Current Eagles are similar to Chelsea, they lack passion

Nigerian musician, Israel Olawale, known by his moniker ‘Bims’ talks about singing with Zlatan, his sports interests, Nigeria’s World Cup chances and more in this interview with PETER AKINBO

When you were in school, did you participate in sports?

I am a big sports person, I can play football very well. I am as good as anyone, I am a good footballer and I used to do endurance races. I used to win medals for football and races back in school.

Why didn’t you try combining football and music like Alex Iwobi, Rafael Leao and others?

Well, I liked football but I never saw it as a career. The way I played football was just something I did for fun, then music was something I wanted to take as a career path. Till now, when I am not making music, I play football.

How did you get started in music?

I was born into music, I have been in choir since I was five. My brother and I were in choir together, he was more dedicated with it but I was in it cause my dad wanted us to. He even paid for keyboard lessons for me, and you know all these things leads to a point. Then, in secondary school, I could sing and play the keyboard but couldn’t write songs. In my school, when we had a talent event, I was in JSS2 at that time and after my class group performed then, I felt I could do better and from there, I now started writing my songs and created my group and then we performed and people liked it so from there, I started performing in classes. People would give me money to perform for them and that’s when I had the idea of pursuing this professionally.

Why did you decide to stick with it?

When people start paying you for something, it motivates you so unconsciously that had become the only career path for me, so I think in SS3, I had started performing for people when he want to ask a girl out. My parents wanted me to be an engineer, and then when I went to Covenant University, I felt that space would not let me create the type of music I wanted to do. However, when I entered university, some of my friends who believed in me in secondary school bought me equipment and from there, I started believing in myself. The equipment got stolen and they even replaced it again.

How did you parents react to the career path?

They just overlooked it, in their mind, they were thinking it’s just youthful exuberance. When they knew it was serious was when they came to my secondary school and they noticed this boy actually sings on stage and teachers were telling them, ‘this your son knows how to sing’. In a semester at University, we had administrative issues that affected my grades. I always believed I knew how to balance it properly but when this happened, they didn’t believe it was the music that made my grades drop. Later, on my way to school, when they saw the music equipment in the car, they dropped me off on the road. So, they were finding it hard to accept it but because they saw that I was consistent with it, they even took me to church and the pastor told them to leave it be. After school, when they saw I was still into music, they later supported.

Do you have a favourite football team and why?

I support Chelsea. The squads we had back in the day made me a fan, just the players, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, everyone in that squad was playing with passion, they made football beautiful to watch, that is the definition of football to me. I don’t need you to have crazy ass skills but show that will to me, when they lost, all of them are sad and then my favourite colour was blue.

What do you think about the current squad?

The passion is not there like before, our best player now is Cole Palmer but he has issues in some crucial matches. I think with time, the club will get itself again but I don’t like the idea that the passion is not there like that, but it’s Chelsea, we will always still come back.

Who is your favourite sportsperson ever?

I would say Cristiano Ronaldo, my preference on sports always has to do with passion and I think he just has that trait. I think he is the definition of ‘anything is possible’, I believe that and he is the definition of that. Messi is a talent, we understand that but Ronaldo can bring out something from nothing; he shows people the process of his hard work.

If you could go on a lunch with any sportsperson, who would it be?

For a male, it would be Ronaldo. For women, I would go with Serena Williams. The female tennis players we have now are good but none as dominant as Serena Williams so that’s why she is still my GOAT.

How do you feel about the Super Eagles?

They’re like Chelsea, too many big boys and no passion. That last match was very irritating, all of them were playing the ball like they didn’t know the World Cup was not on the line. Maybe Osimhen, the rest need to catch up. They are not even playing together like a team, everyone is just trying to feed individual egos. That last goal was obviously coming, I even think the match should have been a 2-1 loss, the ball they (Zimbabwe) played against the bar, if we had goal-line tech, that would have been a goal.

Do you think we can still qualify for the World Cup?

There is one thing about Nigerians, we have this optimism, we can always beat the odds, we know how to but it is not everytime, it might work, it might not work. Right now, I don’t think we can beat South Africa because they know how to play with passion. I think we can beat the odds and qualify though.

What would you call your biggest musical project?

I would say it is my new E.P, Don Pablo, I just dropped. The initial reception is amazing. It is more than anyone I have dropped before, and that’s something I like, my next project is always going to be better than my last. Growth is always there. My biggest song right now, you can still call it ‘Amapiano Remix’ that I made with Zlatan but it looks like ‘Dey Play’ is going to catch up soon.

What was it like getting a song with Zlatan?

So I had recorded ‘Amapiano’ since 2022, but so many things were happening, so I just dropped it in 2024. When I dropped it, the first week was crazy and then Zlatan had posted one of my previous songs, ‘Make una dance’ on his story before and then started following me but he didn’t say anything, just posted it. And when I texted him, he didn’t reply so when he posted ‘Amapiano’ on his story, I just started making videos and asking people to tag him and after all the tags, he just messaged me that I should send the beat to his mail and on a Saturday, I got a mail of his verse and that’s how it happened. I am also grateful to my label for supporting it and helping to shoot the video and he (Zlatan) came and that’s how ‘Amapiano remix’ happened.

What is the most challenging part of being a musician in Nigeria?

I think the system is choked with a lot of artistes getting famous with money, not talent. The money those artistes are pushing in makes them dominate the market, so the actual talented few don’t make it to listeners anymore. Also, the big artistes don’t co-sign these talented ones as well, they co-sign those ones who have used money to come up a bit, they would rather co-sign someone who is already close to the limelight than someone who is not spending any money, and just doing their music.

What is your favourite part about being a musician?

I love performing with the fans, it makes me connect with the people that love my music, and I also just love the creative part of music, making new songs.

What motivates you as a musician?

Life, experiences, those are the things I sing about. Everything I sing about, I have either experienced it or it is what I have faced in the past or what I am facing.

If your child shows an interest in sports, will you encourage it?

Of course, I will and I will take the cautious steps to prevent the long-term injuries because I know things like that can derail a career.