No doubts, Dr Sid, born Sidney Onoriode Esiri, is now one of the leading musicians ruling the Nigerian airwaves. A dentist turned songwriter and singer, Sidney hails from Delta State but grew up in Lagos. His legendary hits include Pour Something and recently Surulere under Mavins Records. He also featured in the reigning hit Dorobucci, a hit number done by his friend and boss, Don Jazzy.
He just recently got married to his girlfriend and long time fiancée Simi Osomo. In this exclusive interview with Potpourri, he talks about his career, music and more:
What have you been up to?
I just got married so I’ve been up to that lately but musically, we’re working on promoting some more singles off the Seduction album. We’re going to be pushing out a few videos in a couple of weeks, for a few songs
You’ve done ‘Baby Tornado’ video, is there going to be another video?
The album has 20 tracks; 18 songs and 2 bonus tracks and we’ve promoted a few songs. Last year, we started with singles before the album came out. Some of the singles were Lady Don Dada, Love Mine and Talented. We also had Baby Tornado and then we had Baby Tornado remix which we just dropped a video for this year. We promoted Surulere and Kilon wa too with videos as well. And then Baby Tornado came out. We have a few more songs like Oyari which features Tiwa Savage, Chop Ogbono and a song called Nwayi Oma which features Emma Nyra
Which video are you shooting next?
I’ve shot a few videos; I’ve shot over four unreleased videos. We’re just waiting to decide when the best time to release them is.
How has your career been so far?
It’s fantastic. Every career has ups and downs and right now, we’re on an upward movement, and we’re very excited about that
Have you done the Seduction tour?
I did the Seduction UK tour in February and we toured a few cities in Nigeria; Benin, Abuja and some other places, but we’re going back on a tour by the end of the year. It’s going to be busy and hectic so there’s not too much time to schedule, we’re booked almost every weekend.
Is it in Lagos or abroad?
We planned a Euro tour but we had to move it to next year because there’s so much going on in Nigeria at the moment. We got too many bookings to be gone for a long period of time so we pushed the European tour to next year. This year we have two Mavin concerts coming up in Nigeria; one in October and then on December 24th, Christmas Eve in Lagos
Who is your biggest inspiration in music?
I don’t have inspirations; I only have people I respect. I respect what they’ve done with their music and what they‘ve done with their brands. I respect Jay Z, P Diddy, Beyonce and R Kelly. I respect different people for different reasons because there are aspects of their careers and lives that I admire.
The Baby Tornado video, where did you shoot it?
Baby Tornado video was shot in London with the X factor winner Alexandra Burke. It was a very beautiful production, I totally enjoyed it
How did you guys meet?
She’s a very close friend to my wife but apparently, she has been trying to do music with me for a long time and she just happened to ask my wife. Introductions were made and music was created.
It could not have been easy getting Funke Akindele, Helen Paul to be in your Surulere video?
They’re all personal friends of mine. These are people I’ve known for a long time and when I asked them to be part of the video, they were all excited and they all made that video absolutely fantastic. As a matter of fact, I think I need to tweet at them today and just tell them ‘Thank you’ for all the nominations we’re getting
How did you feel getting the MTN ambassadorship?
It’s a beautiful thing for a brand like MTN to recognize that a brand like Dr Sid is strong enough to represent their brand. Obviously, you know that Dr Sid has something to offer and bring something to the table, so I feel very honoured and excited about the possibilities
What is the idea behind Mavin Records?
Mavin Records is a lifestyle brand, it’s a total package. It’s love, responsibility, passion, it’s everything. When you say a lifestyle brand, it’s how you live. Mavin stands for anything that is a genius and amazing. Mavin is Dorobucci. It’s a brand that stands for perfection and excellence and that’s what we always try to bring when it comes to the music industry.
Many people want to know the meaning of Dorobucci, what is Dorobucci?
Dorobucci means a person or an individual that is awesome, amazing, rich, swagged-out, sexy and buff. Any word that qualifies greatness, that’s Dorobucci. ‘Bucci’ means anything that is amazing, fun. Doro makes Bucci a person, Doro personifies Bucci so you’re Doro, and I’m Doro. This table is Doro, anything is Doro.
How has marriage life been so far?
Marriage life is beautiful. I’m enjoying it. Can’t you see that I’m glowing and shining all over?
Are you planning honeymoon?
That is something that is personal between me and my wife
What attracted you to your wife?
My wife is beautiful, she’s intelligent and she’s the most amazing human being I’ve ever met
What has been the high point of your career?
It must be being nominated for my first MTV award and performing at the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). Then winning my first award at Headies and performing alongside some of the biggest international artistes like Jay Z and Beyonce before all those people. So, I guess I pretty much have a lot of high points
How is it like working with Don Jazzy and the whole Mavin crew?
It’s a refreshing experience. There are a bunch of talented people in Mavin Records and we all come together to create beautiful music and it’s a lot of fun. Loads of talents in the room
