The sensationally Acapella and blues Singer Who make their first hit song entitled, Olufunmi,in 2003.The group that fallen apart early this year after a long silence. Styl Plus (Shifi Omoefe, Zeal Onyecheme and Tunde Akinsanmi), as Tunde has finally walk away from the famous group. Shifi and Zeal goodbye due to what insiders have described as irreconcilable differences after 10 years of doing music together, in love and brotherhood.
National Daily spoke with Shifi and Zeal, and for the first time after the split, they opened up on all that transpired. Shifi said Everybody is capable of being on his own. If one person leaves a group where everybody can even stand on his own, I don't see the remaining two being affected in anywhere. When it comes to making good songs, yes, we can make good songs. The absence of Tunde does not in any way affect Styl Plus as a brand Zeal added.
Shifi and Zeal said :We just concluded the recording of our latest musical work which will be out pretty soon. Apart from that, we are also trying to be a little bit more in public now unlike before. Generally, we are very private people, and lots of people take it to mean we don't want to be involved in the daily running of the industry; simply because they don't see us talking or granting interviews. So now, we have decided to come out of that shell, and try as much as possible to be heard, to be in the social circle, as expected by both colleagues and fans. People are going to see more of Styl Plus very soon. A couple of videos are also about coming out. So Nigerians should again watch out for Styl Plus.
Style Plus told National Daily that :There was never a time we left Lagos. We are artistes and our jobs take us to so many places. We can go to Port Harcourt for instance and stay for almost six months because of the nature of the job. So there was never a time we left Lagos. We have always been in and out.
The group revealed that :Everybody is capable of being on his own. If one person leaves a group where everybody can even start on his own, I don't see the remaining two being affected in anywhere. When it comes to making a good song, yes, we can make good songs. The absence of Tunde in anyway does not affect the brand.
Our reporter was told that :The truth is that for someone to decide to quit from a group might not necessarily mean there was any quarrel, it might just be a career decision. I think he decided to go his way. There wasn't any fight. The truth is that we have not exchanged any words since then, it was a career decision and we respect that. He is in a better position to explain his decision because as far as I am concerned, I see it as a career decision. As at the last time we were interviewed, the impression was that we were still together, but we were not.There wasn't anything like that. Even since he left, there are still some money that come in from our past group effort which we still share amicably. Basically, the truth is that Tunde has left the group but Styl Plus as a group is still waxing stronger.
The issue is that there is never a success without hard work. So all we do is to come out with good songs, while at same time pray to God to crown our efforts.
Even before entering the studio to record we do pray; we also pray at the end of the recording. Of course we are Christians who believe and have so much faith in the miraculous God. So why won't we pray?Basically we don't like being compared. If you ask me I will say it is not the appropriate time for comparison. Styl Plus is still active and some members of the defunct Platashun boiz are also still very active? So I think the comparison should come at the end of our careers, not now. You cannot read anybody's mind. I can only hold on to what Zeal is telling me, but I don't know his mind. Personally, the only reason I am singing is because I like singing, I have never wanted to be like anybody. I have no intention of singing alone. I would rather do contract jobs than to go singing alone Shifi said. I can't imagine myself singing alone. Though there is nothing wrong in it, but that is just me ,Zeal said Nobody is promised tomorrow. It's only by God's grace that we would all live to see that tomorrow, and man proposes but God disposes. There was something we saw in each other back when we started as a group. So basically, I don't want to sing alone. We are cool together.
Shifi said the most important thing he missed about Tunde is the Acapella on stage! If we are going to bring in someone just because of Acapella and start sharing our money, the person should better stay back oh. The truth is that the people inviting us to shows are not doing so because of Acapella. Though we've not thought about this, but if we are going to bring in someone to join the group, the person will really be exceptional in the art of music.
Zeal expressed that to be very candid, if you had asked me this question about two years ago, I would have had something to say. The truth is that we haven't been close for a while. It's like you are married to a woman and you live abroad while she lives in Nigeria, and suddenly, you divorce and someone would ask you what you miss about her. You wouldn't even know what you missed because there wasn't much closeness for long.
Shifi stated that we all had nice times. There wasn't quarrel. At appoint he got married and had new priorities, new responsibilities; so he couldn't for instance hang out with us anymore. For long the closeness wasn't there. Even brothers and sisters at a time might not be as close as they used to be, even without any problem.As for us, nothing has changed. It is all about Styl Plus and being focused. The group is waxing stronger.
