I’m a loner- Kenny Saint Best

I’m a loner- Kenny Saint Best

Gospel act, Kenny Saint Best (KSB), hit stardom with her debut album, entitled ‘You’re worthy Lord’ about 15 years ago. Younger sister of popular showbiz personality, Keke Ogungbe, KSB started a career in music after a fruitless search for a plum job in the oil and gas industry. According to her, the search for a job ended when she keyed into a message by Pastor E. A. Adeboye in 1990. “Pastor said anybody who would key into the message will never remain the same again. I keyed into it, and even before I finished the fasting, God said ‘Come and work for me.” In this interview with SEGUN AJIBOYE, the mother of two, who split from her husband, fellow musician, Eddy Remedy, few years ago, described herself as a ‘loner’ who would rather keep her problems to herself. She also spoke on her family, career and other issues.

Excerpts:

You recently did a song with hip-pop act, MI. What made you do the collabo with a rap artist, considering the fact that you are a gospel act?

Music has changed, and I always embrace change from whatever angle it comes. For me, I have embraced the changes. Hip-pop music is global, it’s like a culture with younger generations, and even the older are dancing it and enjoy it. We are evolving with the young people, and I want to reach young people through my music. And the kind of young people that I want to reach is via hip-pop. Don’t forget that one of the kings of hip-pop in Africa is MI. It was exciting for to get him to do a collabo with me, and even more exciting for him to accept to produce the work. 

Your song, ‘Sugar Sugar’ sounds like a love song. What is it about?

Sugar- Sugar is a love song to God. It’s my own way to say I love God. We used the angle of love and romance. God caught me through love. You see, what attracted me to God was the songs of Solomon. It was very romantic to my ears. I read that portion of the bible, and I realized it was easy for God to communicate with us through love. And I have always looked for words to express my own love to God. That is why I sang the song to express my love to God, to give everything back to Him.

You have successfully recorded a number of songs with popular hip-pop stars. What do you want to achieve with this?

Like I said, hip-pop is no longer music, it’s a culture, a movement that has swept all over the world. That’s the community of music that the people I want to reach belong to. And to be able to reach them, I have to be able to live it, breathe it and dress hip-pop. I am from the old Christian school. And for me to reach this vibrant and young group, I have to buy into their movement, such that their own DJ will be able to identify with my songs. I want to say with every sense of humility that I am the only female act that has done the highest number of collabos with top Nigerian male acts. Imagine the song I did with Dagrin, it is different from the one with Terry G and others.

With your background as a gospel act, how easy was it for you to work with these core hip-pop guys?

For me to achieve this, Kenny St Brown had to die, and in its place came KSB. There was no way Kenny St Brown would delivered, and that was why it took me a gap of about to three years for me to get into the spirit of KSB.

So what were those three years for?

They were for me to rebrand and to redress. It was a spiritual rebirth into the spirit of hip-pop. It has to enter into me so that I’d able to deliver. It was a total overhaul from inside. And what you see now is manifestation of what I’ve gone through. First, God told me ‘I am going to reduce your age by 20 years.’  I didn’t believe at first until they started to manifest. I knew there was work to be done. You see, gospel didn’t get to be played on radio Monday to Friday. They were played only on Sundays. But I have been able to change that. My songs get played every day.

Kenny, I’m really sure you have moved on from the experience of your unsuccessful marriage…

Cuts in…I’m sorry, but the truth is that my career is the most important thing to me now. I mean how to make huge success of my career, and to take care of my children. That is what should be my focus for now.

Are you born again?

I am very, very born again. Do you know why? The path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter, and there is so much work to be done. The Bible says ‘I shall be His witness, first from Jerusalem, then unto Judea and to Samaria and outermost part of the world.’ The song I did at the beginning of my career cannot take me to the outermost part of the world. And so it took the owner of the job who keeps renewing the vision, just the way He spoke with Abraham. If you walk with obedience with Him, you’ll keep going. I’ll tell you, whenever God wants to birth a new thing, He is never afraid to use me because I am ready vessel.

Have you ever had an encounter with God, if yes, how did it happen?

 My encounter with God was after I finished my MBA in 1995, and I wanted a job. I wanted to work with Chevron or Mobil, I didn’t want to work in the banks. And while I was searching  for  a job, God said He likes my CV, and that I can work for Him. About that time too, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Adeboye, declared a 100-day fasting period. He said anybody who would key into it will never remain the same again. I keyed into it, and that was the encounter. And even I finished the fasting, God said ‘Come and work for me.’ And don’t forget the Yoruba adage that you cannot go into a partnership with God and lose.

Prior to that time, were you a member of any musical group?

Before that time, the only music I did was in my secondary school. It was during the fasting that God showed me what I would do.

And so you decided to keep all the certificates you’ve acquired in a wardrobe and take up music.

Yes, and the only certificate that I have added since then was the Bible College. I later joined the choir of my local parish.

What path do you think your career would have taken if you hadn’t a brother like Kenny Ogungbe?

He didn’t have a music label when I started. As a matter of fact, it was me who told him ‘let’s start a music label’. You see, after my encounter with God, which was in the UK, I called Keke, and he said ‘don’t just come back, come with songs.’ I came back with four songs, but he said they wouldn’t do well in the Nigerian market, so we had to get a Nigerian producer. Don’t forget all I had was a vision, and there was somebody who was willing to help transform that vision. That was when we did the song entitled ‘You’re worthy Lord’  The album was to be released on Sony Music, but when I told my brother that we could have a record label, he believed in me and the following day, he put the money down to register the company. At that time, he was doing his thing with D-One at Ray Power. But because I was anew act, we decided that we should start with a big artiste. After that, we brought Kingsley Ike of the  Wamilele fame, and then me. My brothers were dong the promotions, while I was in charge of hiring and training of staff. And what God told me had come to past.

