“Pop star, 2face Idibia was recently put on the spot when popular OAP, Olisa Adibua caught up with him for a session of his new interview show, The Truth.

2face spoke on many issues including his life, career and politics and how he resists temptation.

The album just came out, you don’t want to see what the public reaction will be over the next few days, but you shouldn’t be nervous. Are you nervous really?

Well of course, you definitely will always be when you first put something out – because you do your stuff, you use your judgment, but the audience, the fans and the crowd have their own expectations and sometimes you don’t know how they’re going to react to different sounds, but I hope they like it.

One thing we know about you is that you’re never afraid to experiment with new sounds; what did you do with this new album ‘The Ascension’ ?

I went to a whole of places, Caribbean, R&B, Afrobeat, and I just went to different places with different producers as well. I just try to do good music and stuff that I am comfortable with – so I wouldn’t say there’s much difference from what people know me for.

A lot of artiste says they’ve recorded over 40 tracks and they can only put 15 or 20 on the album. How does that work for you?

That’s exactly what happened on this album as well, I had some tracks that didn’t make it. My A&R team and I selected the tracks and some of theses tracks have been there forever so we were like let’s just throw these ones out there.

Has your sound changed now you have a wife and more kids?

My wife is very understanding, even if I say some things – sometimes they’re just artistic expression, it doesn’t really mean that it happened to me or I did it like that, but sometimes you need to create some excitement in music. So she’s cool and very understanding in that aspect.

How does she cope with you travelling, going on tour, late nights and running your club?

Well it’s hectic and all, but when you put your mind to things, responsibilities come with them, so you have to create time for everything, time for work and time for pleasure.

A lot of people want to know how it works for you. You get into the studio; you have your sound engineer and the producer, how does the sound come together? Do you sit down and write the lyrics first or they come with the melody for you?

For me, it depends on the kind of mood or the situation that I am in, sometimes I’m in the club and inspiration just pops up and at that moment I just p!ck up my phone and record whatever’s coming into my head. Sometimes I just sit down at home, get a pen and a paper and then I start creating the melody in my head and then I start writing the lyrics, or I write the lyrics before the melody, and sometimes I just hear the beat and I ride on it.

You used to write about the things that happened in your life; and there was one about Mikel Obi.

(Laughs) The song (Only me) is not about Mikel Obi; he is a great guy and has always represented Nigeria.

But how did it start?

I don’t even know and I’d like to meet the guy that started it (Laughs) that guy can market stuff.

Do you read what people say about you, do you care about what they say and how do you handle it?

I do read what people say about me, I put myself out there, I’m a realistic person, and I don’t hide anything about myself. I don’t hide the truth, and if you say something that is true, I will tell you it is true. If it is not true, I will tell you it is not true, and over the years I have learnt how not to let these things get to me.

What do you think about what’s going on in the industry right now?

I think the industry has exploded, I think it’s moving really fast and a whole lot of boys and girls are coming up and doing fantastic stuff.

You went through the hustle; do you think people are looking for instant fame?

I wouldn’t say these young guys have it easy, because they have their challenges from their own time as well, but a lot of doors have been opened for them, and social media has made it quite easy for them, but it is not as easy as it sounds, because there is still so much they still have to put in. It’s not easy, but it’s not as rough as it used to be back in the days.

I’ve listened to people say ‘2face is not where he should be as an artiste.’ When you open a website about Africa (Nigeria) and you go to the music scene ‘There should be a picture of 2face there’. And what they conclude is because maybe it’s because you’re laid back and very easy going. Do you think your career is where you want it to be at this point in your life?

Personally, I don’t think so. But let me say this: I started a long time ago, about 17 years ago and I had my time, I had my headaches. And back then there was no focus on Africa unlike the way it is now. But I’m still out there, still doing my thing, I ain’t going nowhere, neither am I in a competition with anybody. I’m on my own lane and I’m waiting for every other person that’ll come after me and spend the amount of time that I’ve spent in the industry, then they can now come out and talk. And in terms of saying I’m not where I want to be, none of us are where we actually deserve to be, and I think it’s because of where we’re from; the industry is still in flux right now and a lot of things are still not in place, in terms of infrastructure and piracy and many people don’t respect your value, so they want to collect your music for free, and many people are scared of investing heavily, but in terms of talents and ability, and the discipline, we are world class.

What do you think of the Nigerian government?

It’s really sad, right now I don’t know what is going on, because this one will say this today, this one will say another thing tomorrow, so it’s like a massive comedy for me right now, because to me the criminal elements have actually outnumbered those well meaning Nigerians, and that is a big problem in a democratic situation.

If you were elected the president of Nigeria and sworn in, what would you do?

I would be assassinated on May 30. I would say that if that happens, I would definitely try to do something and if I can’t do that thing, I must speak exactly with courage to tell the world those behind my inability to be successful and do the things right. I would not lose courage, I would summon courage and speak out, even if that is the last thing I would do.

How do you resist temptation from the female fans?

I have a beautiful wife that has everything going well with her.

Are you going to have more kids?

Right now we’ve paused.

You said after this album we won’t be seeing 2face again. How come?

Yeah, the name on the seventh album, and every other album will be 2baba, but I can’t stop people from calling 2face.”