Close Up with Dannie Flame,Did he really turn down the Chocolate City deal?

Having come from a humble background, hip-Life sensation, Daniel peter obeche believes that education is very important because it helps to shape life positively. But he also believed that what he needed to learn about hip-life was not available within the four walls of the university..

Popularly known as Dannie Flame by his fans, Daniel peter obeche did his computer science course at Lagos State University and decided to pursue music full time. That decision had translated to his blockbuster hits, Nija Boiz and shake ur body.

The artiste who turned down the offer to be signed to Chocolate City,didnt  take it easy after releasing his debute single "carry dey go",He said "The songs was good with deep lyrics but i had no one to push it to the radio stations and  online stream."
when he started ,acts like Yemi alede, Jesse Jagz, and wizkid, phyno were now opening  up to The scene on his childhood days, how he came into music, challenges, and what he looks for in life,is another whole chapter you have to wait to listen in his new tune.
Background

I went to M.k.s.s lapai Niger state high School, I gained admission into Lagos State University to study computer science but I left and went into music. For me, education is quite important, if I didn't take out time to learn, I wouldn't be able to speak English language as I am speaking now. But I do not think what I need to learn is within the four walls of the school because I can make it anywhere else. That was why I left. It was quite difficult for me to pay the school fees. Though, if I had stayed, my father would have strive to pay the fees. I knew that I could prosper if I had time to do what I wanted to do, which was music. Basically, I was sure that I wanted to become a musician, instead of going to school.

Childhood days

I grew up in Niger state and I did not leave the area until I was 18 years old. It was after I became an adult that I went to other areas like Anambra and Lagos . Niger state is quite a fascinating area. It is a place for the rich, the middle class and the poor. I had friends whose parents were rich and lived in duplexes and I also had friends whose parents stayed in houses consisting of so many people but we all lived together in the area. I used to go out to play basketball with my friends even though I was not that tall. My mother used to tell me that as a child, I was very stubborn. If my father was not around, I could go out all day and play with my friends. I learnt a lot of things and made new friends in Niger state. I still go there to visit some of my old friends, and get fond memories of the area. I was there last year for the street carnival that takes place every December.

Musical interest

In 2005, I was in JSS3/SSS1 and I used to write songs then. In 2006, I started to write music for my friends and later I got sponsorship. Basically, I started by singing for other students. During break time, I would go to other classes and while standing on the chair do some beats and sing for the students. I grew up in a home where my parents listened to a lot of  reggae songs and it made me pick interest in music.

 I also grew up in the church . As I grew up, I had new ideas and I had deep love for singing and writing. My mother would listen to a lot of songs and put her own melodies in the lyrics and I grasped how she put words together, which has helped me in my career.

In 2007/2008, 1 recorded my first single and it was the first song that I ever wrote.CARRY DEY GO, i didn’t get it right, i was down for a beat and stopped rehearsing and later started again. I started having problems and it became difficult for me 

I remember then that I had a lot of Afro pop influence and listened to a lot of songs by tuface,p-square,Sean Paul,and  timaya ,so I wanted to go that line, to sing. I recorded "carry dey go" but the song did not , I thought that the most beautiful way to come out as an artiste was to sing the way tuface. So, I did that and two things happened. Firstly, people in Niger state whom I thought would not like the song, liked it and I had to do the distribution myself. I sold more than 1000 copies on my own within the first six months of release, so that spurred me into doing more. Even though the song was great, it did not make waves in the country then. That made me to know that if I wanted to do a good songs, I really needed to go out there and introduce myself to the people. If people get to meet me, they would like my song. So, I waited until when the opportunity came. The carry me go song was a risk that I took and it definitely paid off.

I remember then that I had a lot of Afro pop influence and listened to a lot of songs by tuface,p-square,Sean Paul,and  timaya ,so I wanted to go that line, to sing. I recorded "carry dey go" but the song did not , I thought that the most beautiful way to come out as an artiste was to sing the way tuface. So, I did that and two things happened. Firstly, people in Niger state whom I thought would not like the song, liked it and I had to do the distribution myself. I sold more than 1000 copies on my own within the first six months of release, so that spurred me into doing more. Even though the song was great, it did not make waves in the country then. That made me to know that if I wanted to do a good songs, I really needed to go out there and introduce myself to the people. If people get to meet me, they would like my song. So, I waited until when the opportunity came. The carry me go song was a risk that I took and it definitely paid off.

My kind of music

There is an element of life in my songs, so also Afro-pop  but it is easier for me to call it hip-life because of the medium of getting across to the people in my native language . Nobody will invite an artiste to come to a function and perform a sad song. But rather, you have to make people happy with your songs. With that, people will know if you are really good in what you do or not.

Challenges

The first challenge that I faced was being able to create a new song and made people know that the song was from me. People should be able to say that it is a nice song and it is different from the first one. There must be a story to back up the new song for people to know that there is a difference between the songs. Another challenge is how to sustain my voice. I don’t take cold water or oily foods when I am to perform on stage because it stiffens my voice.

Lowest and highest moments

The lowest moment was in 2009 at a live performance in I.B.B university Lapai, I was hoping to have a great show but when I got on stage, I lost my voice because of stage fright. On that particularly day, I couldn't start at all because the keyboardists were playing off-key, the drummer was playing too fast and the music was too fast. I couldn't pick the key and when I sang, I sang off-key. I started the performance again, and it was the same thing four times. Unfortunately, the show was aired live on  466664 Freedom Radio Nigeria and it was something that I worried about. It killed my morale for close to a month before I picked up and came out of that state.

On music industry

Nigerian music industry is emerging and I remember what the industry has done in the last 10 years. In 1999, we had musicians like Plantation Boyz and they laid the foundation for pop music. One thing that we have failed to do is to realize that musicians that were before us were part of our history. There is a little more that we can do in terms of strengthening the music industry. Young artistes must know what happened to great artistes like King Sunny Ade, and the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, how they played their music and it must be structured so that we can learn about Nigerian music. That way, we will grow instead of teaching us about foreign musicians.

Relationship with other artistes

I have a good relationship with other young and upcoming artistes in the country. We do meet at different functions and clubs where we party together and have fun.

Role models

Over the years, the number of my role models has increased. My mother once told me that ‘Ogbon lo gbon, aki se ogbon’ meaning ‘nobody is smart, while wait for people to come and give you ideas when you can get ideas from people’. It is always easier to learn from other people but it is more difficult to learn if people need to teach you what you need to do. It is really difficult for me to say, this is my role model but everybody out there who is making waves in his/her field is my role model. Everybody that I have read about and is doing well is my role model.

How I relax

I stay at home and play video games, I watch a lot of movies and listen to songs and I hang out with friends, drink sometimes. I don’t drink excessively, as much as I don’t call myself a saint, I like moderation so that I can continue tomorrow and not have hangover for a few days.

Future plans

I intend to make more music as much as I can and perform before a large audience. If it is possible for me to play music for people living in Mars, then I will like to play music for them. I just want to make more music that people will love.

Find More About him  on facebook:Dannie Flame  twitter:@mrflame244 instagram: @dannie_flame24