In this interview with Genevieve Magazine , singer Waje opens up on the difficulties of being a plus-size entertainer; how she handles competition from other females
artistes in the industry + the highs (and lows) of being a single mother.
On being fat-shamed for her full curvy figure
That was after my performance at the Guinness Colourful world event in October 2013. I trended on twitter but not for the right reasons.I did not trend because of my performance, instead I trended because people were uncomfortable with my body size. They had an opinion about how I looked. The things people were comparing me to were hideous. Someone took a picture of a remote control and said I looked like that. That made me say to myself, ‘you know what Waje, music isn’t for you’. I had come out with an album, but when that happened, I said you know what, I can’t deal with this. I cried for hours that day at Eko Hotel. And interestingly, I started feeling the way they said I looked.So, I started drinking. I became bitter. I
told myself I’m done with music. I’m going to find something else to do. I didn’t eat for days. I became angry with every family member who came to talk to me. I had no reasons to smile or be happy and decided to sign out of all my social media accounts.
Hitting the gym
I started working with Uzikwendu of Uzi’s Burnout. And Uzi did not just work on my body, he worked on my mind, also. Through that, I separated myself from the negativity and focused on what I wanted to hear. I
started to create an environment where the only thing I heard about myself is positive and great. So if you are my friend and you don’t compliment me, I’ll never call you. I edited my friendship. I then became more outspoken because initially I used to implode. I started telling it as it is.If I don’t like it, I say it. I had to tell myself, you are over thirty, if you don’t start telling people how you feel about their behavior, when will you start?That change made some people uncomfortable but that was the only way I could deal with it. You know, I used to think that my biggest fear in the world was failure, but I got to find out that my biggest fear was validation. As an artiste I
wanted so much to be accepted. But now,I don’t care. Someone can say I do not like your song and I’ll say thank you; because my brand is not just about putting out good music but selling aspiration to women as
well. But it gets difficult sometimes when people tell me that I am not a typical Nigerian woman because I am a single mother. So there are certain things I shouldn’t talk about, because I don’t have authority to talk about it. Even in the corporate world there are some jobs I can’t get because I am not married.
You do not care, anymore? You know you have competition, don’t you?
I’m aware of my competition but I don’t feel threatened by it.Initially, when I first started, I felt threatened, but now I don’t feel it anymore, because I understand diversity and the power in numbers.
On her type of music - to a certain degree,you’ve managed to stay on your lane.
There was a time I paid too much attention to what people were saying about my work, such that when God gives me a song, I’llbend up questioning it till I change it into
something different from what I was given.But when I got certain results, I decided to stay true to my vision.
Her thoughts on Gender Equality Bill
The core problem we have in this country is knowledge. So, a lot of people misunderstand the reason behind the things we do. A lot of people believe asking for gender equality means trying to lord it over men or struggling with men. But a lot of successful women understand how difficult it is to succeed in any
economic endeavor in this male dominated world. That is why they speak and make demands that will make it easier for other women to succeed in their economic endeavours too, even with the peculiarities of feminity. I believe that poverty is sexist and the only way we can eradicate poverty is by creating opportunities for women. My core passion is in the education of girls.When we start witheducation we are making sure that people have the ability to ask the right questions, approach issues from the position of strength and make the right decision. Most times the problem
women have is information; you hear a woman say I know that the reason he beats me is because he loves me.
That is why I came up with my African Woman platform where I can invest in the young African woman by sending her to school. If women themselves can start helping each other then we’ll be better for it. For instance, a neighbor who hears her
fellow woman going through domestic abuse can do something about it by reporting to the police! We have women in the police, don’t we? The change must start from within with every woman doing something about it until a culture is formed without there not necessarily being a law made. If women themselves cannot do something about their situation men will not pay us much attention. When I spoke
about this bill, it was women who insulted me. One told me, “Waje you have never been married, so please shut up.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment