Lara George: Extremely His

Posted by Yakuti in Archives | | 8 comments

Former Kush member Lara George is a musician, an architect, and the vice president of Soforté Entertainment, a distribution company she runs with her husband, Gbenga George. In this interview, she speaks candidly to Paula about the secrets to keeping her balance at home, at work, and in her faith. It is not just the number of times she used the word “extremely,” but also her extreme passion, her extremely unpredictable responses and characteristics, and her extremely hearty laugh that merge harmoniously, giving the impression that Lara is ‘extremely’ everything she is.

Paula: Your latest album is amazing. Thanks for raising the standard among Christian artistes.
Lara: Thank you.

P: Five adjectives that describe Lara George?
L (laughs): I would say… fun-loving…

P: We can come back to that later, it always catches people unawares.
L: Yes, let’s come back to that later.

P: What is one thing about Lara that would surprise us?
L: Well… a lot of people see me and think that I am very soft. I am not as soft as people expect.

P: How did your upbringing influence your passion for music?
L: I grew up in Yaba in Lagos. I have five siblings. I grew up very sheltered, somewhat. What that did for me was it made me look inwards very early in life. Very early, I discovered songwriting and started exploring all kinds of musical styles. I started to write a lot, both music and poetry, prose sometimes. For me, that has gone on to help me to be really comfortable with music. Now music and songwriting are things I don’t even think about. It just comes naturally for me.

P: How did you feel the first time you heard yourself on the radio as a member of Kush? Was it any different when you heard your first solo single?
L: Well, it’s pretty much the same whether one is part of a group or whether one is a solo artiste. There are so many other artistes out there and I never take it for granted when I get airplay. I get very excited. It never stops amazing me.

P: You are an architect, musician, businesswoman, singer, wife, mother – with a number of awards to your name. Do you have any regrets?
L: None whatsoever (laughs). Absolutely none.

P: How do you balance it all?
L: To be honest, I still don’t know. I just take each day as it comes. I’m grateful to God because I still have a small family. My husband is very involved in the work that I do. I also work together with him in the business. I’d say that my life is extremely convenient and I feel extremely lucky because not many people have it the way that I do. I’m not saying that I have everything that I’d like to have, not yet… but so far I am grateful.

P: How do you handle the accolades?
L: The accolades are good. You know how it is – it’s always easier to dwell on the negatives than on the positives. So when I get the accolades, they actually help. I enjoy them like a drug (laughs). I get high on it. Every single time someone walks up to me and says “What God has done for me,” I can’t describe the level of encouragement that it gives me.

P: What would you say is the secret to your success?
L (laughs): I’m not sure that I would really describe myself as being successful yet. I feel like I’ve just started. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I haven’t even gotten back to where I was when I was with the group so in terms of feeling successful, I’m not sure that I quiiite feel that way yet. But I do believe that I’m on the right path; I think that I’m doing what I’m meant to do. I’m encouraged to keep on keeping on. The secret to where I am right now in life and the level of peace that I’m experiencing, it’s nothing but God. I know that that sounds very cliché but God has always existed from eternity to eternity so He will never stop being the reason for everything good that exists. I’m learning a lot of principles from God, because God operates by principles.

P: What do you hope to achieve through your music?
I want my music to get to the point where they become anthems worldwide; any time that people hear songs of hope and of encouragement, that they will think of Lara George. I would like for my music to be that reference point to getting back to God and being able to see life through God’s eyes. I want people to be able to say, “If you need God’s point of view on any topic at all, listen to Lara George.”

P: A couple of controversial questions. First of all the song ‘Run With You’ – a few people have been asking why you did a collaboration with a secular artiste [Lord of Ajasa.] You have explained it before but just for anyone who still does not know or doesn’t get it: why would you do a collabo with a secular artiste…
L:  I chose to do that collaboration with a secular artiste because I believe that with music just like with life, as you walk the walk, you don’t live your life as though you’re living in a bubble. Every day we interact with people of all kinds of faith. It doesn’t stop us from what we’re doing. If we’re working in the same organization and we have the same values and the same goals that we’re trying to achieve in that organization, we don’t push people away and say “Sorry, because you’re not a Christian you can’t work in this organization.” With music, if I write a song, and the purpose of that song is to turn people towards Christ, to make them see God’s point of view on a particular matter, and I say to a secular artiste, “Would you come on this song with me?” and he says “Yes,” and then in the song, he says stuff like, “E fe b’Olorun rin, iyen l’o matter,” which means “I want to walk with God, that’s what matters,” and he literally speaks God’s words in that song, does it make him a bad person? That is the question that I have to ask people.

