Nansel Ofariegba Sunday Nimyel popularly known as Zdon Paporrella, is a man of many sides. A gifted R&B soul singer, who reigned in the early 2000, before stepping aside for a while; Zdon says, he is back into music for a cause.
Enjoy this chat he had with SAMUEL ORJI on the reason behind his absence in the industry.
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A lot of us knew you as a musician but suddenly you stopped. What happened?
I have always been a man of many parts. It’s just that music is the skill set everyone got to know me with. Yes, I did music and I did that at a top level and after a while, I have to go back to school. I just figured that there were too many vital parts of this person that was going to waste because music is a selfish business.
When you’re doing music, it takes you to a lot of places. It took me to Europe and outside the country and it gives you no room for anything else.
So, at a point; I decided I needed to go back to school. I got my first degree, my second degree and I started doing some work for the United Nations. I am an SDG. Ambassador, that’s Sustainable Development Goal Ambassador . I was officially endorsed by the Federal Government through the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDG.
I have been doing that for some years and I still do music, but I do music for causes now. The official theme song for SDG for UN, for this part of Africa was done by me. So, I still do songs.
People have been telling me that I should go back to music. In fact that’s what Righteousman was telling me, he said; ‘how can I say I don’t want to do music again with my talent. But I assured him that soon, I will start making music again.
I dropped something two years ago titled ‘Religion of love’. It’s a theme song for one of the projects for the SDG’s and you know those kinds of sing don’t make it into the main stream.
A lot of water have passed under the bridge, how are you going to adjust to today’s kind of music, gain acceptance and break into the mainstream?
It depends on what my goal is. My goal is to keep making music . At this point in my life, I don’t think I will make music for it to be commercially viable.
At this age in my life, I am in my 40s, I cannot be making music to compete but to impact.
When you are making music to impact, it doesn’t matter whether you are creating it for the mainstream, what matters is who you connect with and how well you impact in people through the lyrics. When I say I am going to be consistent in music, I will not do it because I want to compete with those boys. We have had our time in music.
Like my brother Akon, he came back not with the interest to break into the mainstream, but it happened that he did what was right and it broke into the mainstream . In one of his performances, the genzy audience were saying this guy is going to do well. They didn’t know the guy was already a legend.
The goal and the objective is what really matters. The goal is not to compete but to impact with my music to as many people I can, before I leave this earth. We are not competing with anyone.
You come from Jos, Plateau State, that have produced many talents like MI Abaga, Psquare, Jeremiah Gyang and others. What is it about Jos that make them chun out these talents?
The environment encourages talent and promotes music. The average Jos man is a lover of arts. We love arts and we are attached to arts right from the tender age. The environment encourages us to pursue our dreams, so we start early to express ourselves artistically. I started dancing in music videos from age five. I started doing rap songs from the age of nine . You know how it’s when you start early and they nurture you, you become good at what you do.
Like what’s happening in Asia, that’s why they’re doing well in gymnastics and other related sports. They catch them young and nurture them from young that’s how it is in plateau State . While in other parts of the country people frown at their children getting involved in music and other form of entertainment instead of becoming a doctor or other skilled professionals.
But in Jos, we encourage our children to express themselves in arts. If you want to paint, sing, rap, play football or basketball, your parents will encourage you. I guess that’s the motivation, it’s not as if there’s anything in their food or water
People don’t sing conscious music again. Why the change in the trend?
Just like you said, it’s the trend. Things will evolve. It’s a constant thing in life because interest changes. Between the time we were making music over two decades ago and now things have changed. People are interested in other things now.
Back then, there was no LBTQ, people didn’t talk about it, but today; it’s a major subject, something people celebrate in other climes. The world have started celebrating what we consider evil in those days. Immorality doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, people are interested in it and music will reflect this.
Music is a reflection of the mindset of the society. Artistes are singing what people want to hear but there are still people making conscious music. However, the problem is that those kind of music do not break into the mainstream and when they do people don’t give them the attention they deserve
Are you thinking of going into acting?
No. I have never thought about that. I draw the line there. I review movies, I am into marketing and I am also a technology person. I run a multi media company called “RellaiNQ Media and I have two shows: Movies In A Minute, where I recommend movies that are really doing well. The other one is ‘Movie Uncut’ where I interview stakeholders.
You have a cousin Namsel Nimyel a seasoned broadcaster, what’s this passion in the family for broadcasting?
I think it’s just a coincidence. Namsel Nimyel is my second cousin and have been a broadcaster for a long time from PRTV Jos.
Many years ago somebody said he likes the way I talk and that’s how I got on radio and TV and started doing what I do. I found out there’s another female Nandi Nimyel who is also a broadcaster too. She is in Adamawa but it’s just a coincidence.