Style Plus comment that the industry wouldn't work if new acts do not come in. There is no way the likes of Stephen Keshi would have been playing for Super Eagles till date. When we became popular we were in our early twenties, now we are in our mid thirties. So there is no way you can expect all of us that started this far back including Ruggedman, Tuface and others to still remain the only artistes around. There must be evolution. It is the new guys that will come up with new ideas that will fire up the older ones. The issue of being threatened by that singular fact does not exist.
You still look as young as you were looking years back when you started, what is the secret?
(Laughter). The truth is that we take good care of ourselves. A lot of people age simply because of stress and not having enough time to take care of their selves. You see someone waking up by 5am to go to work and end up retuning home by 11pm because of hold up. The stress in most people's lives is just too much. So as for us, we try as much as possible to allot time to take care of ourselves. I think that is just the secret. We are also fortunate enough to indulge in sports activities.
A lot of people believe too much of sex could make one age faster; does that mean you don't engage much in sex?
I (Shifi) don't even believe the postulation that sex makes one age faster. All those porn stars even look younger than you and I (Laughter). I once saw someone looking so young and I asked, what is the secret? And the person said 'good sex'. Believe me, that is another view.
So good sex is your secret?
I don't know. I never said that. (Laughter)
Talking about relaxation; what do you relax with-smoke, alcohol, or sex?
Sex is not part of chilling. I don't see sex as a form of recreation. How can one just wake up and say let's go and look for girls to have sex with? I don't think it's something we can do because we've never done it. There could be other vices we indulge but not casual sex
We’ve been working with the government-FCT-since 2008 on a particular project. The project is still on. It's not all about the money; I think it has to do with giving back to the society because the youth is involved in the project. Whether we like it or not, Abuja is our home, even though we have a house in Lagos now. Two of us are from Delta state, but our career kicks off while in Abuja.
What is the project all about?
It's to bring together youths that are in the performing art, including dancers, comedians, and musicians. It's all about young people that are talented. We gather these youths; train them through both seminars and whatever other means available, and at the end find event for them to perform so that they get paid. The whole idea is to gainfully engage the youths, to get talented Nigerians off the street, especially those in Abuja. The theme of the programme is 'The Ambassadors'. The long term goal is to have the Abuja Talent Academy.
How do you cope with the avalanche of female admirers?
I (Shifi) have reached an age where most of my friends around my age are either married or thinking of marriage. My answer to this question would have been more interesting if you had asked me years back. But now I have become more disciplined. I do things now with the hope that when I get married tomorrow it won't affect me. So that I wouldn't live a different life and expect different standard from my wife.
What about you Zeal?
Basically, ladies are our selling point, so we treat them nicely (Laughter).
Style Plus has come a long way; what has kept you going for almost a decade?
We hear this every day. It is God. But the fact is that music is not just money making venture all the way. So the fact that we love what we do has kept us going. Music is like life to us. And it is always music before every other thing. So the passion for the job is there.
You've not been heard from for some time now. Do you have any fear whether your next work will be accepted?
Like we said earlier on, music for us is love and passion. We love doing it. For our fans who have not been hearing from us they should take it that way because we are also music lovers. We actually take our time to do our work before it's being heard. For now they should expect the best from us whenever they hear from us because we don't come out to make nonsense noise.
Shifi this is my first time of meeting you, tell me about yourself
My full name is Shifi Emoefe. My mother is from cross river. I have two elder sisters. I did my primary school in Abuja; secondary school in Jos, University in Akure , where I read Quantity Survey. I served in Abuja and I play professional basketball. In 2003 I worked with Aluminum Company till 2004. It was when I was working that we made the first hit. Then I left and began business after which I stopped a while to give way for our record.
Before meeting your group members, when did you start singing professionally?
I started back in secondary school. But I started to take music serious in 1998.
Who were your earliest influences?
My earliest influence was Michael Jackson.
Tell me about yourself Zeal
My full name is Oyecheme Zeal. I'm from Aniocha LGA in Delta state. I did my primary education in Lagos. My secondary school was at Saint John's College after which I moved to Ondo State. I attended several schools to complete my secondary school. Then I moved to Federal University of Technology, Akure where I read Crop Production and Pest management.
How did you guys met?
We met at FUTA. It was in the school that everything started.
Where you still in the school when your first album came out?
No, we've left school when it came out.
Were you expecting the stardom that came with the album?
I was not expecting anything but I knew we were good. I am not trying to blow our trumpet. I knew people were going to like the album but I never knew it will be this much.
What stands you guys out? What makes Styl Plus thick?
