Five Star Music superstar, Harrison Tare Okiri, better known as Harrysong, has come to stay in the music industry. The Delta-born musician, who just finished the remix of his runaway hit song, ‘Better Pikin’, and recently went to shoot the video in South Africa speaks with Asst Editor, Sam Anokam, on his latest project among other relevant issues.
What is Harrysong up to at the moment?
So many good things are in the offing. We are keeping it real. We just finished the completion of the remix
Harrison Tare Okiri
of ‘Better Pikin’ for my fans to guess who is on the remix and we just announced the winner who is DJ Flexy from an African country. Harrysong’s ‘Better Pikin’ remix features 2Fan, who is a talented duo and a very big name in Togo, their country. They are like P-Square. We are taking ‘Better Pikin’ to the next level. The song and video are already enjoying rave reviews.
What is special about this new video?
There are a lot of things, which you will see for yourself. We are bringing in some new concepts because it’s a song that is accepted by the young and old. After that we are going into the project of giving back to the society as we just finished the Jegede Paul’s Slum Invasion, where we gave back to the society. We discovered a lot of talented kids. I was so touched that I emptied my pocket, even my gold, to a kid called Gift. She sang my song from beginning to end. I had got emotional while she was singing that song. As an only child that lost his mother at the age of 14, then coming to be a celebrity and a role model, I see it as privilege. It is not that I am more righteous or anything, but it is just God’s grace on my life. So, I have to give back to people who are in that position. I sang at Ojez for more than four years and collecting N4,000 per show and if I have any opportunity of giving back, I don’t hesitate because it gives me joy to see people smile.
What is this thing about musicians these days remixing songs that were not too long ago released?
Most times when you have a single that is acceptable, you would want to step it up to the next level because when it has not gotten to the strength it deserves. A song like ‘Better Pikin’, with the way it is accepted, we want to let people know that there are more to this acceptance to show another phase of the song. A ‘pikin’ that struggled against all odds to become a celebrity, in other words, from obscurity to prominence.
What really informed the inspiration to write that song?
I went to Benin to perform, ‘I’m in Love’, my first single that gave me acceptance. There was a lady that was crying back stage, saying that they weree not giving her the honour she deserved. As at that time she spent over N2million to organise the show and I was paid about N700,000 for the show, that was four years. When I asked her why she was crying, she opened up and said a lot of things and I was encouraging her that time and chance happens to them all. ‘Better Pikin’ was one of the words that came out of my mouth, in my bid to encourage her not to worry that things will get better, that this seed that she has sowed will come back to her, ‘you are a fine girl, good girl’. After my performance, she repeated that same words to me and thanked me for my words of encouragement and said, ‘I will not forget that I am a better pikin’. I wrote ‘Better Pikin’ that night in Benin.
Any plans for Gift who sang that song at the Jegede Paul’s event?
I am featuring Gift in my video. Another one is that we need to really go to the grassroots to reach out to people the more. We have grown to that level of being a role model, to being a blessing to a lot of people, inspiring a lot of people and most of them cannot come to us. They just watch you on TV and the internet. We need to reach them. I really wish to meet her parents to know how I can help. These things don’t cost too much but because you cannot really get to them, you think it’s one big thing. Giving them N50,000, paying their rent, putting food on their table is a blessing. God cannot bless everybody at the same time. God blesses you to reach out to other people.
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