Brymo: Nothing can make me return to chocolate city

Brymo’s recent tweets tagged #Brymoremembers brought back memories of his past struggles with Chocolate City management and former label mates, MI and Ice Prince.

Speaking with TheCable, the 28-year-old, whose real name is Olawale Ashimi, said his trip down memory lane was to clarify things.

“You know how it is for famous people. No matter what you do, someone somewhere will always think that you don fall short of their own glory when dem no be God (laughs)”.

“But seriously, I did that to clear the air in case there is someone somewhere who thinks I jumped from where I was to where I am. I didn’t.

“There are people who took part in the struggle to bring me to where I am. Even though many of those relationships ended and I had to move on, their contributions are still noted. That’s what inspired #Brymoremembers.

“I didn’t do it for acknowledgement. I did it to clear my mind of certain things. So if there is someone somewhere thinking that I do not like them for whatever reason, there are no such feelings. I can’t even live with hate because it will destroy me.”

So does this mean he is ready to bury the hatchet and reunite with old friends and bosses? In an interview with Hip TV, Music Audu Maikori, CEO of Chocolate City, hinted at a possible collaboration between Brymo and his former label mates. And MI, in a heartfelt song, Brother, off his latest album, expressed hope that those who left could one day return.

Brymo revealed that his last discussion with MI when they met at Tuface’s ascension launch was about his return to Chocolate City.

In the heat of his rift with Chocolate City, Brymo confessed that he was hurt by the comments from MI and Ice Prince. He debunked insinuations that he would consider returning, saying: “I don’t think there is anything that could make me return to Chocolate City”. How they handled the entire event in the last two years is the reason I cannot go back.”

However, he did not completely rule out the possibility of a collaboration.

“I cannot change the person that I am based on what happened but I can be very careful by how much I get involved with stuff,” he said.

“If it is about getting together and doing a song, that is a function of the connection. If I am sitting with someone and we are discussing and we connect, then of course we can make a song.”

Since his rancorous exit from Chocolate City, he has released two albums that are musically acclaimed masterpieces – albums that have surprisingly flown under the radar of mainstream commercial success. His last two albums have not achieved the commercial success many believe they deserve.

Brymo explained that a lot of issues sprang up from the Chocolate City debacle, which prompted him to deny Alaba marketers rights to sell his album. It is a decision that has had an  adverse effect on his album sales. The last album titled ‘Merchants, Dealers and Slaves’ was even more accessible than his latest album ‘Tabularasa’ released in October 2014 and available in only a few stores.

He is unhappy with the way music in Nigeria is being priced and packaged by most marketers.

“It seems like nobody wants to listen to the musicians on that front because they believe we make money from many other avenues.

“That is not always true. Many musicians still have to depend on record sales as their primary source of income.”

He is now working on a new album and has renewed negotiations with Alaba marketers to distribute it.

“With Alaba, I will be able to reach more people and sell more copies. But the issue is, will Alaba be willing to sit with me for us to agree on a price that will favour both parties?

“Also, will Alaba deliver to me when they sell a certain amount of copies? Those are the issues we need to iron out. We are a society of low trust where people tell you A and they will now do C, which is an issue everywhere.

“But I have no choice than to negotiate with them because I am a Nigerian artiste and I do not intend to run away anytime soon. So, one way or the other, we have to work it out.”

Last week, Brymo released a new video for the song I pound from his album Tabularasa.