How I had three kids in four years –TIMI DAKOLO

Winner, Idols West Africa, Timi Dakolo, has opened on mar­
riage and fatherhood describing it as the climax of every
man’s dream. In an exclusive chat with The Entertainer at the
Congress Hall of Nicon Hilton Hotel, Abuja, recently, the vocal
powerhouse, who tied the knot in 2012 to his baby mama,
Busola, declared that marriage has transformed him.
“Marriage has really transformed me,” Dakolo begins, a soft
smile playing across his lips as he speaks, “life is not just
what it used to be any more I must confess. I can’t do a lot
of things I want to do anymore because now I am married
and it has made me more responsible. These days I think for
more than just one person. Marriage makes you start every
journey with an end in mind and that is the joy of being
married.
“Even as I speak to you I am thinking of how I will pay school
fees and house rent. A lot of responsibility comes with
marriage but then, it also comes with a lot of favour;
undeserved favour, favour you can’t even explain being
showered upon you from left right and centre.
“When you are married and your home is stable, it comes with
a lot of blessings you can’t explain. People treat you
differently, even God Himself brings things your way and you
begin to see the world differently because things just click,” he
says, snapping his fingers to drive home his point adding,
“you can’t even explain why and you don’t know how it
happens; that is the truth. Especially if you are at peace in
your home, things just begin to click.”
Timi says he is grateful to God for the understanding he has
with his wife, Busola, the mother of his kids and discloses
that one thing he has always prayed to God for is an
understanding and caring wife who would understand him and
his moods because of his creativity.
“Before I got married I prayed to God for a woman who would
understand me and my moods because I could be very easily
distracted and destabilised so I wanted a woman that would
not give me trouble but rather, complement me.
“The truth is when I am troubled and distressed I could be the
least creative person for as much as four days at a stretch so
because I wanted peace in my home, because I wanted
somebody that would understand when I tell her that ‘baby,
you can’t talk to me now I am writing,’ and she wouldn’t get
upset, I had to pray a lot and I thank God I found that person
in my wife.
“Now you could tell that to some people and they would get
very angry and upset with you but my wife does not because
she understands and sometimes, when I am busy and the kids
are getting in the way she tells them ‘don’t go there, daddy
wants to be alone.’
“She understands my moods. That is how we are. She is my
greatest critique. A man’s greatest achievement is marriage.
Marriage has transformed even my music.”
Iyawo Mi
So dedicated is Timi to his wife that he has dedicated a song
to her on his latest album entitled Iyawo Mi.
“Yes of course, Iyawo Mi is a song on my soon to be released
album,” Dakolo says excitedly. “The single was released a
while ago and it is dedicated to my wife. I can’t be singing
R&B and not dedicate a song to my wife; it is not possible.”
So now that he is married, are the girls still coming after him?
He pauses for a while before he responds philosophically
quoting a Bible passage: “The Bible says ‘many are the
afflictions of the righteous man.’ What I do is that I stay out
of trouble and the way I avoid temptation is by sitting in my
house and watching football, playing video games and doing
music, and I am always so happy at the end of the day.
“I always try to push my wife in people’s faces whenever I
have the opportunity because when it comes to temptation,
no man is as strong as he thinks he is and that is the truth.
So if you want to avoid temptation, just sit in your house and
don’t forget that our industry is a very unforgiving one; I don’t
want scandals.”
Idols West Africa
The vocal powerhouse also used the opportunity to talk about
his experience at Idols West Africa, the platform that gave him
a name and a voice and how he never believed he could be so
successful musically.
“I had big dreams but music was not part of it,” Dakolo
recounts, “I stumbled on music basically. Sometimes you
stumble on destiny on the road you are taking to avoid it. It
began with somebody telling me to go for West African Idols .
It was after West African Idols that I now said ‘okay, music is
something I just might do’ because in my house those days,
you can’t say you want to do music unless you are out of
your mind! They will tell you to first return all the fees they
paid to get you through school,” he says laughing.
Love & Consequences
With three successful albums in the kitty, Timi says work is
currently ongoing on his next body of work. Commenting on
his new album Timi continues: “I am recording a new album
entitled Love & Consequences. It is a 14 tracker. I have been
in Georgia, Atlanta, recording live with Cohbams because I
want my music to have that unique live feel.
“Love & Consequences is almost ready. The message is that
there are consequences for getting married whether negative
or positive. I have a song that is entitled Iyawo Mi which was
released a while ago and dedicated to Busola my wife: the
video is currently trending on YouTube. I have Wish Me Well ,
there is The Vow and there is also Stranded. My Great Nation
song is also on this album.
“And guess what; I have also started working on the album
after this one entitled Ateni’s Grandson which is dedicated to
my late grand mum, the woman who raised me.
“Ateni’s Grandson is basically about the things she told me
about life and a few songs from here and there. There is
another album I am also working on entitled The Rock Side of
Things. Like I said earlier, marriage will make you start a
journey with an end in mind.”
No more kids please…
And just three years after he tied the knot, Timi reveals that
he now has three kids and he is through with making babies:
“I have three kids now and I can confidently tell you that my
wife and I are done making children; no more kids because I
have three already. I am done with making babies.”
Three kids in four years, how did he pull it off? “My name is
Timi Dakolo and I get away with a lot of things,” he concludes
as we both share another round of hearty laughter.