I studied engineering just to Please the society –Mike Abdul of Midnight Crew

Gospel singer, Mike Abdul of Midnight Crew, tells Saturday Beats about his career

Some people believe that gospel singers are not original as they tend to recycle praise and worship songs. What is your opinion?
I don’t believe in that. If you listen to Frank Edwards, you will know that he does not recycle praise and worship songs; same thing with Sinach, Monique, Mike Abdul. A lot of people that are making sense with their songs do not recycle songs. I don’t think that is true.
How did someone that studied electrical engineering become a singer?
I think the question should have been ‘why did someone that loves music study electrical engineering?’ I loved music first before electrical engineering came. I studied engineering because of societal pressure. I noticed that the society loved engineers and it was prestigious to study such a course in school, so I opted for it. I studied engineering because of pride and the society. What I have always loved to do is what I am doing right now which is music.
Don’t you think you would have made more money if you were a secular artiste?
My mother was my major influence in life and she brought me up in the Christian way. Also, I love doing gospel music. I love God and eventually when I wanted to start music, it was very easy for me to decide that I would do gospel music.
But are you not concerned about the pay?
I love what I do and that is what motivates me. Of course, the pay can sometimes be a concern but we are finding ways around it.
Do you agree that the gospel music sector is moving at a snail’s speed compared to the secular music sector?
Yes. In the early 60s and 70s, gospel music was very vibrant because then, we had record companies and not just record labels. For those who wanted to practise music then, record labels usually asked them whether what they wanted to do was juju, fuji or gospel. That shows that gospel music was in demand then.
If you watched television stations back then, there were no restrictions to what the television stations could show. They did not have the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission restrictions on religious contents. Now there is an NBC ruling that says certain things about when you can play religious contents. That is a major setback because people cannot love what they cannot see and hear. It is what they hear and see that they would follow. That is a major setback. That is why you see some people shifting from singing religious songs to something motivational or inspirational so that they can get airplay.
Are you still with Midnight Crew?
Yes, I am still with Midnight Crew.
So, why did you decide to go solo with your career?
It was an agreement among members of the band. We felt that we have been together for over ten years and we needed to rebrand. We felt that if people had listened to us for a decade, we cannot continue to give them the same kind of sound. If you refuse to rebrand, then you would become one of the ‘old schools.’ As a way of rebranding, we felt that we should create four platforms instead of just one platform called Midnight Crew.
How was the name Midnight Crew formed?
We all met while we were choristers in Yaba College of Technology. The name of the choir was Original Love Choir. That is where we met and somehow we noticed that we were always at the frontiers and we seemed to be doing well. There was also this chemistry among us that made us decide that we would continue music after school. We felt we should not waste our talents because the chemistry among us created a lot of followership for us in school from both Christians and Muslims. When we were about leaving, we decided to use music as a tool to talk to our community and the society as a whole. That is how we started on November 8, 2001.
Of course when we were about to start, we had an issue with what we would call the group and at that time, we were eleven in the band. We were very scriptural about what we do, so we needed to look into the Bible for the name we wanted to bear. Someone mentioned a group of eleven people in Judges Chapter 6 in the Bible. By the time we read their story, we coined the name Midnight Crew from there.
What is your plan for the new year?
My second album should be out in June. Also my record label, Spaghetti Records, just signed a new artiste, Adam, while we already have the likes of First Born and Monique on the label. We would also be touring the US and Canada this year. We believe very strongly in our fans at the home front, so we try to stay connected with our fans at home as well.
Do you have only gospel artistes signed on to your record label?
First Born is not a gospel artiste. He is a comedian and the kind of songs he does are inspirational songs. He is majorly a secular artiste. It is just that we are conscious of the content of our songs.
Why did it take you about three years to release your sophomore album?
That is how it should be. I released my first album in December 1, 2013 and I am releasing my second album in June this year. It is less than three years. Ideally, a good song should be given at least two years to thrive, let alone a whole album. You have about 14 songs in an album and before you know it, in another six months, you release another album; that is a lot of work. I am in this business so I know what it entails to promote songs, push the album and let people understand your song. It takes at least two years to do all that. I don’t believe in releasing albums anyhow. If you know the work involved in doing so, then you would understand.