I wasn’t going to touch this story because there was really no reason to, in terms of a discussion on it. There have been many breakups in the industry and unless it is really buzzworthy, it is what it is and I think our time is better used for more important business of music and the law issues. At least I know mine is, because the future holds even more of a limited with you all, for sure, starting early next year.
However, Seyi Shay’s recent interview with Bella Naija regarding her leaving Fly Time TV made this topical and a focus here on AML. I once said that she is very talented, gorgeous, intelligent et al but I didn’t like her too much information (TMI) and blame game tone and attitude; when it came to how she handles prior relationships that did not work out.
I made this statement almost one year ago as to her breakup involving Mathew Knowles as her manager. My opinion, a year later, has not changed.
The Mathew Knowles relationship did not work out and when Shay was interviewed on Factory 78 last year, her first major interview to the Africans in the diaspora and the world at large, she could not stop telling us that her failed relationship with her previous band was essentially because Mathew Knowles was not a good manager. I said, at the time, that her statement was unwarranted, especially on the facts given. It is enough to say the relationship did not work out. We are all adults, plus it is about relationships. That manager you left may still be important in terms of connections, referrals etc. towards your career.
An excerpt follows:
” . . . Discussions on what amounts to an admission that she violated an existing agreement, implicit or explicit, with Mathew Knowles when she uploaded a video she should not have; and had to take it down. She went into waaaaaaay too much details here. Her revelation also showed the right hand does not know what the left is doing in Mathew Knowles’ camp. This was unnecessary. She could have been diplomatic here too. Also, is that what Flytime should look forward to if there is ever an issue with the terms of her agreement and Flytime? Substitute every Mathew Knowles mention with “Cecil Hammond.” She needs to work more on her interviews. I am not feeling the walking liability component she carries with her.”
Now, she leaves Fly Time TV and I can’t believe Seyi Shay is actually saying Fly Time could not give her what Mathew Knowles gave her. Really? What’s with the contradictory statements? Make up your mind Miss. Also, it is again enough to say you wanted to go a different direction and hence leaving Fly Time. She also periodically keeps dropping statements that indicate Fly Time did not know how to manage her throughout her interview. Given her prior statements on Mathew Knowles, I am not feeling this new switch, yet again. If J management, her new management, is unscuccessful, I bet she will say the same thing.
Excerpt follows from her new interview with Bella Naija.
You recently signed a new deal with J Management. Why did you leave Flytime?
Me and Flytime broke up amicably. We hit the roof basically and couldn’t go any further together. I needed a close-knit team. I needed an engine. I needed my brand to be built the way we are building it now i.e. the logos, the website, the image, the make-up, the hair and so on. I just needed what I had when I was with Matthew Knowles, you know, and I wasn’t getting that from Flytime. Because Flytime is so big and they deal with so many other things, they obviously clearly didn’t know how to do what it is we are doing now. So, I spoke to them and told them, “Hey, this is what I need. So, I’m going to build my own team. Hope you’re cool with that” and they said, ‘Yes, that’s fine. We will still help promote you’ and we went our separate ways.
You guys, is Seyi Shay really for real? “They obviously clearly didn’t know how to do what it is we are doing now?” She actually said this in an interview? Wait? Is this the same Fly Time that has helped build important relationships for her with media, industry key persons and more? Last I checked they also had some strong promo materials which is why I even paid attention when it first hit my inbox. So, Flytime knows how to build a logo, website, image etc. for FlyTime and others but not for Seyi Shay? Is it just me or does her reasoning not sound weird?
BellaNaija: Speaking of developing a new image, you’ve been criticized in the past for not really having a distinct style to go with your image. It’s like one moment you’re afrocentric and the next you’re something else.
I’ve never been afrocentric. I’ve only ever worn a headtie. It was a gele made from a piece of net material. We just improvised that day. It was actually a shoot for a specific campaign and that’s what they wanted. I’ve also worn Ankara on a stage show just because the setting was purely Nigerian and I wanted to be identified that way. I don’t feel that I should ever be blocked into any particular category.
Like I said, that was another reason why I had to get my own team because when I was with Flytime, I never had an image consultant; I never had a team of people I could sit down and say, “Okay, this is what I want to like and this is how I want to be portrayed”. All the while people were thinking I’m confused, maybe I was because I never had a team. Now that I’m with J management, I’ve told them what I want and they have gone out and sourced the necessary people down who work strictly for us. So, that’s it now. I don’t know if you’ve realized but in the past few months, my look has been consistent so you can see very clearly at the point in which I changed teams.
Again, folks, did Seyi Shay really blame the alleged lack of consistency of her personal style on Fly Time? Really? First, if we agree that Shay’s sound is eclectic, then her style sense should naturally follow that way too; and more so than even Fly Time, she should know what defines her sound. How many singles, shows, how many videos has she performed in or produced? The rest of her style was displayed primarily on red carpets during her off time. So, if there is an issue as to her style sense, she should take the blame not shift it on Fly Time.
Why shift that blame on Fly Time? I happen to like Seyi’s style overall so I honestly don’t even know what the issue is here. I am also unsure why she did not take this silly question and redirect it by interweaving the need for artists to work in sync with the Nigerian design community; and that our designers are not one dimensional and neither is she as an artist. She could have easily concluded with the fact that she can showcase traditional wear today and contemporary the next. Instead, she defaulted to the blame game, again. Blame Fly Time for her personal style, blame them for everything.
Perhaps you all see things differently. Your thoughts?
Read the full interview on Bella Naija.
Cheers,
Uduak
Seyi Shay New Branding/Promo Pics
I completely agree with you. She needs to know what to disclose and what not to disclose. I’m a big fan of her music but she as a person is starting to rub off the wrong way with these interviews. I remember reading the first article about the Matthew Knowles issue and said in my mind “Ok maybe she got carried away, its just one time”. Now I’m noticing a trend here. I hope she learns and improves on this.
@Benny, thanks for the comment. I agree with your view as well. I don’t know what her issue is but she comes off very arrogant and condescending. It didn’t work out. Leave it at that and keep it quiet and within closed circles. Why you have to undermine your ex-management outfit who you say you still will be doing business with, is beyond me.
Hope you are keeping well and business is good.
Cheers,
Uduak