Well-known for championing Spoken Word in Nigeria with his monthly concert, Moment With Haywhy, Ayo Adebayo aka Haywhy De Rhymer is a presenter, MC and gospel artiste. In this interview with OLAITAN GANIU, he expresses his plan of delving into movie productions, his intentions of working with Ayo Makun (AY) and fans expectations for his May 26 concert among other issues. Excerpts TELL us about yourself and educational background'My name is Ayo Adebayo, popularly known as Haywhy De Rhymer, an outstanding globally celebrated Spoken word Artiste/Poet, an OAP with Love FM 104.5 Abuja and the publisher of Confluence Nigeria Magazine. I hail from Magongo in Ogori/Magongo LGA of Kogi State and an academic product of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) where I studied Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. I have featured on several platforms both home and abroad, including the biggest Gospel platform in Africa, The Experience thrice.My monthly inspirational Concert, Moment With Haywhy and a yearly event, A Night of Rhymes & Spoken Word Poetry have been a consistent brand of excellence and inspiration where the mission is to worship God with my talents and be a source of inspiration and motivation to my generation, especially the youths.How did you discover your talent as a Spoken word artiste'Discovery of purpose; I cant really explain, but one thing I can say is that I found myself doing it as I grew up and I really enjoyed doing it even when there was no physical reward for it. It connected me to fulfilment.Share the experience of you facing the crowd for the first timeHmm! I cant really remember my first experience because I started too young but I can remember one of my early experiences in facing the crowd when I was still in Children department in Anglican Church. I was to represent the children of my own church/parish during Childrens Day at the Cathedral Headquarters for the first time, the biggest Church/crowd I would be facing at that time. When we got to the venue, I told my Sunday school teacher who led me there that I cant do it becauseI was scared to face the crowd but they started begging and convincing me that I can. And thank God for God, they were able to persuade and convince me. Immediately I got to the stage, I couldnt look at the crowd at all, but raised my head up until I finished my recitation/ministration that day. This is just one ofthose many experiences at the beginning of my profession.Describe your style of Spoken WordMy style is more of rhyming. Thats the main reason they call me, Professor of Rhymes. Most of my lines by Gods Grace are inspirational rhymes. I think thats one of the reasons I stand out.How do you get your rhymes and what inspires you'My inspiration comes from God through anything at any time. I may be sleeping and in my dream, God will just drop a message in my spirit and from there, especially when I handle my pen, lines and rhymes begin to drop. Or I can be listening to a song, reading a book or watching a movie or anything. No particular way or format.Who are your role models in the industry'We dont really have people I can point to as my role model in Spoken Word in Nigeria. When I started, I had no one I looked up to except God. But notwithstanding, I have few persons in the entertainment industry in Nigeria I admire and celebrate a lot. One of such few persons is Ayo Makun (AY Live). I respect him and hope to do something with him in the nearest future. Not as a comedian but a great entrepreneur through entertainment who has raised lots of young ones and given then a voice in the industry. I hope to feature in one of his movies soon or feature him in one of my own movies because I am also working on some movies already. I hope to do something creative and innovative with him soon as God permits.Tell us about your team or supportersGod has also helped me to raise lots ofmentees all over the country. I have more than 100 official mentees around me, doing creative spoken word and following my footsteps. These are all part of my team and supporters. Though many are still young and not well known, but by Gods Grace, I am working hard to create that platform for them through my monthly concert, Moment With Haywhy, and few other periodic events I organise all over the country.Lagos is known as entertainment hub in Nigeria. As an Abuja-based performer, any plan to relocate soon'Probably! My dream is to be an international artiste; organising concerts in every part of the world. Ive started already here in Nigeria. I have organised concerts in several cities including, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Lokoja etc. My next concert is in Lagos on Sunday, 26th May by 5pm. I think Im in Lagos already by Gods Grace. (Smiles).What difficult choices have you made in your career'Choosing to remain a gospel/inspirational artiste and doing my thing according to how God wants me to without compromising the standard.Apart from Spoken Word, what other talent do you possess'I act very well, especially stage acting. I have been doing that right from childhood as well and won several local awards. And by Gods Grace, I am planning to produce my first home movie soon and go into movie production properly. I am equally gifted as a presenter/MC; I have been presenting on Love FM 104.5, Abuja as a freelancer for over 6 years and working towards starting a Television program in some TV Stations soon.Where do you see Nigerian Spoken Word in 10 years from now'I see Spoken word Poetry in Nigeria few years from now gaining more acceptability and producing more celebrities just like music and comedy. At the moment, Spoken Word Poetry is still lagging behind, but thank God for great minds like us who are pushing it and making it more interesting and inspirational. It has gone beyond just recitation to performance now. It will surely gain more acceptability and recognition very soon.How do you think the government can assist the industry'Government has a lot to do to assist. They should try and create a more conducive environment for creative minds/industry to excel and function effectively. Equally, they should support creative industry with accessible grants and loans, and not all these fake information and difficult to access loans we are hearing about.How do you react to bad publicity'If you desire greatness and want to go very far in life, you should prepare for it. I dont pray for it, but when it comes, you just ignore it, survive it and move on. Its one of those things attached to greatness.Any phobia'Yes. I fear height. I think they call it acrophobia. Whenever I travel by air, I travel by faith and courage. My eyes turn easily whenever I am high up.
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