If you love good Naija dish, try my kitchen— Goldie! DID GOLDIE BUY A HOUSE IN PARKVIEW IKOYI? WE HAVE THE SCOOP!

Written by Ogbonna Amadi

Sunday, 28 December 2008

Susan Harvey, a.k.a., Goldie, wears the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. For real. But it’s not her eyelashes that’s hot right now. It’s her video. Shift is one of the hottest videos on Nigerian TV right now. Goldie dares the Nigerian entertainment scene with an unusual persona. A quick chat with the walking stick wielding duchess reveals it all comes with the job. The eyelashes and the walking stick.. what’s up with that? I like drama, I’ve always loved in your face attitude, but in a good way. Lashes, for me, is a way to express myself without saying a word. The look speaks volumes (don’t you think?). I’m also a very shy person. Secondly, I think the lashes help me get away from that in a way, like I’m a different entity The walking stick? I had a back injury during summer in 2007. I fell down from a stairway in the U.K. had a minor surgery, couldn’t lift heavy stuff afterwards and was in pain for about four months. My doctor required of me to start using the walking stick to support myself. When I got back to Lagos, obviously attending interviews, functions with the walking stick people started feeling it was my kind of new swagger and felt I was making a statement. At a point, I was in a function with my walking stick and someone hollered “Duchess” and, from there, everybody took the word Duchess on, attaching it to me. It stuck. And the walking stick somewhat became an identity as well, even though I don’t need it any longer. How do you rate yourself, in terms of public reception? I don’t think it is right for me to try to rate myself common, but you sure know I’ve been accepted, I stand out. After so much; at first people, used to say stuff like who is she? Or who she be sef? Na Naija wey dey. Where she dey come from sef? Things were a bit tentative. But after my third video, the response I have had has been very encouraging. I’m shocked that despite my eccentricity and glove wearing antics, people respond positively. I’m hailed in bars, shops, very strange but interesting. It’s called appreciating there very own. You went to school abroad. Has that influenced your style in any way? You are product of the environment you grow from, and I believe in that wholeheartedly. My parents refused to allow us speak Yoruba in the house (I am not saying it is bad know how to speak Yoruba) as they felt I would affect my grammar and accent, so as we couldn’t speak, we could not think in the language, so that thought process became English first and foremost not Yoruba, not Pidgin. Also, going to the United Kingdom to further my education influenced my style but it couldn’t have totally been done without the founding background influence, for example, up till the time I left for the uk, I never had a style piece native material sown for me despite the fact that we go out with them and they wore there aso-ebi and all ( native piece I meant the Ankara,aso oke, etc) Which do you like most of all your songs? All my songs appeal to me differently. I can’t say for certain (but when the external album is dropped, I’ll let you in on them) you people should kulu kulu temper. Word on the street is you bought a house in Ikoyi. Park View specifically. You gotta be making a lot of money from this music thing. Haba, personal is personal. Abeg let’s leave that side. How did you come up with the name Goldie? A nickname given to me by my friends in the UK. When I was younger, I was a red albino with freckles, ginger hair, the works. When I got to the UK, my skintone kind of blended and changed to bronze kind of tone, so I became Goldie, meaning albino combined with bronze made me into Goldie? I loved it. But I believe it’s because I have a heart of gold. When is your album coming out? Give us brief preview of the album? Sometime in the new year. Introspective songs, a little more of myself and more of my thought process are revealed Which artistes have you collaborated with in the past and which would you like the most to collaborate with? I’ve done songs with Jazzman, Rymzo, OJB, Fragrance. I’d like to collaborate with any artist on the same wave length with me Describe yourself in one word. Multi-faceted Tell us what most people don’t know about you. I am a very good cook. You want to give it a shot? I just might. What do you think about the present generation of Nigerian musicians; their weaknesses and strengths plus your advice for them? I believe we all are very talented and we have a lot to offer but we should all step outside the box, let’s be more imaginative and creative with our lyrics, audio and video production concept, work hard and be prayerful. Nothing comes easy