Jimi Solanke, the ace actor and folk singer, says he is currently carrying out a project to train Nigerians to be folklore musicians.
The singer, who spoke to NAN on Tuesday in Lagos, said the training is presently taking place in Ibudo Asa, Ogun state.
“I am training Nigerians to be folklore musicians because I do not want that genre of music to die; am not going to be here forever. So, I want to leave a part of me behind,” he said.
“Part of the curriculum is to train children as early as five years to express themselves through folklore so that we can have plenty of Jimi Solanke.
“Folklore music is more lucrative now than when I started; then, people pay N100 to watch per episode, but now it is a different thing.
“To attest to the fact that folklore music is more lucrative now, recently, a particular local record label paid me royalty for one of my tracks done in 1979.”
Solanke said the training was necessary as the genre of music had not only become lucrative, but capable of instilling morals in children and adults.
According to him, folklore music is usually embedded with proverbs, witty sayings, myth, and all which African culture represents as well as the culture of storytelling.
Listen to one of Solanke’s songs below:
Copyright 2024 TheCable. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from TheCable.
Follow us on twitter @Thecablestyle