Ace music producer singer and avid songwriter Cobhams
Emmanuel Asuquo is nothing short of a professional in the field of
music. Although he is visually impaired, Cobhams’ works have given birth
to different careers such as Asa and Bez through his Cobhams Asuquo
Music Production (CAMP) outfit.
Having worked with a handful of artistes including Darey,
Banky W and Omawumi, Cobhams who signed to Sony ATV in 2005 has over
the years risen to be one of the best producers in the country.
The award winning producer recently met up with Adesope
Olajide of Factory 78 in the UK for a concert held by Aaron T Aaron and
friends in London….
Good day, how are you doing sir?
I’m very well thank you and you sir
Not bad at all we had to come here to meet you like we
usually do when people come out to the UK, we come out and speak to you
because we have been hearing a lot about you for years now so to be in
the presence of Cobhams Asuquo, you know the great one like Banky W
would say. How was your trip coming down?
Absolutely, I don’t know what you are talking about, my trip was good and I loved it.
You are a producer, musician, let’s take it back for a lot of
people that have heard your music for a long time, this might actually
be the first time people see and hear from the horse’s mouth. (Laughs) So Mr Cobhams tell us how you got into the industry, where did that fire come from?
(Sigh) In a matter of senses I think I was born to be a
musician, express myself through music so I think I was born to use
music as a tool, as a driving force to make my mark, say what it is you
know have been called to establish my purpose on earth and I think I
started music by puffing my cheeks in trying to play the tough five
blues when I was around five, six and it progressed. I hate to say this
but it’s true; a friend of mine Wrangler Rotimi stole his sister’s piano
and brought it to me so I had to learn how to start playing the piano. I
proceeded to play for the Catholic churches as an organist, at the age
of nine I was playing the organ and you know other stuffs like that but I
think my entry into the industry was through creating adverts materials
for advertising agencies. The whole story began when I met
Big Bamo from
Maintain, Back then, he will decide to give me the chance to produce some songs and then I did ‘
Catch cold’ and a couple of other songs so I guess it just started from there, I met
Faze of the
Plantation Boiz
and a couple of others who thought my sample was different at the time.
I heard a lot of music but I yearned for a different sound and I wanted
the music that I heard to be represented in my country with our
indigenous sound blended into it and I wanted a certain quality of music
instituted into the system and there were the likes of
Paul Play Dairo and
OJB Jezreel were doing that so I guess I just rode on their wings, on their shoulders and have gone far in the industry.
You were once signed to Questionmark, was it as a musician, producer or a writer?
I was an in-house producer and writer for Questionmark for about a
year, very interesting time in my life quite honestly, a time I’m
grateful for.
That’s where you met a couple of people like Asa. Was that where the union between you and her came to be?