When people are so quick to judge, I don’t understand. Does it ever occur to anyone that we’re all Gentiles, and God has clearly given us favour and allowed us to become a part of the body of Christ, before now it was only the Israelites that had permission to even access God like that. Are you saying that [a secular artiste] can never come to Christ? Are you saying that there is nothing that can ever bring that person to Christ? I’m sorry but I don’t agree. I’m not going to  comrpomise on my values and my ideals. But if I go to a secular artiste and say “Would you promote God’s values with me” and that person agrees, then why not?

P: …and how would you explain the fact that you are a fan of people like Béyoncé and Lady Gaga whose music does not promote a godly message?
L: The Bible says “Let he who thinks that he stands take heed lest he falls.” It’s very, very easy to point fingers at other people whereas the truth is many people who are doing the finger-pointing are nowhere near living their lives according to God’s standards. The Beyonce’s and the Lady Gagas and all those other people… there is something to learn from every one of them. They are highly successful artistes and they have business models that are extremely successful. I do humble myself to know that there is something to learn from every person. Our professors in school are not all born again, but we sit under their teaching, don’t we? People who are Christians have a way of isolating themselves from everything that is going on around them. I’m not of that school of thought.

I believe that we’re in the world but we’re not of the world, and I believe that every one of us who is a Christian has the responsibility to uphold Christ in what we do. But Christ did not say we should live our lives alone. Our responsibility is to make sure that we are the light in the world. You can’t be the light when you’re hiding yourself under your bed because you don’t want to relate with anybody and you don’t want to find out what’s going on in the world around you, you don’t want to talk to secular artistes – your life is never going to impact anybody else. That’s what I believe.

P: Where do you get the inspiration for your songs, are they mainly about your experiences?
L: Well, different things. Sometimes it’s just something that I feel that God has been impressing on my heart. I’ll give you an example. When I wrote O Ti Se, that was a song that I literally woke up in the middle of the night to write. I was dreaming and I heard that song in my dream, and  I had to wake up and put the song down before I forgot it. Some happen to me like that. I really struggled with putting that song on my album. I thought, “People are going to think I’ve been hanging out with herbalists and all kinds of people.” I still don’t know why, but for me to have heard the song in a dream like that, had to be from God. Sometimes it’s just from personal experience. I write songs about love, the Nigerian situation – i’ve just recently written a new song, a new single that will be on the new packaging of the current album. It comes in many different ways.

P: ‘The Nigerian situation’  - that reminds me of the song I Am Glad. A lot of artistes, a lot of African musicians usually move to the US or other countries in the west as soon as they decide they want to grow. Have you ever contemplated relocation or are you okay in Nigeria?
L (laughs): I consider relocating all the time! The grass always looks greener on the other side. I love the life that I’m living, like I said. I think I’m very, very blessed with my life. What makes me uncomfortable about the Nigerian situation is the insecurity of life, there’s poverty, there’s a high rate of robbery, we don’t have the kind of infrastructure that helps make life comfortable even for the average time. I wish that I could be in Nigeria and be in an environment where things work so that I don’t have to buy a ticket every time I really need a rest. Those are just the things that make me consider relocating but every time I think about it the thought jumps right out of my head because I want to stay in Nigeria, I want to be part of the new Nigeria, I want to be part of all of the new growth that is going on at home. Nigeria is a country with amazing possibilities and I just want to be there while it’s happening, so I’m not planning to go anywhere.

P: You and your husband are amazing. How do you manage to balance marriage and business?
L: That is an everyday prayer. It’s not very easy, but when it is good, it is beautiful. I strongly believe that for a husband and wife to work together is God’s original plan for man’s existence. In the first place, why was woman created? When God saw Adam, He said “It is not good for man to be alone,” but nowadays we find a lot of men who are married, the wives don’t know anything about what they do, their wives have no idea how much they earn, their wives have no clue about anything about them. I don’t see that as an ideal situation. A man should let down his guard and allow his wife into his personal space. That is what marriage is meant to be. Adam and Eve were meant to work together in the Garden of Eden.

I’m having a great time, for me to wake up in the morning and know that I’m going to work with my husband, this is the only situation where it’s fantastic to be able to say “I’m sleeping with my boss!” (laughs heartily.) Something deep down inside of me tells me that that’s the way it’s supposed to be and I’m telling you, it is fantastic. It is a lot of fun.

P: Do you ever get tired of each other?
L: (laughs) Oh, it happens, it happens… a lot of time people marvel at my husband and ask how he can share an office with his wife. But my husband is a different kind of guy. There are times when just being with each other all the time can become a bit of a strain, but that’s just how it is with every relationship. Some men don’t even need to work with their wives before they get tired of them. The thing is, like any two human beings, we have our differences and we are constantly having to go back to God. Sometimes – I have to be very honest here – sometimes it gets really, really hot; not funny at all. But the beautiful thing is that somehow we always find a way to overcome our differences and come back together again and when we do come back together again it’s a million times better than before. It’s great.