Would you say your obedience to the GO’s call is responsible for your being a musician?

Yes, because while searching for jobs, I was always on Broad Street, Lagos, trying to go from one interview to the other. It was like when Peter and the rest were fruitlessly trying to catch fish. The more I looked for job, the more I became frustrated in looking for a job. Despite my MBA, I began to think there must be something else God has deposited in me.

With your MBA certificate, how did your mum react when she found out you wanted to do music?

We have a fantastic mother. She did nothing but to support me. It was like when I told her I wanted to go for my MBA, all she did was say ‘go girl’

Your mum has two sets of twins…

Cuts in… As a matter of fact, she has three sets. She had a set before Keke and Taiwo, but she lost the first set.

How do people in your neighbourhood call you?

My mum is called Iya Ibeji. And for us, it is Kehinde or Taiwo Agba and Kehinde or Taiwo Kekere. I am Kehinde Kekere, while Keke is Kehinde Agba.

How would you describe your family?

It’s a closely-knit family, and that is the way we are brought up. We support and encourage ourselves, such that if a cow drops in our midst, you wouldn’t see it. The kudos for this should go to my mother and our elder sister, Mrs. Moji Dokpesi, she would do anything to keep us united.

What’s the best advice Mama ever gave you?

My mum has separate advice for men and women. For us, she would say the woman’s husband is her work. She taught us to be independent. And that a woman must not rely on her husband for everything, that the woman must allow the world to see her husband’s financial nakedness, talkless of the children. That was the way all of us we brought up. And for her, a woman must not be idle, she must be found doing something. She does not believe that a woman should sit at home idle while her husband goes out to struggle to keep the home. And of course, she is so blessed that she has many celebrities as children.

Doesn’t she ask you for more grand-children?

But I have given her grandchildren. Don’t forget she is already 80 years old.

What if she asks you for more?

I have given her enough, and she is happy with that. Moreover, I don’t want to have more children because my career is demanding, and it doesn’t look like it’s leaving me anytime soon. I get younger every day, and the songs keep coming, so I’m still going to make lots of music, and making babies is not a priority.

If you have to cry, on whose shoulders would you lean?

I’m a loner. I cry alone. And when I cry, I don’t shout to the world to let them know about. Rather, I go out to seek laughter. Most times, the person I go to is my elder sister, Moji Dokpesi. I would have called her to let her know that I am depressed. She would laugh and urge me to come over. Being a woman with a large heart, she would definitely dwarf you depression, and whatever it is that took you to her would become so insignificant that you’ll leave her place a person. And don’t forget, you’ll never leave her empty-handed because she’ll drop a cheque in your hands.

How do you handle fame?

There are lots of things that I learnt from my sister, Mrs. Dokpesi. She is one woman that really taught me discipline. She taught me how to live a successful life. I cannot be around her and still remember that I am a celebrity. She taught us to always keep your celebrity lifestyle in your shoes. Don’t forget that I am her Kehinde Kekere. My life has gathered so many challenges and so many victories that I keep learning every day.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a musician?

I’ll definitely be a cook, an Alase(professional cook). I love cooking, as a matter of fact; I already have a outfit, the KSB Foods. We deliver foods and operate outdoor services.

Who did you learn how to cook?

My sister taught me how to cook good food. I mean foods you’ll eat, and you will never forget for the rest of your life. With me, I am mixing entertainment with cooking. Our menus are named after Nigerian celebrities. So you have meals like Don Jazzy or Genevieve.

What’s the best thing that ever happened to you?

The best that ever happened to me are my problems, my challenges.  They gave me my identity, and made me to rise above the problems with strengths that I didn’t know were laid inside of me. It these challenges and problems had not confronted me, I might simply have sat down on one spot. The challenges make me to aspire because I know that once I can solve them, I would move to the next level of my life. I hate to be lost in the crowd. I don’t like average life. I want problems that would make the big things in me to come out.

And what is the worst thing to have ever happened to you?

The worst thing to have ever happened to me was when I was five years old. I had an injection that resulted in abscess.  That makes me to limp on my left leg. But I have been able to rise above it and conquer my world, so much so that I set goals that nobody can surpass. Another one was when I was made to go to a teacher training school. Because I was somehow stubborn, I was punished to evacuate a dunghill. That was the first time I was leaving home, and the experience has stuck with me till today.

 How would you rate the Nigerian music industry?

The industry is amazing. We have done very well, and we are still doing very well. We are now rated as the best in Africa, that international stars want to work with us. Sunny Ade tried, Femi Kuti did very well, but you see, there is change from generation to generation. The hip-pop generation is now coming with so much ease, and it has caused so much impact on the entertainment industry. In the clubs, they now play Nigerian music. Radio stations now play Nigerian music 24 hours without repeating one music. That has brought endorsements, and Nigerian acts now live like successful acts anywhere in the world. We have compelled the world to dance to our music because we have refused to dance to anything that is not Nigerian. Now we have Nigerian acts travelling to Europe or Asia to do shows on a Friday and come back on Sunday, they fly first-class tickets. That is the level of the success that we have achieved. But we are not talking about the structure, we are talking about the contents, about the number and quality of music we have created and the impact we have made.