CONFUSED SINGERS MIX GOSPEL WITH SECULAR SONGS - JEHRI (THE PILLAZ)
Jehri
The Pillaz has been together for 12 years doing what they know best to do. The group known for Acapafrik, which is its own brand of soul-stirring acapella gospel and inspirational songs, comprises of five members, namely: Jehri, Olumide, Chris, Lawrence and Caleb. Already, its second album, The Reality, is making waves and enjoying a lot of airplay. Jehri Suara spoke to Sunday Sun during the group's recent visit to this newspaper's corporate office in Lagos.
How did you guys meet?
We started from secondary school. We all loved to sing and we sang in our various churches. But we met in high school and then we took it through the university, even though we didn't go to the same university. We have two albums to our credit and the last was in 2010.
How is the album's acceptance?
Well, we have a huge fan base because we have ministered in so many places and the album was well accepted.
How are you able to hold the group together through the years?
We have had our issues, but what kept us together this long is God. The second factor is that we have been sincere to ourselves and we all believe in what we are doing.
As Christians, gospel artistes and good-looking guys, how have you been able to keep God's word that says you should not defile the bed?
Honestly, the fan-base comprises mainly women. But we don't let that disturb us because if we allow that to distract us we won't be together now. Some members in our group are already engaged and would be getting married soon.
What about you, are you in a relationship?
(Laughs) For now, no.
But do you guys have rules that guide your relationship with women, because you can't represent Christ and live a double life?
That is true. But apart from the rules, as a Christian, the Bible frowns on it. So, we are using the Bible as a standard. We know what is expected of us and what is not. Like I said earlier, we started off as teenagers and I am the youngest in the group. There is discipline in the group and we know you have to be in a relationship before getting married, and really, those in relationship are disciplined too.
What are some of your challenges?
In the beginning, we had issues with our parents. Some of our parents didn't accept the fact that we wanted to sing. They all wanted us to round off our secondary school and go to the university. Their fear then was that we might not want to go to the university. I had a situation when I was much younger. I presented my ID card to my father and he threw it away. He didn't want to accept it because he didn't want any of his children singing. Also, Olumide's mother, who is late now, sat on his clothes when we wanted to do a concert. So, we had so many issues. But over the years we have remained steadfast in what we believe. And we all went to the university like our parents wanted.
At the moment, one of our challenges is finance, because we have several projects we are yet to execute. Also, most of the show we see out there are secular shows and they don't engage gospel artistes.
Why gospel and not commercial music?
There are some who do gospel music and in their album they mix it with secular song. I think these people are just confused. The reason is that it is better to choose your path and face it. We have decided to choose the path of the Lord and we are sticking to it. The likes of Ron Kenoly and Kirk Franklin chose gospel music and they are known all over the world. The simple fact is that we have had so many gospel artistes changing to secular music. But we have decided to stick to gospel because we know that very soon we will make a mark.
Was there a time you wanted to pull out?
I think that is a two in one question. There was never a time I wanted to stop doing music. Of course, we had issues and we just wanted to walk out. But there is one thing about our group. No matter how angry you get nobody has the right to walk out of our meeting, because if you walk out of a meeting you walk out of the group. And for the past 12 years such thing never happened. However, the particular occurrence that shook the group was when our manager misused the money we raised from our first album. At that point everyone actually wanted to leave the group, but we thank God we overcame that period. We realized that sometime when opportunity comes your way it is very good to pray to God for wisdom about it before taking any step.
What are you guys up to now?
We are on tour promoting the album we released last year. We stage concert every two months. So at the moment we are promoting the album.
What is the acceptance like?
It has been very good.
What genre of music do you play?
It is called Acapafrik. Acapella is non-instrument music and Afrik is African. We bring African rhythms in an acapella version. We play all the instruments with our mouth and vocal chords. We also do inspirational music. Then the hip-hop and other parts come in. But the major genre of music Pillaz plays is called Acapafrik.
Do you guys do other things apart from music?
We all do other things. For instance, I'm a compere and television presenter. I used to work for NTA and I would be moving soon to radio. My colleague, Chris, is an administrator. Lawrence is a graphic artist, Olumide is a politician, and Caleb just graduated.
Don't you guys think when fame comes calling you might split?
What we believe in and stand for will see us through. Part of our vision when we started was transferring this group to the next generation.
What is your take on worldliness creeping into gospel music?
If you had listened to the Way of the Cross back then, you would realize that those people were doing strictly gospel and all they wanted to do was to pass a message across. But this generation wants to belong. For instance, when Kirk Franklin came, he said he would be taking the church to the world. That means he won't do it the conventional way. I think the only person that would correct that is when Jesus comes.
Ever had any embarrassing moment with a fan?
Of course, I have had situations like that. But there was this particular one we had at UNILAG. We were invited to minister there and when we finished ministration I stepped out and a lady walked up to me and took my number, claiming she wanted to call my group for a function.
When she came to my place, she still insisted it was for business but she wanted something else. Well, to cut the long story short, it was my cousin that saved me from the ordeal. She actually locked me up in my house.