Entertainment

Music is in my bloodline – Cenke

I inherited music from my parents. It is in my bloodline. My parents all played music at their levels. These revelations were made by Chukwuebuka Samuel Nwafor, an Ndikelionwu based musician, in this interview with our Editor-in-Chief, SUCCESS UCHIME. Here are excerpts.

Cenke (center) performing during
an event

Question: May we meet you, your name and the name of your group?
Answer: My name is Chukwuebuka Samuel Nwafor, also known as Cenke, and I hail from Arogwe village, Ndikelionwu here. The name of my band is God’s Time Gospel & Highlife Band International.
Question: What kind of music do you play and what kind of occasions do you go to play?
Answer: I play a combination of gospel and highlife music. We feature in weddings and traditional marriages, birthday parties, burial ceremonies, political party functions, house warming etc.
Question: When did you start playing music and what inspired you?
Answer: Well, I started playing some 10 years ago, precisely in 2005 and that was when I finished my apprenticeship, then I came back to Ndikelionwu and joined the choir in the Saint John Anglican Church here in my town, and from there, I started singing for the church. Because I love what they do in the church, so I was inspired to start playing full time. Up till date I still play for the church, because it is from where I drew my strength.
Question: Where are the places you have gone to play?
Answer: We have gone to several places within and outside the state, even up to Lagos State. In fact, we go to wherever we are engaged to play.
Question: Did you inherit music?
Answer: Yes, I inherited it. It is in my bloodline. My father, Sunday Erasmus Nwafor, the one they know as Akpata n’anwu, was playing metal gone for masquerades here in Ndikelionwu, and was a singer also. Even my mother and grandmother were all singers. They sang for the umuada wherever they had a gathering. So, you see that I actually inherited music. It is in our family bloodline; therefore, what I am doing today is not just ordinary. It is God ordained.
Question: Do you have people you are training at present in music and how many are you in your group?
Answer: Yes, I have some people, one is an Ufuma boy. The thing is that I am not the only Ndikelionwu based musician. We have prominent musicians in our town, and they are doing well, but I am the only one based here at home, and am satisfied with that. We are six people in our group playing key instruments, and we are all experts at our own level.
Question: Do you have plans of producing any title of yours?
Answer: Of cause yes, I have to do that when the time comes. It will not be long. It is in my plan; in fact, that is the goal of any musician. I will never stop until I am able to produce a title of my own.
Question: Is music industry in Nigeria a profitable venture?
Answer: I believe it is, only if you have the resources to acquire the right instruments. It is like any workman, if you do not have the right implements, you cannot perform optimally. Again, you need to show a level of skill and talent in it, and if you do, be sure that people will always come from all the places looking for you. If you have a good product, it must sell. The reality is that one has to start from somewhere. Great musicians like Chief Osita Osadebe and others started from somewhere. You do not have to grow overnight. It is slow and steady.
Question: Do you think you have reached your peak in the music industry?
Answer: No, no, I have just started; I have not even gone halfway. I have a long way to go in this music thing. I am only asking God the Father for the grace to get to the top of my profession and I know He will do it for me in no distant time.
Question: Do you have any major challenges as a musician?
Answer: Yes, numerous challenges. In life, there are bound to be challenges, but these challenges are very relative. Finance to acquire good instruments is there as number one. We also have the influence of satanic people. They come in different ways to stop you from going forward especially with this competition that is in the music industry. Everyone wants to outshine the other. It is either they cause your equipment to destroy or they cause one spiritual challenge that will be difficult for one to get through. I have experienced it in practical terms, this is not story. We have seen it happen live, even in this our town here. I will not be able to give you a countdown of such satanic challenges, they are too many to mention here.
Question: Have you got a family of your own?
Answer: Yes, by God’s grace, I just got married some few months ago, and we are looking up to God for the fruit of the womb to follow. We are quite confident He will answer us at the appointed time.