WHY I NEVER BOTHERED ABOUT MY SINGLE STATUS @ 40 – QUEEN URE

She was just the girl next door until a few years ago when her involvement with the then rave of the moment, Emmanuel Okosie, a.k.a Soul E, brought her into limelight. It was not the love affair between the singer and this ex-banker that made their union peculiar such that it became the talk of the town, but the fact that beautiful and articulate Ure Adaku Okezie(better known as Queen Ure) was about eleven years older than her heartthrob. Their marriage eventually hit the rocks some years back but Queen has not ceased to be in the public view even as Soul E has since gone into oblivion. Articulate and eloquent, Queen who has found love in music in this interview with BUKOLA BAKARE, opens up on why she’s still not married at forty and how she handles her sexual urge. She also talks about her new musical effort among other interesting issues.

Your album is titled Porpori. What’s it all about?
One of the tracks in the album is titled Porpori that is why I titled the whole album, Porpori. It’s a fifteen track album and an expression of various part of me. We have got R & B, Country, Hip Hop, Highlife and there is equally gospel. It’s me putting myself out there and telling people to have a feel of me and see what I have to offer.

Who are the producers you actually worked with?
I basically worked with two producers; Gorgy Nathaniel, who produced thirteen of the songs and Dude Tetsola who produced the remaining two songs.

What messages are you trying to pass across to people through your album?
It’s a whole lot because music comes in different dimensions. First of all, entertainment is important because people must be able to move their bodies to your song. Secondly, you should have a particular message that you are passing to everyone, you could just be expressing yourself. Most of the songs are love songs and the ones that have specific messages when it comes to love centers on fidelity. One of the songs is titled, Only you, it’s a Reggae song and I am trying to express myself like a spouse expressing love to her partner that it’s just only you. Because you were there for me, I am going to love only you, so the message there is fidelity that you should stick to one person who has been there for you. We have got another one titled Better Place which tells everyone to be better people and by so doing, we will make our world a better place. The country song, Better tomorrow encourages everyone to expect a better tomorrow, forget the past and look forward to a better tomorrow and the Porpori song itself is just an expression body dey do me popori any time wey I see you. In other words, when I see you I am excited, I am thrilled, so people should focus on what makes them excited and ignore the things that make them feel bad. Basically, I have got songs with various messages, various styles.

You have a background in music but what prompted you to go commercial?
I have always known that I would do music in this capacity and level but I just didn’t know when. When the time came, I just said ‘don’t let this talent be a waste’. I decided to pursue it because anything that is worth doing is what doing well. It’s not too good for you to have lovely songs, you sing well, you have all it takes to make an impact in the industry and in the lives of people through music and then you just let the talent to lie fallow and not use it, it’s not really the best . I just decided to go ahead and do it so it’s not a new thing for me in any way. I am not someone who will say let me come and write songs, I don’t have to think about it because as things happen, the inspiration for songs will come, so I am still writing songs even though the album has been released. When it’s time for the next album, I already have a repertoire to choose from.

Did you feature anyone on the album?
Yes, I featured Dude Tetsola on one of the songs he produced.

What has the reception and general experience been like among the established artistes?
Wonderful, great, exciting. I worked with wonderful people, great producers. My mum and elder brothers are singers so it’s nothing new to my family and friends. Only people who are not close to me feel otherwise, you know a lot of people are getting into music these days and would go like ‘Queen Ure too wants to sing because everyone is’ without knowing whether I have got the talent or not, so quite a number of people are skeptical and wonder what does she have to offer? She just wants to be noticed. However, I get calls from people who have bought the album that it is a fantastic body of work . Though somewhat shocked, they have been supportive and everybody wants to be part of it.

New comers in the industry, especially males, complain of not being given a chance but here you are, people are offering to help. Could this be as a result of the fact that you are a lady?
I don’t know (laughs) I think that the sky is big enough for all of us to fly and I am so excited about what I am doing. I am so excited and I have not experienced any form of hostility from any artiste, not at all. Even, if there is, I may not notice. You know when you are busy and happy with what you do, even if there is some form of negativity, you may not even notice because you are so much into what you are doing. Everywhere I have been to, radio stations, television houses, I have been warmly welcomed. Music is creative so what you are doing may not be what I am doing; we need to cooperate, collaborate and avoid competition so that the industry can grow.