It is our understanding of music. A lot of people go into the music with the voice but they don't have the good understanding of what they are doing. Most times a lot of what you hear is from the producer they worked with. Apart from that, we are very real people; we are not just after money.
National Daily spoke with Shifi and Zeal, and for the first time after the split, they opened up on all that transpired. Shifi said Everybody is capable of being on his own. If one person leaves a group where everybody can even stand on his own, I don't see the remaining two being affected in anywhere. When it comes to making good songs, yes, we can make good songs. The absence of Tunde does not in any way affect Styl Plus as a brand Zeal added.
Shifi and Zeal said :We just concluded the recording of our latest musical work which will be out pretty soon. Apart from that, we are also trying to be a little bit more in public now unlike before. Generally, we are very private people, and lots of people take it to mean we don't want to be involved in the daily running of the industry; simply because they don't see us talking or granting interviews. So now, we have decided to come out of that shell, and try as much as possible to be heard, to be in the social circle, as expected by both colleagues and fans. People are going to see more of Styl Plus very soon. A couple of videos are also about coming out. So Nigerians should again watch out for Styl Plus.
Style Plus told National Daily that :There was never a time we left Lagos. We are artistes and our jobs take us to so many places. We can go to Port Harcourt for instance and stay for almost six months because of the nature of the job. So there was never a time we left Lagos. We have always been in and out.
The group revealed that :Everybody is capable of being on his own. If one person leaves a group where everybody can even start on his own, I don't see the remaining two being affected in anywhere. When it comes to making a good song, yes, we can make good songs. The absence of Tunde in anyway does not affect the brand.
Our reporter was told that :The truth is that for someone to decide to quit from a group might not necessarily mean there was any quarrel, it might just be a career decision. I think he decided to go his way. There wasn't any fight. The truth is that we have not exchanged any words since then, it was a career decision and we respect that. He is in a better position to explain his decision because as far as I am concerned, I see it as a career decision. As at the last time we were interviewed, the impression was that we were still together, but we were not.There wasn't anything like that. Even since he left, there are still some money that come in from our past group effort which we still share amicably. Basically, the truth is that Tunde has left the group but Styl Plus as a group is still waxing stronger.
The issue is that there is never a success without hard work. So all we do is to come out with good songs, while at same time pray to God to crown our efforts.
Even before entering the studio to record we do pray; we also pray at the end of the recording. Of course we are Christians who believe and have so much faith in the miraculous God. So why won't we pray?Basically we don't like being compared. If you ask me I will say it is not the appropriate time for comparison. Styl Plus is still active and some members of the defunct Platashun boiz are also still very active? So I think the comparison should come at the end of our careers, not now. You cannot read anybody's mind. I can only hold on to what Zeal is telling me, but I don't know his mind. Personally, the only reason I am singing is because I like singing, I have never wanted to be like anybody. I have no intention of singing alone. I would rather do contract jobs than to go singing alone Shifi said. I can't imagine myself singing alone. Though there is nothing wrong in it, but that is just me ,Zeal said Nobody is promised tomorrow. It's only by God's grace that we would all live to see that tomorrow, and man proposes but God disposes. There was something we saw in each other back when we started as a group. So basically, I don't want to sing alone. We are cool together.
Shifi said the most important thing he missed about Tunde is the Acapella on stage! If we are going to bring in someone just because of Acapella and start sharing our money, the person should better stay back oh. The truth is that the people inviting us to shows are not doing so because of Acapella. Though we've not thought about this, but if we are going to bring in someone to join the group, the person will really be exceptional in the art of music.
Zeal expressed that to be very candid, if you had asked me this question about two years ago, I would have had something to say. The truth is that we haven't been close for a while. It's like you are married to a woman and you live abroad while she lives in Nigeria, and suddenly, you divorce and someone would ask you what you miss about her. You wouldn't even know what you missed because there wasn't much closeness for long.
Shifi stated that we all had nice times. There wasn't quarrel. At appoint he got married and had new priorities, new responsibilities; so he couldn't for instance hang out with us anymore. For long the closeness wasn't there. Even brothers and sisters at a time might not be as close as they used to be, even without any problem.As for us, nothing has changed. It is all about Styl Plus and being focused. The group is waxing stronger.
Style Plus comment that the industry wouldn't work if new acts do not come in. There is no way the likes of Stephen Keshi would have been playing for Super Eagles till date. When we became popular we were in our early twenties, now we are in our mid thirties. So there is no way you can expect all of us that started this far back including Ruggedman, Tuface and others to still remain the only artistes around. There must be evolution. It is the new guys that will come up with new ideas that will fire up the older ones. The issue of being threatened by that singular fact does not exist.
