why i invited kardashain~darey art alade

In a recent meeting with journalists in Lagos, popular singer, Dare Art-Alade, spoke about Kim Kardashian and other matters, CHUX OHAI writes Two years after Darey – real name Dare Art-Alade – invited popular American reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, to co-host his ‘Love like a movie’ St. Valentine’s Day concert in Lagos, some Nigerians have not stopped talking about it. At different times, Darey himself made efforts to defend his decision to make Kim a part of the show. He has also tried to correct certain wrong notions about the actress and what she does for a living. In a recent meeting with journalists, held in Lagos to announce the arrival of two singles from his forthcoming album titled ‘Naked’, the popular singer found himself, once more, under pressure to explain why he brought her to Nigeria. He said, “I invited Kim Kardashian because people talk about her. So, bringing her here was purely a business decision. People say she is popular for no reason, but I always tell them that she has some talents. “She is famous in her own right for some reasons. Apart from the fact that she is a stylist. She has a cosmetics and clothing line, too. Whether you like those talents or not and whether you like what she is doing or not, it does not matter. She is doing it, regardless of what you think or not. Personally, I appreciate people with that kind of mindset.” When asked how he sometimes felt after seeing nude photographs of the reality TV star displayed in the social media, Darey replied that he would keep his opinion to himself. But he went on, “She didn’t take her clothes off when I brought her here. Her coming was to play a certain role, which she did effortlessly. Some people that didn’t understand her full job description would have said that she stayed for only five minutes or so. Why would somebody come for five minutes? “She spent about a day here and gave exclusive interviews. I think Gbemi on The Beat interviewed her. Could she have done that in five minutes? But then, I don’t think we promoted her as everybody’s role model when we brought her. We simply said the red carpet would be co-hosted by Kim Kardashian.” The singer said it was unfair that people delighted in picking on the lady just because they disliked her. Darey also described his new singles, ‘Pray for me’ and ‘Asiko Laye’, the first two to be released from ‘Naked’, as special, inspirational and different from his previous works. While the first song features the Soweto Gospel Choir, ‘Asiko Laye’ is the product of a collabo with rapper Olamide. Giving assurance to his fans that a duet with Olamide did not imply he would deviate from his usual style, he said, “This is just a collaboration between the rapper and me. It is about blending two different works together. I just wanted to see what the final sound would look like, whether one would, hopefully, not overshadow the other or not. Besides, I am a big fan of Olamide right from the good old days to ‘Shakiti bobo’. We have even worked on some things before that nobody heard.” The singer, contrary to what many fans were thinking, said he was not worried that the constant switches from ballards to other forms would affect the quality of his music. “The joy you get when you see people appreciating your work is indescribable. I have been to many places around the country, performing my songs. The kind of reactions I have received from fans, whether I was performing or not, have been encouraging.” Acknowledging the resurgence of soulful music in Nigeria, he urged Nigerians to listen to other kinds of music, especially the ones that could get the audience thinking. He said, “I think we have to make the kind of music that will appeal to people’s emotions. And we are all emotional, whether you like it or not. With just five per cent of the Nigerian population listening to my music, I am okay with that. The important thing here is to stick to your guns. Sooner or later, people will accept you for who you are.” But he dismissed the notion that Nigeria had a proper music industry. “We can’t call ourselves a music industry when we are listening to only one kind of music. Music is very diverse. There is classical music, for example. Some young artistes that were my classmates at music school are playing classical music. But the market in Nigeria will not allow me to do the same. The truth is that we are on a journey and we must not feel as if we have arrived until we tackle some of the issues affecting contemporary music in the country,” he noted. Regarding how he manages to get by without releasing an album, Darey said, “Music is what I do. But without releasing an album, I still perform at events. They may not be commercial, but you have to realise that there is also a variety.” http://www.konga.com/?k_id=martinyjoe