Sugarboy: I’m Moving from Ghetto Boy to World Personality
Fast-rising dance hall artiste Umoren Akanimoh Felix, popularly known as Sugarboy, is ready to add his own work to the growing repertoire of Nigerian music available to fans globally. In this interview with Mary Ekah, he speaks on plans to release his deb
How did you get the name Sugarboy?
My real name is Umoren Akanimoh Felix. I am from Ikono, close to Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State. A female friend gave the name, Sugarboy, to me back in the days. That was during my university days and when I started my music career professionally, the name stuck on and I decided to run with it.
Tell us about your soon to be released album?
I am going to be dropping an album in April 22, 2017, and I am going to have a concert aside the launch of the album, ‘Believe’, on the day of the launch at the Grand Ballroom of The Oriental Hotel, Lagos. The album, ‘Believe’, features only my label mate, Kiss Daniel. I am releasing 22 tracks but only two of them feature Kiss Daniel. ‘Believe’ is the culmination of hard work and dedication on the part of my team at G-Worldwide to push me till the vision for my own debut body of work becomes a reality.
How long did it take for you to put this together?
It took me about three years to put the album together; I started working on it prior to the period I was signed on G-Worldwide label, that was 2014; I have been working, recording and putting different sounds together because I am trying to give people a different kind of vibe, not just dance hall music but Afrobeat music with a different kind of sound. I am trying to bring out a body of work that is superb and strong enough to change the game.
How would you describe your kind of music?
My genre is dance hall-Afrobeat, Afro rhythm, Afro reggae; I have that reggae touch with other genre put together so it’s pretty good music; it is music not just for young minds but for everybody and it is that sound that has not been heard before that I’m coming up with ‘Believe’.
What informed the title, ‘Believe’?
Everything is about the mindset. What you conceptualise in your heart and then pursue and when you work hard and pray, it always comes to pass. So ‘Believe’ is that thing in your heart that you know that is going to come to pass, that thing that you are interested in and you know you are going to get. And I have come to realise in life that if you doubt, you lose but if you believe, you have everything to gain.
Before ‘Believe’, have you had an album before?
No, this is my very first album. I have other singles before now. My first single was ‘Hola Hola’, and then followed by ‘Double’, ‘Legalize’, and then ‘Dada Omo’. ‘Believe’ is my first body of works, my first album. My first song, Hola Hola was released in January 2016.
When did you start singing professionally?
I started in 2010 when I was featured in the monster hit ‘Badman’ from veteran Hip-hop MC, Modenine; that was when I officially delved into the game, but I got signed onto G-Worldwide Entertainment in 2016. Prior to that I was on ground but the moment I came into contact with G-Worldwide was when my shine came. I am grateful to God and I am appreciative to my fans for always supporting the Sugarboy brand. And from this ‘Believe’ album, I just want to tell the world that I am about to export my music internationally, I am moving from that ghetto boy to world personality, that is the journey and that’s my ‘Believe’.
You said that ‘Believe’ is made up of sounds that have never been heard before. So what makes you different from others?
My music makes it different. When you listen to my music, you will know that it is different from others. Of course I am not going to be singing the kind of music that every other person is singing. I have a sound that they need to hear. So let them wait for April 22, so that they can get the ‘Believe’ album by Sugarboy.
Can you recall how you started music?
I didn’t really start from church though like most people do but I have always had music in me right from childhood and I used to try my hands on writing songs from my teenage years. When I got into the university, was when I really got the freedom to do what I have always wanted to do. So music has always been in me but I didn’t start from the church. I started from going to studios, hooking up with other musicians and then I moved to Lagos where Emperor Geezy of the G-Worldwide family spotted me in 2012. I was in the family for three years before I got formally signed in 2015. And then I did some features with Kiss Daniel, one of which is the song titled, ‘Raba’, which rose to become a street anthem and fans’ favourite, before I finally dropped my first single, ‘Hola, Hola’. That has been the journey. It has not been easy, I would say, but God has been faithful and eventually, we have been able to see the light of the day.
Have you always wanted to be a musician while growing up?
Well, I have always wanted to be a Pharmacist but when I got to the university, I discovered music was what I really wanted. So it is still about what you do and what makes you happy. So music makes me happy and music pays my bills.
So what did you study at school?
I studied Anatomy. It’s all about the human body.
That’s far apart from what you do right now. So do you connect with that?
Yes, music connects with everything; music connects to love, humanity and everything. There is nothing that you want to do that does not have that sound element.
Who are your role models in the music scene?
I look up to 2face and Emperor Geezy. These are the two people I look up to and then I love the works of Fela, he is my number one role model.
What have been the major challenges in trying to meet up with your fans’ expectations and the vision for your music?
For the kind of music I started with, coupled with the fans I have now, there are lots of challenges in the game; my challenge has been to always break every record that I set. And this album I am about to release now speaks a lot of volume for me.
Sometimes we hear artistes doing a fusion of certain dialects in their songs. Do we see you doing that too?
Yes, I do that too, whenever I sing, you hear me say, “Eyen kwo ikwo”, which literally means, “child sing songs”. I am representing my Ibibio people and I believe in not talking too much because talk is cheap.
Do you write music?
Yes, I write. I get more involved in the creative production of my songs.
What inspires your songs?
What I see, what I hear, and things I go through, my love for humanity, life generally and all that, inspire me. I want to be a better person and I want to make the world a better place to live in.
Where do you hope to see your music in few years to come?
I want to be a force in the industry; I want to be a mogul in the game.
What word do you have for your fans out there?
I would tell my fans that they should not give up on me. Great things are from small beginning. It may look rough at the beginning but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It might be very dark at night but joy comes in the morning. If you work hard and pray and then put your mind on whatever you are set out to do, your dreams shall surely come to pass.
How would the concert look like?
Other musicians are going to perform and my label mate, Kiss Daniel would be performing too. It is going to be a big day and I am also going to perform live.