Gingering his Swagger


The venue for the interview is dark, so dark that I hardly notice Gabriel Oche Amanyi a.k.a Terry G arrive at the Oregun venue for our interview. The last time we met at the Yaba-based Veritas studio in the company of Charly Boy and Rugged Man, he was sporting a low cut and exuding tons of potential. Years on and he has proven his mettle by surpassing pervious expectations. And he swears there is more to come in his current re-branding campaign which inspired his shock of dreadlocks and a lip piercing.
“I don’t want them to see me like they see them and I will keep doing what I have to do for Nigerian music,” explains the Benue indigene who has never set foot in his home-state. “I have never been to Benue because I was born in Lagos and grew up in Iju where I spent all my life. Also, I never had the opportunity to be posh but my parents were hard-working. I am just a person who discovered that at the end of the day, it is someone like me that can help me because a rich man will only help a rich man.”
This inference is contestable, but views on him resembling Congolese singer Awilo with the new look are not. He laughs as this conjecture while explaining that he and his quartet of protégés are all for peace.
“What we’re here for is peace and by the grace of God I will create peace because controversies have been around but we are here for the re-branding of Terry G and house of ginjah so people will know that Terry G us a different person from when they see him.”
This is laughable but probable as he has more stories than a book. From singing back-up for artist Faze, he is on the road to becoming a heavyweight in the music business via personal hits and music productions. And he has made it happen for the so-called big names that were up there when he started out with gospel which remains his first love.
“The reason I went secular is the need for comfort. We needed comfort in my family and as the first born, I have to struggle. If you do carpentry and it doesn’t work, you do something else. It doesn’t mean I won’t go back because that is the root and certain times, you have to do some things before going back to the Lord,” waxed the singer religiously.
Some things for Terry G include his quiver of albums. From “Free Me”, he has raised the bar with others like Free Madness, a headline catching song that has proved his critics wrong.
“Free Me was a responsible album and one that I took time to do with zeal and passion but it did not make any impact because no matter how you sing or how professional you are, there are other people that sing like you,” he adds emphatically. “So how do you make a difference? For me personally, the message of Ginjah your swagger is adding zeal to what you do. The ginjah is the zeal and the swagger is what you do. That is the reason why I changed my style.”
His style has also attracted a diary of caustic events as tales of fights, arrests and other unsavoury episodes have stuck closer than his shadow. Terry G agrees but is quick to explain why anybody believing all the allegations would also believe anything.
“The reason is because I am obvious and if I was not, there would be no controversy. When you are in public, you act like a leader because if you do not act like a leader, you lack the ginger. Right now, I am a good boy and as the first born of a deaconess and elder, I have to act responsible. If I am going home, I leave all the things I do outside behind. Seeing in believing but there are other things people should see.”
This is hard especially when he balances popularity and notoriety in an uncanny fashion. Recent episodes include the alleged stabbing of a DJ, his issues with Mallam Spicy and the ban by the national association of Nigerian students (NANS)
“Mallam spicy is a very good friend of my and a colleague,” recalls Terry G with a nostalgic mien. “In my former residence he used to live with me in the studio and we would record songs and he was the only one I featured on my first album because he was a very good friend to me. I know him very well and do not have any conflict with him, but this is a mistake that I regret throughout my life because if I knew that song would become a hit, I wouldn’t have even done that song because it was stolen and later became a hit. That is why the question on our relationship keeps coming up. It was the biggest mistake of my life. It was just a free style with no bad intentions but with the market and all that, we have not gotten to a level like they do in the US. We have no grudges at all and are just trying to make money but a mistake can create something.”
On his recent nationwide campus ban, he feels much of the reports had been embellished even after he had re-paid in excess of what the organisers initially gave him to perform at the Benin show.
“We all know how student shows are but you have to support them because they are your strongest fan base. We had an agreement for them to book business-class tickets and we missed out flight and the show because they didn’t book business-class. There is no musician that has not missed a show before and we made refunds after. Around 20 policemen came to my place a week later and I told them to go since I would report to the station at Ikeja later. The student expenses came up to over million and I paid the money because I did not want any stain. Right now, it is not my fault because I see no reason why I am coming for a show and they did not do the necessary things.”
The dark clouds seem to have failed in eroding his popularity as the singer still has fans that would even go as far as stabbing a club DJ on his behalf.
“I was at the club on the day of the DJ issue. I just came back from trip and went to a club to hang out. The deejay was playing the Mallam Spicy song and a fan stood up and told him to stop. It was a fan’s reaction and they both started a fight and I had to run away from that place.”
Terry admits to not being a runner. He argues that if he were, he would have packed it in during his climb to the top as a back-up singer, a period of glitches and rejection from those who were reigning then.
“These developments are not because I went through a whole lot to get here because people plenty wey suffer pass me,” remarks the former back-up singer. “The unexpected controversies are the one that come up more. The reason is because I am obvious and if I was not, there would be no controversy.”
With a new album in the offing and a band of future stars under his wing, he feels the best is yet to come for him and his future stars of D Money, Rakwell, I.Q and Prince Banton. “This is a new brand and we have not dropped the album yet. For now, I am obvious and I will use my talent to ensure things happen for them soon,” vows the ginjah projenitor.” Free Madness will also birth another sequel as if his words are true. “The reason why it is free madness is because it is freestyle and a madman does not have a bus stop because he keeps going. I am not mad but that is the orientation I am using for my music. When part one came, there was no plan for a hit, just like part two. Finally, I will do part four featuring top Nigerian acts and part three will feature the House of gingah and we will do it anyhow.”
The lewd lyrics also have the recurrent tunes and fumes of marijuana which symbolises many things for him.
“Marijuana means the highest because people that smoke it say it makes them high,” raves Terry G. “Fela was the highest intellectual and did so many things. He was not inspired by what he did but what he wanted to do. I am glad this impression works out and it is like acting but there is nothing like the real Terry G. This is my own Yahoo Yahoo. The hair is also part of it and the desire to make sure people do not get tired of seeing me.”
One cannot fault this enthusiasm. Ditto his hopes for clinching more awards while making sonorous tunes with Tu Face and Faze.
“Everyone prays to be successful in life and right now, I give thanks to award organisers. This is a political world and the highest award is from God because you can be disappointed by men. Sometimes you need to create an image and people have to see you for who you are. I would like my fans to have some patience because at the end of the day, they will see that I am versatile. I have produced for these artists but for now there is no song because I know I will always do something with them.”