Popular Nigerian singer, Inetimi Alfred Timaya Odon, also known as Timaya has claimed that Nigerian awards lack credibility.
Recall that Nigerians accused the Grammy organizers of complicity after the Recording Academy failed to offer all the Nigerian nominees any award at the 66th Grammys.
On February 4, 2024, the 66th Grammy Awards was held in Los Angeles with Nigerian artists failing to win any of their 10 nominations.
Timaya insisted that Nigerian awards are even worse than the Grammys in terms of credibility.
He, however, advised his colleagues not to back down in their quest to obtain a Grammy.
Revealing his take on a lot of people saying the Grammy used Afrobeats and needed to get back home and grow, “We don’t need to come back home. Even our own, which credible awards? Is it the Hip-hop awards, Hip TV awards [The Headies]? I don’t even know. They are not credible either. They are even worse than the Grammys,” Timaya replied.
“If we have a homegrown award that is credible, people would gravitate towards it. But for now, whether you like it or not, Grammy is still Grammy. We don’t have to back down [because Nigerian artists lost this year]. We are going again,” he stated.
The Recording Academy president Harvey Mason stated that the Grammys is determined by the opinions of the voting body every given year. Mason also stated that only the quality of a song and not its commercial acclaim determines who wins the Grammys.
Also, in the wake of the 66th Grammys, the Headies announced that the award will be returning to Nigeria for the 17th edition.
Likening Romantic Relationships With Nigerian Ladies To Thieves And Police
Timaya likened romantic relationships with Nigerian ladies to thieves and police.
Timaya disclosed that he cannot date a Nigerian girl despite his three baby mamas being Nigerians.
The singer also advised Nigerian ladies to avoid dating Nigerian men, stating that his current lover isn’t a Nigerian.
According to him, the relationship between two Nigerians is toxic and deceitful.
“If I am a Nigerian girl, I will not date a Nigerian man. Right now, I can’t date a Nigerian girl. My current lover is not Nigerian. I can’t date a Nigerian lady because we have the same foundation; and the same upbringing. The relationship will be like police and thief. The relationship will be too toxic. We go dey lie for each other too much. We won’t even have peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, Timaya opened up on how he struggled to give up drug addiction.
He admitted to engaging in drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
The ‘Dem Mama’ crooner said he got introduced to drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic by some young boys who get extraordinarily excited after consuming “molly”.
Timaya described his experience of breaking off from drugs as a “tough fight.”
“I am not a saint. I have done drugs. Breaking off from drugs was hell, it was a tough fight. I got introduced to drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown, in 2020. Everybody was home and there were those young guys in my house who were always so happy. And I was like, ‘Bro, how are you guys happier than me, I am the boss I got money. What are you guys on?’ And they told me that they got molly.
“When I took it, I did not understand myself. I was so happy that I dashed all the money in my pocket. So I wanted to just keep feeling like that. That was how I lost a lot of weight. I was not eating, I was just happy. How you go just want dey happy? You are supposed to, first of all, be happy naturally. But when you need substance to make you happy, it replaces natural happiness. So you have to be buying happiness. When I said I was taking molly, I was taking like three pills every day and it felt like medication [laughs].”
Timaya
