Aituaje Iruobe, the Nigerian singer better known as Waje, says she received no compensation for her seminal vocal contribution to Psquare’s 2008 hit song ‘Do Me.
Speaking on The Honest Bunch podcast, the 45-year-old songwriter traced the origins of the collaboration back to her early days, signed to a label owned by Chris Madubuko.
Waje explained that she had created a remake of Psquare’s Omoge Mi, titling her version Bobo Mi.
Uncle Chris sent it to them, and they loved it and put it on their remake album, Waje recounted.
When it was time to do their next album, coincidentally, Uncle Chris and I were in Lagos, and they were like, Okay, Waje, we want you on this song. I went into the studio, and we did it. That’s the genesis and to the end of the whole Waje and Do Me.
That song became the chart-topping Do Me, which features Waje’s powerful vocals prominently in the chorus and verses.
She also revealed that her involvement ended with the recording as she was unable to appear in the music video, which was shot in South Africa because she didn’t have a passport.
But when it came time to do the video, I had moved from Enugu to Onitsha. I went there, and Uncle Chris called me and told me they were going to South Africa to shoot the video in two weeks, but I did not have a passport, she said.
What I was told at the time was that I would not be able to get a passport and a visa in two weeks. In my mind, I was just like, Okay, I can not do it. I moved on with my life.
Waje revealed that she never saw any financial proceeds from the massively successful record.
She attributed it to a lack of industry knowledge at the time, both for herself and many artists of her generation.
No. At the time, I was not sure that many artistes were fully equipped with the information about what royalties and what their fair share should be. You didn’t enter a studio, you didn’t do anything, and that was it, she added.
I do not know if there was any exchange in finances or anything like that. Not to me. I do not know. And, well, I was signed to a record label. So if anything was exchanged, it definitely was not to me.
