Oluwaseun Adedimeji, popularly known as ‘The Seun Rave’ is a Nigerian show promoter, radio host, music curator, hypeman and an artiste & repertoire (A & R). In this interview by ADERONKE ADESANYA, he talks about his career and his experiences in the industry.
Did you have support of family and friends when you told them you wanted to go into entertainment?
I have always had passion for music and I thought about becoming a musician myself. Whenever I sing, people often compliment how good I sound. That further strengthened my decision in wanting to do music. However, the turning point was the day I told my Dad about a group assignment I had to complete at my friend’s house. There was indeed an assignment but I had other motives. So I went to my friend’s house along with extra clothes because I had a party to attend on that day. I went ahead to attend the party and had a very good time and then on my way back home, I got word that my Dad had been calling my friend’s phone to find out my whereabouts but could not get across to me. My Dad smelt something funny, headed out to my friend’s house that I had told him about earlier. On getting there, he asked to see me and my friend who happened to be a Church boy, told my Dad I had not stepped into their house that day. My Dad began to fidget thinking something bad had happened to his son. My “Church boy” friend decides to call a mutual friend whom he thought could be hanging in the same place as me. He got through to him and indeed he knew of my whereabouts and he said I was partying with them at “Raw” at the Cottons Nite club, Bodija (now 411 Nite club, I think). I had a family meeting called as a result and I was asked if I wanted to continue with my education or become an entertainer. I, of course, chose the former so as to not embarrass the family. I was about 15-16 years old.
How have your experiences shaped your career so far?
Well, I ended my journey of wanting to become a musician but the spirit of entertainment never departed me. I started organizing parties myself. We had this particular party themed “Blaze” we organized back then. Myself and my friend back then, Samskid. We had invested quite a lot of money in the party about 40k or 50k thereabouts from me and about 20k or 30k from my friend/business partner. I don’t know how it happened but word got to the principal, the late Mrs. Oloyede (may her soul rest) that a group of boys was organising a party outside school. I didn’t exactly have the best record with her at the time. She managed to trace it back to me as the flier had my name well written. Immediately, my Dad was summoned and we received series of threats by some of my teachers at the time that we would be arrested if we went on with the party. Of course, the party went on, though, I did not attend and I lost more than half my investment. I carried on from this experience and my time in the University of Lagos had a huge influence in sculpting the sort of entertainer I am now.
How did you come about your stage name?
I joined a club popular for hosting parties in my first year. The club was called “Rave”. So any member that joined usually picked up the club name as a suffix to their names. For me it was Seun Rave. We had other members, Basit, Gream, Stephanie, Tunde, Bayo, and Gboye – who now is a popular X Influencer/blogger and also a fancy socialite here in Ibadan.
Do you have role models in the industry that you look up to?
Oh yes, I’m greatly influenced by great models such as co-founder of one of the biggest Afrobeats festival in the world, Smade. I fell in love with his work ethic even more when he related his story on Afrobeats (The Backstory) documentary by Ayo Shonaiya. Where he sold his first tickets without an idea of what the job was or called. I look up to Ayo Shonaiya as well as he’s managed some of the biggest talents in the history of the country from KWAM 1, to JJC & the 419 squad before they split and then birthed talents like D’banj and Don Jazzy. Definitely, the German machine, in Adesope Olajide (Shopsydoo). He promotes the culture, the music, he’s a hypeman, hosts music podcasts where he interviews almost all african artistes. He’s such a workaholic.
Seeing how far you have grown in the industry, are you grateful for your growth and progress?
Well, I’m grateful. it’s going very well. I am currently working with different brands, doing activation and some experiential marketing. I worked with Kribz Lounge and Apartments and put together their launch ceremony. I am currently working in collaboration with the Brown Roof Party by VOV, I also have worked with Hakuna Matata by PullAfrika, The Cavemen Concert, Bella Shmurda Live in Concert, Oyo Corper’s Fest, Premier Block Party, Amala Festival, Party with Pivotal, Street in the Mall, and a tonnes of other shows as brand manager for Blast Urban. All these have inspired me to create a show of my own which is unique and will make a striking difference in the city of Ibadan. It’s a car, music and fashion showcase called “OneDaland” happening in December. Of course, my team and myself are open to collaborating on this initiative and working with prospective sponsors or partners.
Any new project you want your fans to look forward to?
Yes, so there is this initiative I had always dreamt about. A show whereby emerging artistes’ could feature just to help in grooming, promoting and distributing their music. Finally, I got a chance to unleash this idea after running it by Blast Urban (the organization I currently work). It’s called “The Blast Yard”. What we practically do is build a music community. We call for Artistes and invite attendees who form a part of this community. The artistes’ get a chance for interview on the radio and a slot for music performance before a ready-made crowd. The way it’s set up draws some inspiration from the Obi’s house in Lagos. The only difference is we happen to be a media house located in a music house. The Yinka Ayefele music house, Challenge, Ibadan and we offer the artistes’ visibility on our terrestrial, digital and physical platforms. We successfully held the third edition yesterday (Friday) and we are looking forward to subsequent editions. It holds every last Friday of the month.
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