Posted by By Lanre Fehintola on
Bukola Folayan, a.k.a. Bouqui, is a gospel rap artiste that has carved a niche for herself in the Nigerian music industry, especially with her track Mole Jo. She speaks to LANRE FEHINTOLA about her recent tour of the United Kingdom and her upcoming new single.
Bukola Folayan, a.k.a. Bouqui, is a gospel rap artiste that has carved a niche for herself in the Nigerian music industry, especially with her track Mole Jo. She speaks to LANRE FEHINTOLA about her recent tour of the United Kingdom and her upcoming new single.
WHAT was your experience like during your recent UK tour?
It was really nice. It was wholesome and different. It was an experience every artiste should taste. It opened my eyes to a lot of things and it made me a better artiste. The tour made me know the quality of my talent and a host of other things. It was just a totally new experience. The acceptability was just wholesome. When you see thousands of people who are not your own people loving you, you stop and think that something is happening here. If you are a Nigerian and people are rooting for you, you will think you are in Naija; we are all doing Naija stuff here.
Were you there on your own or you were sponsored?
Well, I went for a few shows last December. When I finished the show, some Nigerians heard that I was around and they just said, 'she must come here.' So, I just went from one city to the other. It was really wholesome.
Now that you are back in the country, what are you giving them as a package from your tour?
The package is coming out soon. It is a single album that is going to be very hot. I just want people to keep their ears on track because Bouqui is back. We are dropping the single very soon. We are still doing the recording there in the UK. So after I dropped the single, I am going back to finish the album.
What should we be expecting in the album?
(Laughs) The album is different and phenomenal. Bouqui is a brand that loves to break grounds. When I did my first album launch, in fact, that was the first launch of that magnitude. It was thereafter that everybody started doing album launch. I was the first artiste to put a promo on air, which is album launch for an artiste. I was the first female artiste to release a full album in Nigeria, I mean the first female rap artiste. Everybody was releasing singles when I released the album. But by God‘s grace, four other female artistes have also released their own albums. So, by God‘s grace, I would like to see myself as a trendsetter. I know it is not by my power, but by God‘s grace, favour and mercy over my life. It is going to have either 12 or 15 tracks. Basically, I can‘t say much about the album because it is completely off my hand right now. All I can say is that it is going to be different. I bring my creative aspect into it but there are some other persons doing the quality control. That is what the album is going to be about.
A lot of your fans know you for the song, Mole Jo Lori Agolo. How did you get the idea?
Mole Jo (I can dance) is a folk song from back in the olden days and I really like it. I was singing it to myself one day and I said, ‘I like this song and I am going to remix it.‘ I was singing it as it used to be sung, but my mum when she heard it from the kitchen asked me to add Bi Jesu ba gbami laye (If Jesus allows me), instead of the usual Bi agolo ba gbami laye (If tin allows me). I was happy to hear that and I said that was fine. So I just put Bi Jesu ba gbami laye (If Jesus allows me). I went to Abeokuta to record it.
What was people‘s reaction to the album?
A lot of people were saying at last, I have dropped the album. A lot of them were asking, who Bouqui is. They were saying, ‘She‘s all right and she is trying.‘ It was a lot of mixed feelings, but on the whole, it was more of positive than negative reactions. You can never rule out the negative because people will always be people and they have choices to make. I do go on the internet, read newspapers to know people‘s comment about me. Most of them commented that the album was good, even if it has not got the push it ought to get.
How did you come about Bouqui as your stage name?
My given name is Bukola. I remember then in Obafemi Awolowo University (Ile-Ife), when I was in a girls‘ group. The group was called G Vives and over time, the group split and I retained the name because I was the consistent person in the group. Then, everyone started calling me G Vive. So, when I wanted to start my own solo career, everybody automatically started calling me G Vive. I decided to change the name. I came up with a lot of names, but I just decided to be me, that is just to let people know who I am. My name is Bukky and let me be known by that, but one day, I thought about it again and came up with Bukky. So, I started with the name and started twisting it. In the process, I came up with a lot of spellings like Booky, Bookie, but for every version I used, I discovered someone else had used them. I remember a friend called Olajuyigbe, he told me, ‘Why not Bouqui?‘ and I said, ‘That is nice.‘ Thereafter, I saw another friend, Bukkry, and a French guy. Asa was in town then, so she came to the studio with the French guy in Eko FM, where I was then and I wrote Bouqui on a paper and asked the French guy how it was pronounced in French. I was surprised when he told me that it was pronounced Bookie. Since then, I started using the name. It is a totality of who I am.
How did you come about rap music?
I am a lady that loves rap music so much. It is part of me. You can even see it in the way I speak and how I do.
Will you consider yourself the queen of Nigerian rap music?
I don‘t want to be known for that. That title is just temporary. The fact that you are a queen or the best today, does not mean you will still be the same tomorrow. I just like to be my own self. I am not after any title. What I just know is that I am singing to praise my God. I see my music as a way of giving back to God.
What are your experiences as a female artiste who decided to go into rap music?
There were lots of challenges. Some people were saying, ‘How can a female be singing rap music?‘ But I was not distracted by that. What I know is that I am going somewhere.