Filmmaker Ayo Shonaiya is the founder of R70 World Inc., an independent production company founded in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Rainmaker 70 Filmworks, the company’s primary aim and activity is developing, producing, exposing and marketing Nigerian and African talents to the world in the areas of film, television and music. Working with people like Ronke Apampa and DJ Abass, Ayo has made R70 the beautiful bride of many in Europe, U.S. and here in Nigeria. He was in Nigeria recently and OLUMIDE IYANDA caught up with him for this interview.
28th October
What are you in the country for?
The primary reason is to start pre-production for a show called Stars on the Runway we are doing in February next year . It is a fashion show with a difference; where celebrities are the models. We are here to set up an office and talk to potential sponsors. We have already spoken to celebrities and designers and we have people who have confirmed that they would be a part of the event.
Whose idea is this?
It is Ronke’s (Apampa) idea, because fashion is very close to her heart. When we were at the New York Fashion Week this February, we saw a charity fashion show such as the one we are trying to do. The show had a theme, everybody was wearing red. Apart from models, there were celebrities like Kelly Rowland and many others. I am the creative director of what we are trying to do and it is going to be a total experience. It is not just about fashion, but I want you to absorb the total experience. You will get to know more and more about what we are doing as the weeks go by. There will be a press conference in Lagos on December 1, which is World AIDS Day, because the event will benefit children living with, or are orphaned by AIDS.
Is this all about charity?
Yes. It is basically for charity and to show people what we can do at R70, because we haven’t done any event per se in this country before. A lot of people know R70 as one of the leading entertainment brands in the UK and now we are extending to America. We will like to do a couple of things in Nigeria so that people will know we are here and know how to do stuff.
What is your secondary reason for coming?
We want to set up an office in Lagos. Although now we are sharing an office with Hip Hop World, we are eventually going to move into our own place in January. I’m going to use the time between now and November to get accustomed to running an office in Nigeria. Here, when you factor the cost of renting an office, you have to also think about buying generator and diesel and these are things we do not worry about in England. So, we need to get a feel of operating in Nigeria.
Is it true you dumped law for entertainment?
I don’t know about dumping, but the fact is that I don’t practise law anymore. I still read law reports and all that to know what is going on, but if it’s practising, no.
Why did you study law in the first place?
That was what I wanted to do as a kid. Most of the things you want to do as a kid are infused in you by your parents or the society. Back then, you were a doctor, lawyer or engineer, so I chose law. Entertainment is all I want to do now.
Did you practise at any point?
Yes, I did, but not anymore. I had a very short practice between 1996 and 97. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I didn’t want it to appear as if I didn’t give it a shot.
At what point did you leave Nigeria for the UK?
I left Nigeria in 1986. I wrote the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exams but did not get enough mark to study law at the University of Jos. The option was for me to wait another year or to travel. My mum told me to travel and see what’s going on out there and come back later. I did A’ level in England and decided to stay. I later went to a film school in America and law school in England.
What were you doing before R70?
I started R70 in 1996. It started as Rainmaker 70 and it kind of overlapped with my law years. I registered the company in 1997 when I decided I wasn’t practising law anymore.
How has it been since then?
We try to make things work. We make films, we make television and we are still here. We come up with creative concepts. The day I stop having ideas is the day I know I am dead.
Which of your films would you say is the ‘it’?
A lot of people know my name for King of My Country. But I like all my films because I put a lot of energy, creativity, sweat and money into them.
What about Spin that was shown in Lagos on Valentine’s Day 2002?
Yeah, the film starring Caroline Chikezie. I didn’t release Spin in Nigeria because of my experience with my two previous films before it. But it had a good run in the U.S., UK and on the internet.
What happened to the two previous films?
I didn’t like the deal that I made in Nigeria. I thought I had a good deal, but distributors here will sign a contract with you but later turn around and everything becomes a mess. Pretty much, I was duped but I don’t want to go into that. I have put all that behind me and I am very guided and wary about doing business in Nigeria. I only do business with people I feel I can do business with; which means I don’t do business with a lot of people.
Your outfit was behind the success of BEN TV in the UK. Why did you leave the station for another one?
We left because our contract ran out and I wasn’t happy at the direction the TV station was going. I had my vision when the station started and I thought it was the same as the owners’, but I found out it wasn’t, so I left. I don’t own the station. we moved to OBE and that it’s where we are right now. We make programmes for OBE and we have the same vision. OBE is about twice BEN TV in the UK, but a lot of people here in Nigeria know BEN TV more. OBE actually ranks around five in ethnic television and BEN TV is like nine.
Do you still work with K1 de Ultimate?
No. Although I will always consider that part of my life as most significant. If I walk into his house today, it will be like when I was still his manager. I can walk into his recording studio and nobody will bat an eyelid. It will just be like three years ago when we were still working. I don’t work with him anymore. But after managing him for three years, you form a bond that cannot be broken. When his manager, Percy Ademokun, comes to London, we still hook up. Same for when Alhaji comes to London.
What happened to your business relations?
I am not really a music person. Wasiu Ayinde (K1) sort of pleaded with me to come work with him. What I wanted to do back then was just be his lawyer. But he asked me to take over the managerial thing in the UK, not worldwide, because Percy was there. That was how I got into music. I still love music and will still do music projects and concerts, but my thing is making films. When I establish better than this, I will just make documentary films, because that is what I like doing.
You also worked with D’Banj
I was D’Banj’s manager for a little while. Things changed because they wanted to stay in Lagos and I wanted to focus on the international market. Not that I didn’t want them to come to Lagos, but I didn’t want them to sit in Lagos and concentrate on shows here, which is all good. Nearly every event I see in Nigeria now has D’Banj and it is good, because they are making money, but I know they can make more money and be more successful on the international stage. I actually secured a recording contract for D’Banj in Los Angeles, but they wanted to stay here and do shows. I wanted to take them to America, but they wanted to stay here. Our contract ended on a mutual ground.
Do you think they would really have become big in America going by the number of musicians there?
Not like D’Banj. Let me tell you a story. When D’Banj first called me–and that was how we started–that I should do a music video for him, I didn’t take him seriously. You know D’Banj is very full on and he tries to convince you that anything is possible. D’Banj was doing some things with JJC and 419 then and I have known Don Jazzy since the days of Solek Crew. I can actually say apart from the people that made D’Banj’s songs, I was the first person that heard Tongolo. They left the studio and came to my house in London at 2a.m. and said ‘if you listen to this you will want to be our manager’. They played the songs and I listened to them briefly, but I went back to Tongolo, which was like number three.
The two songs I picked from the album were Tongolo and Na Lie. I said ‘Tongolo is the song that is going to make you a star’ and we pretty much started working together. As the song played in the little office I had in my house, D’Banj was also performing it and Don Jazzy was saying ‘Make I tell them the koko’. I was like, ‘Don Jazzy, is that you?’ because he does not normally sing. I used to manage Trybesmen and I have never been as excited as I was with D’Banj and Don Jazzy since the day I met Trybesmen. They came to Nigeria, did a video for Tongolo and the song blew up. I was here with them then, and we travelled to Abuja and Port Harcourt for shows, but I wanted the international stage. Everything they are doing here is cool, but the international stage will give you hard currency, longevity and security. I can personally guarantee Don Jazzy alone making money every week producing for other artistes. D’Banj is like a revelation and I feel he is not maximising his potential right here. At the moment, D’Banj can be making millions of dollars and I promise I can deliver that to him. Every day I think about it and I hope and pray he make it to become the best artiste Nigeria ever produced, even on the international stage. If that does not happen, I will count it as my own personal failure.
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