Tony Ogaga
one of Nigeria's most widely wide-spread gospel musicians, Tim Godfrey, is at it again. After a a hit world tour closing 12 months, he's returned domestic to stage the fourth version of his annual concert: Fearless.
Having introduced internationally acclaimed Mavin Sapp, Kirk Franklin and Travis Greene to Nigeria in old variants, this 12 months and exactly on Sunday June sixteen, he's elevating the stakes through bringing Israel Houghton, J.J Hairston and Phil Thompson to perform at Eko inns and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
"The exciting component about Fearless is that it isn't just a song live performance but also a mix of performing and dancing. it is for the younger and ancient, and designed to encourage them with a view to take that bold step in opposition t their goals. we are saying that they may still now not be overwhelmed with their screw ups or where they are coming from. i am a testimony because i was once very broke and that i didn't have sandals to put on to college. I hawked barefoot in Kaduna, and at some aspect, i used to be so negative I became a houseboy… I walked the streets of Kaduna selling bananas, coconut and different stuff. Even my first night in Lagos was spent beneath the bridge at Oshodi however I did not allow that to have an effect on my dream," he referred to.
during this chat, Tim Godfrey opens up on his profession, life's challenges and the way he just about dedicated suicide amongst different interesting considerations. relish it.
What are your plans for 2019?
For the maiden version of my annual concert, Fearless in 2016, we brought Mavin Sapp, and right here 12 months, we brought Kirk Franklin. In 2018, we introduced Travis Greene and did a collabo with Nara, which garnered over 20 million views on YouTube.
For 2019, we're raising the stakes by bringing Israel Houghton, J.J Hairston and Phil Thompson to Eko hotels and Suites on June 16. The entertaining thing about Fearless is that it isn't just a tune live performance but additionally a combination of appearing and dancing. it is for the young and historic, and designed to motivate them with a purpose to take that daring step towards their goals. we are announcing that they should still no longer be overwhelmed with their screw ups or where they're coming from. i am an affidavit as a result of i used to be once very broke and i did not have sandals to wear to faculty. I hawked barefoot in Kaduna, and at some element, i used to be so bad I grew to be a houseboy for about three years. I walked the streets of Kaduna selling bananas, coconut and different stuff. Even my first nighttime in Lagos turned into spent beneath the bridge at Oshodi however I didn't enable that to affect my dream. I confronted many challenges when I begun. I los t my dad over twenty years ago and there become nothing to encourage me. I found that, in case you can accept as true with in yourself and agree with in God and battle for your desires, now not looking back or cutting corners, you may be triumphant. definitely, the moment you inform me that some thing is not working, it really is exactly what I want to do. everyone was working far from combating Goliath however David went there and located God's favour.
At Fearless, we tell people to take on their challenges. And for me, taking the concert to Eko resorts and having the entire international artistes, together with A-listing artistes in Nigeria and my chums from the movie and comedy industry on the adventure, it's going to be a bang! This 12 months's version might be a million times greater and we are looking forward to it.
we have a couple of tours internationally – from Canada to the us and Europe. The yr 2018 turned into tremendous. I trust that 2019 should be plenty improved and we shall touch extra lives, encourage more americans, and most significantly, problem people to pursue their dreams. we can even be releasing the album for Nara, the song on which I featured Travis Greene.
From humble beginnings, you have got turn into an international brand. Did you ever consider you could come this a ways?
I wouldn't say that, because most instances you work with what you see and what you understand. I grew up in a spot the place there become no electrical energy, so you will needless to say there was nothing to supply me an idea of what i wished to turn into. So, it wasn't a characteristic of figuring out what I could develop into. It turned into a function of the incontrovertible fact that I could pursue my little desires, the use of the presents God gave me. before track, i used to be a footballer. I had been to Pepsi Academy, I had carried out Governors Cup and i idea i was going to be a footballer unless issues changed. no person even believed in me. I simply did what i wanted to do with my tune and i knew that no one had the kind of fashion and sample that become on my mind, nobody might interpret music the style I did. So, I just concentrated on my gifts and i turned into urgent and pushing, and whereas i was doing that, doors were opening and individuals have been starti ng to love me. i used to be not driven via reputation and fortune, so I on no account saw all these happening. I just adored track and i wanted to scan. i wanted to do what people had now not performed earlier than. I knew that there was a enormous vacuum in gospel track and after we begun, people informed me that my trend would now not fly, that it changed into a waste of time and that Nigerians would not respect it. americans instructed me many issues but I stuck to my guns. i was diligent, concentrated and protracted, doing my optimal. I started small because I didn't deserve to galvanize any one, and step by step, doorways all started opening for me. after which, each choir (member) that I knowledgeable became the optimum, and prevalent I kept fighting to do my most useful at whatever thing I touched.
might you share with us your most embarrassing moment working as a houseboy?
Working as a houseboy changed into not an embarrassing adventure however a painful one. i was all the time beaten and abused. There was nothing fun in regards to the journey. i used to be flogged unless I bled. I certainly not stole and changed into not disobedient but it became now not a very good journey. I remember sooner or later I ran faraway from my master's apartment and that i nearly dedicated suicide. i used to be like 'this existence is not value it. If i go back to my folks, this man will come for me once again, as a result of that become in regards to the fourth time i used to be running away from his house'. It changed into a nightmare staying with him. I couldn't watch tv, hearken to radio or play round with pals. i was just there washing, cleaning and sweeping. I grew to be a houseboy at the age of 12 as a result of crippling poverty.
