STELLA MONYE: "New Generation Of Nigerian Musicians Are Stealing From The Older Generation"

Stella Monye is not a new name in the Nigerian entertainment industry. The “Oko Mi Ye” crooner who dominated the airwaves in the eighties and early nineties, recently took a swipe at the new generation of Nigerian musicians whom he accused of copying the style of the older generation.

According to her, “There is nothing new that they are doing now. What I mean by that is that you will find out that music is all about the same alphabets, it's the same rhythm, I've listened to some of their stuff and I've come to realise that some of such songs are actually recycled from old songs; like what Timaya and J. Martins do. Brackets's 'Yori, Yori' 'Ade Owerri' for example, have a highlife feel. P Square also does the kind of old Nigeria pop. And I also hear some high life from D'banj. A few of these new singers are fantastic, while most of them sing garbage.”
The music icon who has a daughter for the late musician, Sunny Okosuns, also used the opportunity to speak on her clothinh line, “Samba Wears”.

“The clothing line thing is a family thing. My mother was a tailor for about 30 years, and I really never took interest but along the line, I was helping her to fix things, like putting buttons in the holes and other aspects of the job that were not too stressful. But later on, it began to occur to me that I could do that as well. The urge started when I traveled to Abeokuta and I saw a lot of traditional Adire fabric. I know that African fabrics are really beautiful, but Nigerians are not using them to the maximum. We still prefer what the white men are importing into our country, so I just thought I could make a little impact. I brought some tailors together and we are in business. We make a lot of Nigerian dresses and export them abroad. I'm already working on exhibiting them. I am going to start by partnering with the Ogun State Ministry of Tourism and it is going to be huge,” she explained.