An upcoming Nigerian artiste, Sleek P, may finally be springing to the limelight soon as she is set to collaborate with an Indian music maestro, Rahul Seth. Sleek P (real name Pamela Eboh) is also a journalist – she is a Senior Correspondent with News Express Media Group. Her journey to collaborate with the international music icon started a few years ago. Seth, whose hit albums include Charha Dr Rang, used for super-hit Bollywood film, Ola Senior, among others, has also collaborated with American music stars like Akon and UK music producer, Music Manny.

Rahul recently did a Hindu voice app for Hollywood movie star, Will Smith, in a movie entitled I am a Legend. The music guru was part of a worldwide peace movement called “World March for Peace and Non-Violence” spanning across 90 countries. He further endorsed it by creating an anthem for World Peace which has been played in over 30 countries so far; and a copy of it is with His Holiness The Dalai Lama, one of the torch-bearers of that movement.

Rahul is currently working on a special song dedicated to Nelson Mandela. In this interview with News Express, the veteran entertainer who pledged his heartfelt support to the noble global endeavour to bring to light the selfless, compassionate vision of Nelson Mandela, says that the Nigerian music industry has grown in leaps and bounds, hence his desire to collaborate with one of its future stars.

Excerpts.

News Express: Why do you want to collaborate with a Nigerian artiste?

Rahul Seth: Well, to begin with, I spent my initial formative growing up years in Lusaka, Zambia, where I was exposed to some amazing Afro music. In fact, I even used to play the African drums and jam with the local tribal musicians. Similarly, I listened to a lot of music from the entire African continent. One of the music styles that struck me was the traditional Ikorodo folk music ensemble from Nigeria. Then I started listening to various new age contemporary, ground-breaking Pop n Rap artistes from Nigeria, like MI, Tiwa Savage, D'Banj, Broda Shaggi, Seyi Shay, Cynthia Morgan, Flavour, Chidinma, Waje, and many others. Nigerian music and artistes are growing by leaps and bounds on the world music scenario, and since I am currently collaborating with artistes & musicians from places like Romania, Canada, UK, The Netherlands, South America, Middle East, Australia, and various others, I thought it very befitting to collaborate with an upcoming artiste from Nigeria as well.

Sleek P is an upcoming artiste not yet well-known in the country. Why is she your artiste of choice?

I connected with Sleek P on social media and liked her passion and zest for music, with interesting vocals. Plus, also, the fact that she was quite open to experimenting with unique fusion styles, which would be an amalgam of popular Nigerian and Indian music resonating with the international commercial vibe. So, that's how we decided to collaborate.

How do Indians view Nigerian music?

Indian films and music have always been very popular in Nigeria. Similarly, like I mentioned, even Nigerian music and artistes are gaining quite a following among the Indian youth, with even a few Nigerian actors working in Bollywood. In fact, very soon, an Indo-Nigerian collaborative film is set for release in Nigeria. A rom-com wherein Bollywood meets Nollywood and the film is titled Namaste Wahala. This further enunciates the bridging of gap between the art, music and culture of the two countries.

Apart from Sleek P, is there any other Nigerian artiste you will like to collaborate with?

In fact, I would be meeting a popular Nigerian music producer 'Chopstix' out here and, maybe, collaborate over something with him as well.

How did you get to know about Sleek P?

Like I mentioned (earlier), I connected with her on the net and she shared some of her music and vocal samples with me, which I quite liked, and found immense scope of working with, in a very interesting fusion format.

You did a Hindi voice dub for Hollywood legend Will Smith in a movie called I Am Legend. How did you come about that?

Well, apart from being a composer, singer, song-writer, I have also been quite a prolific voice actor. And apart from my favourite actor, Will Smith, I have also dubbed for Hollywood actors Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and where to find them), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent-Batman – Dark Knight).

So, when Warner Brothers were voice-casting for the character of Will Smith in his film, I Am Legend, I gave an audition and was selected on the basis of my performance and voice modulation in apt accordance to Will’s character on screen. The final dub was greatly appreciated by everyone.

What was the experience like?

The experience was so amazing and surreal because here I was dubbing my voice for my all-time favourite actor, which actually meant that I was playing ‘Him’. So, I really gave it my all, and got into the skin of his extremely intense character, subtle nuances, body language, voice modulations, and even the slightest of breaths and whispers. I knew that I had to nail it bang on, which I fortunately did, and the result was for all to see.

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