Seemo De Black Czar the Bibini Kasahari

Can you introduce yourself?

Seemo Da black Czar is my name I am a hip-hop artist that is what I do. Music is my life.

When you look at the industry today you discover those emcees in Lagos seem to have endorsement opportunities, TV shows and the like, I know you are in the North...

Point of correction I’m always everywhere but my label is in Jos, Black Diamond entertainment, most times we do stuffs around the North but I am also Lagos based. Let’s just say I am everywhere. Talking about the endorsements, Lagos is where things go down. It is very easy for people to get endorsement in Lagos than this side of the country but I feel entertainment is here and it is growing and that is why we are here, that’s what we are trying to do.

I know you are putting up a show today, how do you survive around here

Black Diamond entertainment, most of the times we do shows in Jos, anybody we say is coming is coming. That’s what we do and we’ve been doing it over time that credibility is always there. Doing shows is not easy though but as a label you just need to know what you want and go for it.

These days people are downloading songs for free on the internet, what is your take on this development?

You do a song and everybody knows that if you have a phone, you have a BB you can just download the song even though you didn’t put it up there somebody will put it up there for you. It is a trend; it is a change in the game, even in US. You can’t just control it but what you need to do is to push that your music, that is not where it stops because most people are not opportune to have internet, you still need to go out there do your regular promotion, then you need to do TV and radio, the marketing and put your album out there. Really the internet thing is bringing down the sales but then it promotes your work. It is easy for people to get your work.

So once you are promoted via the internet how do you now maximize the promotion and make some money for yourself

There is a number of downloads that you can have and you get deals with all these telecommunication giants. People can use your songs for ring tones, that is money for you, they give you endorsement for that. That is the positive side of it but the negative side is that you are not going to get too much sales because everybody can just get it online once you google it or see the link.

I might surprise you because I know about the shaky shaky daddy, that was the bomb and even all the tracks you came up with around that time, what’s up with that album

I couldn’t bring out stuff till after some years because I had a problem with African Reply a label that signed me. We had some issues, court cases and all that, and then we settled before I got free to start doing my own stuff. It has not been easy but now just expect the best. We have a lot of networks, we have a lot of alliances, we are partnering with a lot of people, very soon you are going to see us everywhere.

what is your next project like?

Yeah, I just shot a video, New Nigeria; I am working with national orientation agency that is the big thing coming up now from me. Then expect more videos from the album Follow Tradition I’m going to Lagos to shoot two more videos to add to this one. Basically more videos before you see an album coming. But just expect a very big thing on a very big label I don’t want to mention now but a very international stuff it is coming.