Have you noticed the hostility new comers and hustlers face in the industry probably or you are not in it for the monetary gain?
I am already making money from it because I just launched my album. I usually give an envelope with the pack that I distribute and quite a number of people have returned the envelopes with cheque (laughs) I mean it’s all good. The return on your investment does not have to be from one way, it could come from shows and endorsements which I expect in the long run but for now it’s coming from the launch of my work and it’s substantial. That is why I said it’s been encouraging. When you do something excellently well, there is no way you won’t have returns on your investment but I still expect that I will continue to do a whole lot more as I continue to invest in music.

Are there some things you learnt from your ex-husband Soul E that have helped to mould you as an artiste?
Definitely. I had recorded some songs but when we met, I had to put them aside and concentrate on his career, so that whole period gave me an opportunity to understand the industry, how it works, what to do when you want to promote your work, learn the market, how to get your album to the streets and all of that. Working with him at that time gave me the opportunity to be prepared so now it’s easy for me to do the things that I want to do.

You have received so many knocks from critics but it seems it doesn’t get to you.
The truth is that those people who say negative things don’t know who you are, they have never met you and you can’t blame them because they could be listening to someone who probably made up stories about you, so I cannot be hostile to someone who is talking out of ignorance. If you have to be happy in life, you have to detach yourself from the opinion of people which is what I learnt a long time ago. I completely detach myself from what people say about me. I have to identify what I want to do, focus on it and do it well. Eventually, people will come round and even if they don’t, it really does not matter.

At a time you had a gospel ministry, at another, you were a life coach and now, its music now. Don’t you feel that people will think that you are confused?
First of all, let me use the scripture from the bible, the parable of the five talents. Bible says some were given one and some given many. I will say I am someone who God has endowed with a lot of talents, I am saying this with all humility and because I know that I don’t want any of those talents to be wasted. I am a life coach, I trained at a coaching academy in London and it costs a lot to train there, I paid for it so it’s not something that just fell into my hands. I still train and facilitate for some consulting companies, I still organize my own workshop, its part of me. So that is one. Secondly, the ministry is all about reaching out. Whether you are reaching out from the pulpit, through books or reaching out through music, you are still impacting lives. It only becomes a religious thing when you talk about ministry in terms of pulpit, so I have not left the ministry if you know what I mean. I am still writing books, I am writer naturally so I write poems, books, songs and at the moment, I’m working on a book and still reaching out. And for me, all of these are intertwined, coaching, ministry, music and music is such a talent that if you have it, you can keep singing until you are seventy, nobody is going to stop you, it does not have anything to do with your physical body but what is on the inside.

How easy was it for you to return to Chris Okotie’s church since you left on a sour note, so to speak?
That is my church. As soon as I stopped doing pastoral work, I returned to my church. He has always been my pastor; I mean I wouldn’t stop doing pastoral work and then go to some other church, why would I do that? This church is like a home to me, most of the people are my friends, sisters and brothers so it’s only natural that after I stopped doing pastoral work that is the only place I would return to.

You are over forty. People expect you to have remarried. Are you not thinking about it?
I’m not thinking about it but I would love to marry, why not? Definitely, I would but at the moment, I don’t have such plans.

At a time, you were an item with the second runner up of Centage star competition, Kossi, and you were passionate about him but we are not hearing anything anymore?
We were good friends but he’s moved on and so have I.

Didn’t your family raise an eyebrow over your continued single status?
My family would want me to be married but they are not bothering me, they are not pressurizing me. They would want me to be happy if a relationship will make me happy, fine, if not stay single.

Marriage is one of the basic things that make African women. Is there something else that makes you happy in your own case?
I have not said I would not want to be married but the truth is that happiness is an innate thing. For me, I’m happy as I am now, (laughs) I’m having the best time of my life. My happiness is not dependent on anybody.

You look beautiful as ever, what is the secret?
(Laughs) Nothing much. I eat well and do lots of exercises, not too much and I take care of my body.

Since you are not in any romantic relationship, how do you manage your sexual urge?
I control myself. That is it that is why there is a word called self control.

But there is a limit to that.
There is no limit. If you don’t want to do something there no way you would do.

Source: Daily Newswatch