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His stage name is Skailey Mental but he was born and named Adeyemi Lawal. A hip hop act, he talks about his career What prompted you into music? As a child, I grew up watching my father listen to songs from King Sunny Ade, Marvin Gay, Orlando Owoh and Haruna Ishola. These songs inspired me and I started as a learning Disc Jockey under the tutelage of DJ Midas of Rhythm FM. Later, I became a back-up singer for Yinka Davies; after which I started working on my own songs. You also worked with the late hip hop act, Damilola Damoche? Yes, he was a very good friend of mine. Then, whenever I went to the studio to record and I didn’t have any money on me, he made sure that I had something on me before leaving. He was such a kind man. That kindness inspired me to record the hype song I did for him. It was entitled, ‘Everybody calls Damoche. When he died, I was in shock for some days. He was quite a good guy. Are you into any collabo with any artiste? Yes, I am working on a couple of collabos with some big names in the industry but I wouldn’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. It will come as a surprise to my fans. Any of your works/videos hitting the airwaves currently? I don’t have any now on air. I plan to shoot a couple of videos soon. Already, I am talking to some directors but I know the best will do the job because my fans are seriously asking for my videos. Can Skailey Mental be described as a success in the music industry? By the grace of God I have succeeded in making a name for myself. Whenever you mention Skailey Mental, people know who you are talking about. Where were you born? I was born in Ibadan, Oyo State. I am the firstborn in a family of four and I attended Apostolic Church Primary School, Ebute-Meta and Ago Egba High School, Ebute-meta. Afterwards, I proceeded to Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka but later crossed over to the University of Lagos, where I studied Theatre Arts. Are you in any relationship currently? My manager, Dupe Noma, is also my fiancée. She is known as Screen goddess and she is experienced in artiste management. She has worked with a lot of popular artistes and knows her onions well. Don’t you think that will affect your career, especially with your fans? I don’t think so. In this industry, there are only a few female managers who are respected and she is one of them. I don’t think she has or will have any problems with my fans. Any woman who does what she does is tagged a strong woman because it’s not easy managing an artiste. As long as there is a good understanding between us, there would not be any fracas with fans. I support her and you need to see how many of my fans love her. We are getting married before the year ends. What else do you do as an artiste? I am a producer and I produce songs for other artistes. Also, I am a sculptor. My new hit single entitled, ‘Ruba’, was produced by me. I also did a remix version of Christy Essein Igbokwe’s ‘Iya mi Sheun rere’. I also produced an amazing wedding song I dedicated to my fiancée. How fashionable is Skailey Mental? I love to look good and my manager is also in charge of my costumes. She knows what I like and what looks nice on me. As long as it’s colourful and flashy, I am ready to wear it.