P: When you get home, do you leave work at work – when you go to work do you leave home issues at home or does it all mingle together?
L: It’s all mingled together. Sometimes we argue about that, because sometimes as a woman I just want that us-time. Sometimes I don’t even want to talk about work… but we work for ourselves and the pressure is on constantly, to make sure that the business succeeds so we’re kind of working round the clock, weekends, all the time. Sometimes we go out and we’re supposed to be hanging out but it becomes a business meeting. But because we’re in an industry that we love, it’s very easy and almost as though we’re having fun – except for a few times when we’ve missed out on personal time or when there are really pressing issues that we need to sort out as husband and wife, most of the time I’m just happy to flow along and enjoy working out everything concerning the home and the business together with my husband.

P: What about friends?
L: Lagos is an extremely busy place to live in. It can be hard but my husband and I love to take time out and enjoy ourselves, so we try to create bonding time – invite our friends and their children and all go out to a spot where the family can hang out together, and we just have a great time. We seize every opportunity that we can – birthdays, naming ceremonies, weddings…

P: Are you always this bubbly? Do you ever get angry?
L (laughs): Here’s another adjective. I’m extreme. I’m intense. When I’m happy, I’m over the moon. When I’m sad, I’m down in the dumps. I once had an encounter at the airport and people were trying to jump the queue and there were three of us woman who just got angry and formed a barricade and insisted that everybody get on the line. And one woman was shouting “Repent!” (laughs) “This is Nigeria, get on the queue!” I do get very, very passionate about whatever it is that I believe in. The only thing that I would say is many times I try to make sure that whatever it is I’m passionate about is what God would do if He was in flesh and in the same situation. I try to make sure that I’m never the one on the airing side. I want that if anybody sees me in that scenario, they can say “It’s okay to be that way.” No, I’m not always happy and excited and bubbly. In fact, many times, I’m just more introverted and quiet. I sound bubbly because you sound bubbly.

P: What is the most-important thing you think every woman should know?
L: We women hold the key.

P: To what?
L: To everything. If you’re married, and you’re a wife, you hold the key to your husband’s heart, and therefore you hold the key to your home. If you’re a mother, you have children, you hold the key to your children’s lives, and therefore you hold the key to the future of your nation and eventually the world. If you are a single woman working a job or just building a business in one career or another, you hold the key to changing the entire landscape. God has a way of keeping checks and balances in place in life. He puts the man on top and tells him that he is in charge, but the woman who appears to be just like one step beside the man is the one who really holds that power. Because she wields so much authority, I think God places the man at the helm, just to keep us women in check, because women can go haywire (laughs). Women, we hold the key.

P: You said something about the single woman. What would you say to the single ladies who say that there are no men left, or no men like your husband who you say is different?
L: There’s no perfect man out there. In my interviews I try to be as honest as possible because I don’t want people who read my interviews to be misled and think I’m living some kind of Cinderella type life. My husband and I, when we have issues, those issues can be major – marriage-threatening type issues. But everything that we pass through in life builds character in us. When you meet a man, it is important that you be able to see into the future and see who that man will be, because often times God does not give to us the full picture of what we ask for. We say “I’m looking for a gorgeous man, tall, handsome,” – God is probably going to bring us a not-so-great-looking guy – with a great future! So it’s up to us women to be able to see that tomorrow, and to be able to see that “this guy will become who I would like him to be or very close to that image.” There is no perfect man out there, just like even women are not perfect ourselves. I would say to them, while you’re single, enjoy your singleness.  It’s not going to last much longer and when that right guy comes, you will know in your heart. There is that special somebody out there. Don’t settle for less just because you’re afraid for tomorrow. God is going to bring you your own man and He will do it sooner than you think.

P: So! You said you’re fun-loving, and you’ve also said you’re extreme/intense. Give us three more adjectives that describe Lara.
L: Fun-loving, intense, a little bit enigmatic – I find that most people have a hard time understanding me. Extremely happy. Detailed.

P: Detailed. So you like to analyze things, to make sure they are done as they should be done…
L: Yes. I’m extremely detailed, almost to a fault.

P (a little cheekily): Does that mean you’re a bit of a perfectionist?
L: I am very, very, very perfectionist (laughs).

=

End.

Explains the quality that we see in her albums, doesn’t it, ladies? Let’s continue to keep Lara George in our prayers.

*Image credits: Lara George

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