Xlusive brings Sematecino, E-Ko home

AFTER years of nurturing their music career in faraway Dublin, Ireland, where they’ve made their mark, two Nigerian artistes Sematecino and E-KO (Seun Adebowale) are back home to make their contribution to the music industry. No matter how tight the industry seems to be presently, the duo is optimistic that their vibes would go a long way in shaping its future.
Discovered by Xlusive Entertainment, a Nigerian-owned management company based in Dublin, Ireland, the artistes are already in the country with the aim of promoting their latest singles, Gbasibe (by Semantecino) and I Am E-KO (by E-KO).

POPULARLY called Semat, Xlusive was born in Paris to Nigerian parents. He grew up in Nigeria and attended the University of Lagos, where he bagged a degree in Insurance. While in school, he was a member of a five-man hip-hop group, Brotherhood, back in the late 90s, where his musical journey started.
“We were very popular on the campus as we rocked most of the school shows including the prestigious Miss UNILAG 2000. We used to perform alongside established acts and groups such as Trybsmen (with Eldee as a member) and X-Appeal (with Jazzman Olofin as a member).”
For their versatility, the group got numerous shows to their credit including the now rested DTD Lekki Summer Jam, Ray Power Grandslam with the late Steve Kadiri and Dennis Ogi. They were also regulars on the Fanta Fun Hour on Cool FM with Tosyn Bucknor.
But the Brotherhood, like most campus groups, began to drift apart as members graduated from school. However, the development did not dampen the enthusiasm of Semat, who was determined to put Nigeria’s name on the world map through his music. By 2004, Semat relocated to Europe in search of greener pastures and an opportunity to launch a solo career.
His first effort, Pray, a gospel single, made considerable impact in Dublin, but he shot a low budget video for it. He took a break for a year and returned to the scene with a new management company –– Xlusive Entertainment.
“The relationship gave birth to my new style and a club banging single, Gbasibe, an afro hip-hop/pop track produced in collaborated with Kas, a prominent figure in the Nigerian and UK music scenes. Kas recently appeared in Dbanj´s video for Suddenly.”
With his unique sound and flow, coupled with the support of Xlusive Entertainment, his popularity grew in the Dublin Afro music scene.
“Gbasibe was launched in a celebrity fashion party tagged Gbasibe Nite in Dublin, where Ruggedman from Nigeria was a guest artiste alongside Miss K, the Face of MTN Nigeria 2009.”
As his popularity soared so did he begin to feature in big shows such as the Yahooze Concert in Dublin, the Bold and Beautiful Awards three years consecutively (2007,2008,2009), Face of Africa Ireland Beauty Pageant 09, Miss Nigeria Ireland 09, Miss Congo Ireland 09, Miss Southern Africa Ireland 09 among others. Common with most artistes that have slogans to further promote their popularity, Semat has kind of infected the black community with his No b Say We Dey Try cliché. Incidentally, the slogan is the title of his oncoming album.

BORN Seun Adebowale, E-KO on his part is widely known as a thoroughbred professional artiste, who doesn’t only write his lyrics, but also sings, raps and produces his works. Just like Semat, he was born in Paris, France, but has lived in Ireland all his life. E-KO is an upcoming, unique singer/rapper about to explode on the big scene to establish a fresh view and singularity in the music industry.
E-KO’s inspiration came at the age of 12, when he started listening to rapper MC Cassidy. His career was also influenced by the likes of Usher, Trey Songz, Juelz Santana and Monica.
“I actually started from the church, but the rapper influenced me a lot. So, I began to write songs.”
However, E-KO only began to take music really serious at the age of 15 years with his first hit song entitled She Got It, but was finally discovered by Xlusive Entertainment in December 2009 at the Bold and Beautiful Award. Since then, he has not looked back. He wrote songs like Fantasy and Dream Boi and invited people for listening sessions.
The artiste is currently working on his first mix tape, I Am E-KO, with tracks such as Bad Girl, which is due for release on August 29.
“E-KO stands for Electric K.O, this portrays my punch lines, metaphors, play on words; everything to do with a rapper and I only aim to get better.”

IN a chat with the CEO of Xlusive Entertainment Kevin Tunde Adesanya, the music promoter, who discovered both talents, he promised to bring the desired change into the industry through his outfit.
Born in Ibadan Nigeria, before relocating abroad, Adesanya has always shown interest in music, which led him into entertainment in 2003, when he started running two well-known night clubs in Belfast and Londonderry (United Kingdom).
“Between 2004/2005, I was on vacation in Nigeria, where I met Seun ‘Bankulli’ Abisagbola (artistes and repertoire manager), hip-hop stars such as Rugged Man, D’Banj among others. We all sat down and discussed the industry at large. But at the time, I was not really interested because the industry was not really big.
“Now, things are beginning to step up and I’m here to make my contributions. My outfit is an alternative marketing company that specialises in event production, promotions, and band management. The best is yet to come out of Xlusive Entertainment and its artists,” he assured.