is the significance of the bell you normally carry about?
The bell is a wakeup call and I was just fortunate to be able to create an image for myself. D’banj is known with his mouth organ and I am known to have a bell. Although I play all the instruments, I can’t always carry them around, even the saxophone. It could be heavy sometimes. I really wanted to have an instrument that could be indentified with my brand. After I sang the song, Apako, something was missing in my mind. There were lots of instruments in my studio but I reached out for the bell and as I rang it to the song, they complemented each other. The song became an instant hit and people began to reckon with the bell. Now I cannot go anywhere without the bell.
How do you feel when people have a negative perception about you?
It is allowed, it is my image. I like the comment people make when they see me in real life. Some ask why I allow my make-up artiste to paint my face in various funny ways while I am cute in real life and I say it is because I project craziness. It is my market.
But of all the words, why did you use craziness to portray yourself?
It is because it is my market. Everybody has their own market. I did not choose this path. The craziness came as a song and became an attitude. When I sang, Free Madness, I was not crazy but people accepted the song and I had to play the part. It was my fans that made me begin to portray myself as a crazy person. As they accepted the song, I had to play the part of a crazy man just like the lyrics of the song say. I cannot mount a stage and sing R&B songs; people would think something is wrong with me. As the song, Free Madness went viral, I had to go mad.
Why do you like being controversial?
It is what sells. I am not the rave-of –the –moment artiste but I am still very relevant in the industry and it is because I am controversial. I love the controversy. I like making people talk.
People are of the opinion that since you became a father, you have calmed down in your lifestyle, do you agree to that?
Yes it is true. Anybody that has a child must calm down, it is a general thing. Once you have a child, you must become a responsible man. That is when people would know that the madness is deliberate and it is just being done to make money. My son is a British citizen and he is going back to school in London in March. This is to show people that I know what I am doing. The craziness is what puts food on my table and money in my bank accounts. There are people that support and love it.
When do you intend to get married to your ‘baby mama?’
It will happen very soon but it takes planning and much more. Ironically, I am facing a lot of pressure regarding marriage but it is not from either of our families. The pressure is from outsiders. I want to work hard and be stable. I want to work to the extent that I would not rely on music because I do music for fun. Everybody knows that she lives with me and I am already living like a married man.
What influenced your dreadlocks?
I had to look crazy like my music. I had to look artistic and I believe the dreadlock has a spiritual meaning in my life. I value it a lot. My style of music would not be interesting without this hair. As the hair is growing, my future is growing to be bigger and better; I respect the hair very much. The hair stands for the craziness when I am on stage. I cannot imagine myself singing on stage without the dreadlock. It still stands for my brand.
How long have you been keeping it?
I have had it for over seven years.
Do your tattoos have any meaning?
They all mean personal things to me. There is one that shows a flaming microphone which represents my music. There is another which is a wise saying.
Don’t they hurt?
They do and that is why I do not have many on my body. I doubt I would add others to the few I have. Everything on my body is positive because my children would see them and they would want to be like me.
Back then, you pierced your entire face, why did you eventually remove the studs on your face?
I stopped because I already set the pace and everybody is piercing now. I will still do something that they will follow.
What is the most expensive fashion item you own?
It is my jewellery but I cannot say the amount I bought it for security reasons. They are investments and even my earring is gold.
What kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in?
I love looking hip-hop. Dressing is a style and there are so many reasons I am not on a billboard. I will not cut my hair for any reason neither would I change my brand. I cannot lose this image because of my fans and I love them so much.
Why do you like wearing bright coloured clothes?
I like flashy colours because of the kind of shoes I wear. I like blue, red, and green. I like colours a lot but I do not like pink. I believe pink and purple are colours for homosexuals.
What fashion item can you not leave home without?
That would be my jewellery. They call me Mr. Bling Bling, I started it.
What is the biggest fashion mistake you have made?
There was a time I put different colours on my hair at once. My hair was multi-coloured and I looked like a masquerade. It had yellow, green and red. That was a big fashion regret but I just wanted people to talk about my brand. I just started out back then.
Since you portray craziness with your brand, can you do that hairstyle again?
Never, God forbids.
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