We are Back and Better – X-Project

At a time in the music industry where people were yearning for Hip hop songs of Nigerian content, X-Project came out bustling with the hit song, Lo rile in 2008 and the song was on the air waves for a long period. X-Project later faded off the music scene but are now back and stronger with a new video titled Azuka. The men behind the group are Sierra Leoneans and they came to Nigeria as refugees turning their disappointment into a blessing with the gift of music. SAAL (Sallieu Sindi) and SLEZ (Aziz Kamara) spoke to SAMUEL ABULUDE on their music, female fans and their lifestyles

Our Rebirth

Yes, rebirth, I think that’s the right word. We are a rebranded X-Project. We have been working, doing shows outside Nigeria, making music with producers. So, we are back with our new album which is yet to be released and a video of a single which should be out any time from now and then, the album would follow later. It is a nice video. Had it been you have set eyes on that video, you would know what I’m talking about. It’s titled Azuka, a very strong video directed by Clarence Peters.

For the singles in the album, we recorded like 35 songs but we will be selecting either 13 or 15 songs. For Azuka, it’s just a single and we worked with Chris Okoro, Ubi Track, Cacium, OJB Jezreel and Silverstone. We also worked with TY Mix and a couple of producers.

We have released three singles, ‘Azuka’, ‘What’s your flavor’ featuring Olamide, ‘He lied’ featuring Pokaface but Azuka is the one we decided to shoot the video. Azuka has an afro beat pattern and a unique video. We used European garage so you should be expecting something different. We used Nigerian pidgin and a beat of English then the chorus was in Igbo. It’s a great song and we know our fans will love it. 

 Now, X-Project is a new package coming out with 13 or 15 songs in our upcoming album. We just want the best out of X-project that’s why we recorded enough songs. After Azuka, there is going to be another single, so that people will see more of X-project. Music lovers should watch out for the rebranded X-Project.

X-Project has gone stronger           

Since our hit song, ‘Lo rile‘ came on the scene five years ago, we have been going from strength to strength just as the Nigerian music industry has been. The business has just been improving from time to time. X-project has been together since 2000. That is 13 years ago. Though we used to be three, the other guy left us and we have bonded together more because we believe in the project.

The third guy, Majid, left us in 2011. As regards making a lot of money from Lorile, we thank God, we cannot complain. We have been performing shows in and outside the country though we didn’t make noise about it. We have been able to do stuffs but we would have wanted to make more money then. Our album should come out end of this year or early next year but we just want to drop singles now before the album

Relationship with our female fans

On his personality, SAAL says, he’s a very quiet person and reserved. “I am highly disciplined and hardly make friends. But when I make friends, I owe them. I’m a very observant person. (But you party hard? Our correspondent enquired).  As an artiste, you have to party hard because that’s our business. If you don’t party, you won’t get anything. Going to clubs even helps you as an artiste. You need to look like it and network with people. Our own business has to do with clubbing, meeting girls. Ladies indeed are the ingredients of their business business like maggi and soup. So, how do you draw the line? If our female fans want to take it further, I draw the line. I am that kind of person that cannot pretend. If it is business, it is business. But if I notice that you want to take it beyond the normal friendship, I draw the line.

SLEZ, the hard looking guy among the two says that in everything you have to look diplomatic about it because they are your fans. Though they want to cross the line, you have to make them feel that they are the best thing that ever happened to you. So, we have to deal with them nicely. We have a lot of them but we know how to handle them. You can’t judge a man by his facial appearance because you see me with a Goatie or a Man-United jersey doesn’t mean that I can play football. When you come close to the person, you know better. So, same thing about me. You might be thinking that I am the hardest guy. That is how life is. But truly, I am the kind of person that likes mingling with people. I like pushing around people. I like sitting down where things are happening.

Great moments

Thirteen years down the line, the high point for us was when we were nominated for KORA awards in 2009 alongside P-Square and Tu Face Idibia, Asa and Sasha. Though we didn’t win it, we were elated at being nominated which was a big thing. Now, we want to win a KORA and take it further, they submitted.  With the industry bubbling with an array of new music stars that are grabbing the moment and making it theirs, the 2nd coming of the X-Project may prove difficult but they don’t share that notion. 

We have gone through the difficult moments. We’ve been working on this album for years and with all the singles that we have recorded now, the trend of music and what’s happening now is reflected in our works. In our own way, we’ve passed through that period and its challenges. The question now is, how are we going to blend? The job is done now and the rest is for the hearers of our song to judge us.

Our Success

Lorile was indeed a hit then and we became successful, no doubt. We thank God but we can’t compare that time to now. if Lorile was a now song, X-Project would have been an endorsed artiste. But then, there was money but that aspect of music, the benefit was not in Nigeria then. If Lorile was now, our names would have been on the billboards and everywhere. Most of the artistes that released hits after that time are in money now.

SLEZ says: since when I was 15 years old and in Secondary school, I decided to be a singer. I started thinking that I can sing because I was a strong fan of R. Kelly, Joe and was singing their songs. Someone told me, you have a great voice and I was encouraged and later started singing. Earlier, our parents didn’t support us. “You that are supposed to be in school, you want to be singing about, let me see how you will do it?” they challenged us.

In the beginning, it was hard. Before, you sang for nothing. You sing just to make people feel that you can sing and then you are happy.

SAAL says: At the time, you make your first million, you get so excited. Someone that didn’t use to hold, say N50, 000. Then, he’s given a cheque of N300,000 or N400,000, that excitement. You feel that you have arrived but that moment is the most difficult moment because that is your starting point. You may go back to zero level if you are not able to manage it. For now, music is our main stay and other things connected to it. We sleep, drink music. For our fans, we have been cooking, so it’s time to get to the dinner. 

 Most embarrassing moment

SLEZ: Personally, it was a time that I was singing to somebody at the refugee camp in Ogun State. I was reprimanded, “Is that what you want to do? Why can’t you do something else? Your mates are out there doing something else and you are saying you want to sing”. I was so disappointed and wondered why people were thinking like that. But I thank God for now that I have something to show for it.

SAAL: I have a lot of great moments like when we won the best Hip Hop Song of the Year at the Nigeria Music Awards (NMA) 2008 in Imo State. My most memorable moment was when they gave us the award.