Draped in a white see through top, a pair of figure-hugging black denims and heels to match, Ure cuts the image of a sophisticated and successful woman who knows her onions as she settles into a seat in a popular hotel located in Omole Estate, Ikeja, Lagos last week. “No there’s nobody there right now,” retorts Ure, responding to questions on her love life, “at the moment I really don’t have a boyfriend but I’d like to have one,” she croons sexily as her features dissolve in a pleasant smile. So what are those qualities she’s looking out for? “One is that he has to be an honest person; most guys these days play games. Maybe ladies play games too but I don’t.
I guess I’m just taking my time. I’d want to get involved with someone who’s straight forward; that’s my number one requirement. My man has to be straight forward and honest; it’s not like I’m keeping to myself or being selective, it’s just that I need to feel him, he has to be real; I’m not feeling the guys around me right now.” What’s her relationship with her ex, Soul E? Are they still talking? Are they friends? “No,” Ure retorts shaking her head to drive home her point as another smile emphasizes her dimples, “Soul E belongs to my past. For heaven’s sake, this is 2014!”
Porpori
Early last year to the surprise of music lovers, Ure released her debut album entitled Porpori. How has the journey been so far? “So many great things,” she says gushing with excitement, “a lot has been happening to me. Most of last year was basically for promotions of my videos from my album, Porpori. We were coming out every quarter of last year with a video. The frst was Porpori, the second was Get Down and the third one was I’ve Found Love. They are all available on my YouTube channel.”What’s the response been like? “Very positive response,” Ure croons sexily, “I think at first, people were like, ‘aahhh Queen Ure again! Some were like ‘this one just wants to show herself, what’s this music thing all about? They we’re not sure I could sing except those who’ve known me for a long time as a singer.
“But when they listened to the album they were like, ‘oh, she can actually sing.’ And now they are like ‘why haven’t you been doing this all this while.’ It’s been very positive, it’s been great,” she adds laughing softly. Ure says Porpori is all about the woman and her love interest: “It’s all about yourself and someone who feels you and you’re feeling that person,” she says breaking into the chorus singing in pidgin, ‘body de do me popori, bodi de do me popori ,’ as she adds, “it’s a love song. Most of my songs are love songs.” Is she making money from music? “I’ve made money but not the usual way. I’m a very creative person and I think outside the box. When I launched my album I made a lot of money. I am a trained marketer so all of my colleagues had to come launch it for me; I was overwhelmed! “A lot of people were like ‘since this is what you want to do and you’re doing it well, we have no choice but to support you.’ The way I look at music is that it’s just a platform that you can use to achieve a whole lot of things; an artiste should never be broke.”
2014
What should fans expect from Ure as 2014 unfolds: “Definitely I will shoot more videos and I’m going to take my fan club to a new level. It was launched last December and it’s called the Queen Ure Fan Club. Our first outing was to the Medium Security Prisons, Kirikiri, Lagos, on January 21.“Our second outing was on January 25. We were at the Little Saints Orphanage. It’s a platform for charity and empowerment. We engage in positive activities and reach out to as many fans as possible.”
Ministry
Until she parted ways with Soul E, they both ran a church together called Christ Villa. However, after they parted ways, Ure still ran the church for a while. What’s happening to the church today? “Christ Villa is no more. It was a wonderful experience while it lasted but I’m no longer a pastor.” Why did she quit? “I believe that God can use you at a particular time for a particular purpose. After that you move onto something else which was the case for me; I have since moved unto music.” Does she have any plan to kick-start Christ Villa in the nearest future? “No, not at all. I did ministry for three and half years now it’s just my music and my coaching and charity work.”
Regrets
“No I’ve none because there’s no experience which doesn’t add value to the individual. Even if things don’t go the way you want them to go, the most important thing is to grow from that experience and become a stronger person so I’m cool, no regrets.”
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