How did you discover your ability?
i was a kind of youngsters that did well at anything I touched. I performed soccer very neatly, identical for desk tennis. It was handy for me to get into football however i was always doing tune by using the aspect, like in the choir. I grew to be a music director in 1994. but in all of this, my center of attention changed into soccer. in reality, once I got to Lagos and turned into staying beneath Oshodi Bridge, it was starvation that drove me into song.
at some point, when i was very hungry, I simply barged right into a church at Oshodi and instructed them I may address their song and make it diverse. They did not reply me the primary time, so I begun to attend their rehearsals, and the third time they gave me an opportunity. as a result of I play five musical instruments together with bass guitar, lead guitar and piano, I just mesmerised them; they have been shocked! That become how they employed me and i bear in mind my first profits turned into N3,000. i used to be very excited as a result of i was hungry and broke. americans don't recognize all these reports. They consider I just popped immediately and stumbled into success. And so, i used to be like 'if one church can pay me N3,000, why not are trying another church and make N6,000?' I begun focusing more on song, that was how I got many churches to make use of me and i changed into making N9,000 a month, before a further church invited me and paid me N10,000 per month .
i was working my existence out common. i was doing vigil after vigil. I didn't even need to be an artiste, I just desired to be a tune director, train people vocally and stuff, however later, every thing just modified. God saved increasing the dream and it's getting larger prevalent.
for those who begun, did your fogeys aid you and what turned into that motive that made you leave Kaduna broke?
things were very complicated for me as a result of I didn't have any one who become into song and enjoyment. no person turned into ready to supply me assist. As a regular Igbo boy then, the expectation changed into for me to move and reside with somebody and learn the way to exchange and then own my own store promoting electronics or something. That's the experience of many Igbo guys and that was what every person was doing, however I knew there turned into anything special about my track and me, notwithstanding no one saw it, together with my household. people just did not agree with in me. They were like 'what is he doing. What does he suggest when he says he's a musician? How?' And that became as a result of there is no hint of song in my household.
My journey to Lagos became a very humorous one. i used to be in Ahmadu Bello school after which I left for Madonna university. On my means again to Kaduna, I mentioned 'let me simply take a glance at Lagos, let me see what Lagos appears like'. I didn't plan to come to Lagos, but that changed into how I got here to Lagos, it wasn't planned. That was why i stopped up staying below the bridge.
What became your turning aspect?
I believe every part of my existence, every adventure, and each flip has been a turning aspect. When i used to be a houseboy to when i used to be sound asleep under the bridge to when i used to be selling coconut and bananas on the streets of Kaduna, every one of these experiences God used to construct me. None changed into a waste. All of them had been used with the aid of God to construct me. So, every mistake, disappointment, and every little thing that made it appear to be it changed into not going to determine, became a part of God's plan for my life. I consider probably the most crucial aspect is that, at some factor in my existence, I received Jesus Christ as my very own Lord and saviour. The Bible says all things figure out first rate for those that serve the Lord. That became how things began understanding for me, and doorways regularly all started opening.
How do you suppose being compared to Kirk Franklin?
before now, it turned into ok and that i didn't intellect as a result of he influenced me. however I think if anybody listens to my song now, they're going to know that I actually have come a protracted approach. My music is my sound; i'm not 'affiliated' to anyone. I actually have created my sound and style. I respect Kirk Franklin and that i love him, however at the moment, he doesn't have any impact on my music.
you're good-looking and a hit; tell us about the lady in your lifestyles?
There is not any girl in my lifestyles for now.
in fact? Even in church, they'll be coming after you, how do you tackle them?
no person comes after me (laughter). There isn't any girl in my lifestyles for now. possibly, before the e-book comes out, i may discover one (laughter).
might you describe your foremost woman?
as a result of what I do, i would like a lady that knows me. Of direction, God comes first, so it have to be somebody that loves God and is household-oriented. and naturally, she must be alluring. I don't care about tribe and coloration. All I want is the concern of God, and also you need to keep in mind that loads of sacrifice goes into building a relationship. All physical attributes will wane and eventually disappear with time. The best thing that would be left is the determination you made. So, if it was according to some thing physical, that capacity it'll breakdown.
what's the key to your success?
God is my energy. I accept as true with that something God will no longer give you, you will not have. I work and i work. I don't agree with in magic or brief cuts. I work and i push myself to the restrict. I problem myself well-known to be a better version of who i used to be the day prior to this. i'm committed, resilient and concentrated, studying from my mistakes and doing those issues they are saying are not possible.
right now, we're preparing for CLX 2019, which comes up in June and we've been rehearsing 12 hours a day for the past two months. in case you hear the first-rate of what we are allotting, you can be stunned. it is unlike the rest you have got heard earlier than. I don't accept as true with in chopping corners but doing the right factor and pushing challenging, and if you are doing the correct aspect, God blesses you. each success I obtain turns into a problem for me as a result of I are looking to outdo myself.
What has been your happiest second?
every time i am on stage and americans are blessed, i'm satisfied. because of where i am coming from, my mission is to assist individuals, via inserting smiles on their faces. I even have a song label where we've 4 artistes and that i have a good group. And we've some companies that we do by the aspect. I help a lot of artistes. I even have a truth display that I do every year called 'Sound investigate'. I do a lot of giving and i feel lucky to be blessed. With the little I actually have, i am excited once I supply and put a smile on somebody's face.
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