You still look as young as you were looking years back when you started, what is the secret?
(Laughter). The truth is that we take good care of ourselves. A lot of people age simply because of stress and not having enough time to take care of their selves. You see someone waking up by 5am to go to work and end up retuning home by 11pm because of hold up. The stress in most people's lives is just too much. So as for us, we try as much as possible to allot time to take care of ourselves. I think that is just the secret. We are also fortunate enough to indulge in sports activities.
A lot of people believe too much of sex could make one age faster; does that mean you don't engage much in sex?
I (Shifi) don't even believe the postulation that sex makes one age faster. All those porn stars even look younger than you and I (Laughter). I once saw someone looking so young and I asked, what is the secret? And the person said 'good sex'. Believe me, that is another view.
So good sex is your secret?
I don't know. I never said that. (Laughter)
Talking about relaxation; what do you relax with-smoke, alcohol, or sex?
Sex is not part of chilling. I don't see sex as a form of recreation. How can one just wake up and say let's go and look for girls to have sex with? I don't think it's something we can do because we've never done it. There could be other vices we indulge but not casual sex
We’ve been working with the government-FCT-since 2008 on a particular project. The project is still on. It's not all about the money; I think it has to do with giving back to the society because the youth is involved in the project. Whether we like it or not, Abuja is our home, even though we have a house in Lagos now. Two of us are from Delta state, but our career kicks off while in Abuja.
What is the project all about?
It's to bring together youths that are in the performing art, including dancers, comedians, and musicians. It's all about young people that are talented. We gather these youths; train them through both seminars and whatever other means available, and at the end find event for them to perform so that they get paid. The whole idea is to gainfully engage the youths, to get talented Nigerians off the street, especially those in Abuja. The theme of the programme is 'The Ambassadors'. The long term goal is to have the Abuja Talent Academy.
How do you cope with the avalanche of female admirers?
I (Shifi) have reached an age where most of my friends around my age are either married or thinking of marriage. My answer to this question would have been more interesting if you had asked me years back. But now I have become more disciplined. I do things now with the hope that when I get married tomorrow it won't affect me. So that I wouldn't live a different life and expect different standard from my wife.
What about you Zeal?
Basically, ladies are our selling point, so we treat them nicely (Laughter).
Style Plus has come a long way; what has kept you going for almost a decade?
We hear this every day. It is God. But the fact is that music is not just money making venture all the way. So the fact that we love what we do has kept us going. Music is like life to us. And it is always music before every other thing. So the passion for the job is there.
You've not been heard from for some time now. Do you have any fear whether your next work will be accepted?
Like we said earlier on, music for us is love and passion. We love doing it. For our fans who have not been hearing from us they should take it that way because we are also music lovers. We actually take our time to do our work before it's being heard. For now they should expect the best from us whenever they hear from us because we don't come out to make nonsense noise.
Shifi this is my first time of meeting you, tell me about yourself
My full name is Shifi Emoefe. My mother is from cross river. I have two elder sisters. I did my primary school in Abuja; secondary school in Jos, University in Akure , where I read Quantity Survey. I served in Abuja and I play professional basketball. In 2003 I worked with Aluminum Company till 2004. It was when I was working that we made the first hit. Then I left and began business after which I stopped a while to give way for our record.
Before meeting your group members, when did you start singing professionally?
I started back in secondary school. But I started to take music serious in 1998.
Who were your earliest influences?
My earliest influence was Michael Jackson.
Tell me about yourself Zeal
My full name is Oyecheme Zeal. I'm from Aniocha LGA in Delta state. I did my primary education in Lagos. My secondary school was at Saint John's College after which I moved to Ondo State. I attended several schools to complete my secondary school. Then I moved to Federal University of Technology, Akure where I read Crop Production and Pest management.
How did you guys met?
We met at FUTA. It was in the school that everything started.
Where you still in the school when your first album came out?
No, we've left school when it came out.
Were you expecting the stardom that came with the album?
I was not expecting anything but I knew we were good. I am not trying to blow our trumpet. I knew people were going to like the album but I never knew it will be this much.
What stands you guys out? What makes Styl Plus thick?
It is our understanding of music. A lot of people go into the music with the voice but they don't have the good understanding of what they are doing. Most times a lot of what you hear is from the producer they worked with. Apart from that, we are very real people; we are not just after money.
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