Songstress, Chineye Ruth Okorie, is more popular as Ruthless Diva. She recently created a buzz in the social media when pictures of her clad in a one-piece swimming suit found its way to the Internet. She spoke with The Octopus, on her career, her current work and life as a Ruthless Diva.
You obviously have been doing music for a while. At what point did you become Ruthless Diva?
I have always being a Ruthless Diva because the word ruthless which forms part of my stage name is from my name Ruth. The other part of my stage name diva comes from being a hustling female songstress. Ruthless Diva has always defined me and will always tell you who I am.
So you take no offence at being described as a hustler?
The hustle I am referring to is a musical kind of hustling. I have been hustling for about 10 years now. But I got my first studio experience when I was 14 years old and since then I have never being able to release an album. In fact, I became a studio rat lobbying for free studio session even though I did not really know what it meant to do music professionally. Then, it was enough to be around musicians, listen to good music being made in the studio, but I never went looking for a record label to sign me on. All these happened in Festac Town. I am a Festac girl and there is no studio there that I don’t know.
At what stage did you begin to get professional?
I started making money later on when I began working as a backup singer for established artistes.
Who are the artistes you did backup for before going solo?
I did backup for Sound Sultan and during my grooming period as a musical, I met 2face because he is like the Prince of Festac Town, but we never worked together.
After 10 years as a musician one would expect you to have dropped an album. Why have you not?
The process of dropping an album is a gradual one because you need to get people to see what you are doing and like it. You need to penetrate the market, the people of Nigeria and Africa as well. Nowadays, different artistes are doing several styles of music and I know what it takes to do music. When I have identified my target and they are ready for me, then I will go ahead to drop my album.
What genre of music do you do presently?
I do Afro pop but I also do other sorts of music like Opera and Afro, as long as the beat is there for me I will deliver to it. So, I am still waiting to get the people’s attention and when I do, I will drop the album.
If you have been waiting for 10 years, has it ever crossed your mind that music might not be your way?
I know I have the talent and the skills to do music, but I have just been waiting for someone who would come and sponsor and promote me as an artiste. When you start music on a shaky ground it can be complicated. My first five years was basically a joke while the next two years saw me using my own money to promote my career before I did my research and realised that you just can’t do music alone without a major backing.
How did you get signed on DCCR, your present record label?
I got to know the owner of the record label through a friend. Someone called me to come and do a backup for an artiste and after I did the job, the guy who owns the label was impressed. He asked if I would like to do my own song and I said, yes. He said I should book a session and that was how I did my first song titled Down Low. After that, I did another song called Brain Gaga.
What motivated the song, Brain Gaga?
It was basically two words because if you listen to the song, you will hear brain and gaga, so we just thought we should bring the two words together and form Brain Gaga. Another reason was that the word was catchy.
Apart from the lyrical meaning, what was happening to you when you did the song?
The song is about the way men make women to feel.
Was it just another song or did someone break your heart and you decided to do a song about it?
I need to let you understand that most of my songs come from the beats I hear. If I hear a beat and if it is love that comes to my mind, I start writing about it and if it is pain, I do the same. I can relate whatever is on my mind to my music when I am creating the song.
You seem to have special love for tattoos because they are all over your body
These tattoos have been on my body for a long time even before I got signed on as an artiste. They mean different things to me. I have one on my hand, one at my back and another concealed by the clothes I am wearing.
Which of these tattoos is less obvious?
There is this one at the side of my body and people don’t get to see it except when I wear a dress that reveals my side.
You have cute legs and a lovely body but you seem to give the impression you like to flaunt them. Is this correct?
Yes. Sometimes I feel like that.
You also love attention, don’t you?
It is not about me liking attention; I think every woman loves attention especially when it is good attention. Most times, when I leave my house, I don’t plan to cause chaos with the way I look but when people see me, I just draw attention naturally.
Beside music what do you do?
I do a bit of modelling. I do face modelling for my friends, who want to advertise their hair care products. I am not tall so I can’t do modelling professionally.
How did pictures of you in swimsuit get to the Internet? Did you deliberately release them?
First, those pictures were from a photo shoot that was done for my song. I knew they were going to be released at some point in time, but I did not know who would release them. The pictures crossed a couple of hands during the production. It was even a friend, who called to inform me that my pictures were on the Internet. It got a lot of negative reactions from my fans because most of them were wondering when I started singing that I was appearing almost nude in a bikini. Eventually, I had to look at the positive side of the whole thing because even as I received a couple of snide remarks from my fans, it also made me popular.
Did the incident affect your relationship in any way?
It did not because I was not in a relationship then and even if I were, I would have expected my boyfriend to understand what I do and be supportive of it. And if he doesn’t understand, then he is not good for me. If he does not support me and they say something bad about me, he would just fall for it and it becomes a drama.
Are you in a relationship now?
No, I am not
Are men not asking you out?
I don’t have the time actually. I am always in the studio working. I don’t have time for men and it is that simple. Men come around but I am not ready for them because I can’t deal with the drama of who did you call and who picked your call. All those things affect one psychologically.
Is it that you don’t have an emotion that craves to be hugged and touched?
I do, but I have had my share of men. I have had a couple.
So you are done with men?
I am not saying that I am just focusing on myself. I am directing all my time and energy to my music.
How do you deal with lacking the sweet experience that comes with knowing someone loves you, knowing you have enjoyed it before?
I am used to it. In fact, I grew up with it. Coming from a broken home, I have this impression that nothing lasts forever in terms of marriage or relationships. So, when a guy is saying he is no longer interested, I am just like okay. I have had the experience before when a guy told me it was over and I asked him why and he said he just wanted to focus on himself. Since then, I decided that if a guy can decide he wants to focus on himself, then why can’t I.
How ruthless can you be?
My ruthless energy actually reflects in my music. I am ruthless in the music industry. I can sing for a very long time.
What is your taste of fashion like?
For me fashion is very simple because I like to look good.
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