Famous Fuji musician Wasiu Alabi Pasuma history is filled with a huge number of interesting facts. His personal life and path to success, children and relationship with top Nolly actresses, musicians colleagues can make anyone feel excited. Read the article below to know the most interesting facts from Pasuma’s biography.
The life history of Wasiu Alabi Pasuma
Are you ready to learn the full biography of one of the most prominent Fuji musicians in Nigeria and beyond? Read attentively to learn many interesting facts you probably didn’t know before.
Early life
Wasiu Alabi, born on November 27, 1967, also known as “Oganla”, is a Nigerian film actor and Fuji musician. The Oganla of Fuji was born to the Odetolas and became a successful musician everyone now is calling Pasuma. He was born at Mushin in Lagos State which, as he once said, put a great influence on his career. Later, he was brought up in Kwara State, western Nigeria. In 1973, Pasuma entered Muslim Mission Primary School, and 6 years later he moved to Nigerian Model High School to pursue his secondary school education.
When talking about his childhood, Pasuma said that he went through hell, suffering. Sometimes there were days when he only ate once a day. Then, his mother would ask him to eat at night so that he would not go to sleep hungry. Wasiu Alabi’s mother would sometimes tell him:
“As you are eating this food o, make sure you finish it o because you’re not going to eat anything again until later in the night”.
How old is Pasuma?
Pasuma recently turned 50 and now Pasuma age is 51. In one of the interviews, he said that he felt very happy, and excited clocking 50:
“It’s some thing I have been looking forward to and how the whole world will take it. Right now I can see it everywhere, on social media, everybody is celebrating, with PASUMA @ 50. I am so, so, happy. I am great. I feel great. I have to give great appreciation to Almighty Allah”.
Answering the question, how did he feel looking back at the last 50 years, the artist said that he had to thank God for where they were that day. In those days when he started his music career, he was called a street musician or street artiste. With his band, he played for miscreants, hoodlums, like Area Boys. Though, but he grew up a successful and famous musician widely-known beyond his hometown.
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Who are Pasuma’s father and mother?
When Pasuma was nine, his parents got separated. Since then, he was single-handedly raised by his mother. Wasiu Alabi’s father wanted him to be a medical doctor as he himself was a well-educated man. He wanted his children to have a good life and career of Fuji musician was not associated with good earnings. His mother didn’t accept his decision to be a Fuji musician as well. She said to him: “Do you want your father’s family to think I don’t know what I am doing, that I am not taking care of you? Do you want your father’s words to come to pass?” but Pasuma told her: “Mummy don’t worry, I will survive it”.
Once she realized that he had chosen his path, she started to support him. His mother wanted him to succeed because she wanted to be proud of her son. His father and his family now say that he is their son. Pasuma himself said that for his success, he can give thanks to God and to his mother.
Music career
When Pasuma was young, he dreamt about success and music was a field he built a career in. Mushin had a reputation of a town of rascally people before Pasuma made it famous as he greatly adored his native town:
“There is something about Mushin that people run away from. Being a Mushin person, people don’t usually want to associate with you or give you things. When someone asks you where you are from and you say Mushin, they don’t want to have anything to do with you”.
Pasuma though saw it as a challenge as he had a dream of becoming hugely popular, and it came true. He couldn’t begin his career somewhere else, and he actually decided that he want to get out of the place and make a difference. Mushin was a place of birth of such great musicians as Funmilayo Tejuoso, Ganiyu Solomon, Muiz Bamire, and Pasuma decided that he could do better than they did.
Pasuma started singing and playing music when he was in secondary school. While his friends were doing jumping and other sports, he and some of his guys would pull themselves aside and sing. They all started singing together, and there was no master or servant.
In 1984, Pasuma started writing songs. The young artist was inspired by K1 De Ultimate who released an album titled Talazo 84 that was greatly accepted by fans. Currently, K1 is Pasuma’s mentor who has a great influence on him. Wasiu Alabi realized that if someone could do something like that and it became a big hit, he could do the same or even something better. Pasuma started his musical career at the young age of 17, but the first album was recorded in 1993.
Pasuma started working with Eru Owa Records that invited him to the studio. This is how the first album called Recognition was recorded. It was Eru Owa Records who called it Recognition to make people know about the new Fuji musician in the industry.
Since he has finished his secondary school education, the musician has evolved significantly. After the first album was released, Pasuma’s fame drew within and beyond Mushin. Next year after the first album was released, his second album Choices was recorded. Pasuma has picked up this title because he recognized that there were a lot of Fuji musicians on the street of Mushin but only he was chosen to be a new musician in the town to become famous all over Nigeria.
Right the next year, a subsequent famous Orobokibo album came. It earned him an award as The Best Fuji Artiste at the FMA awards. Before the release of this album, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma was like any other Fuji musician in Mushin. At that time, he was just playing music and didn’t know what the future held for him but he always dreamt about huge fame. He once told:
“After the release of Orobokibo, my whole life changed, though it did not come to me as a surprise. I knew from the beginning that God’s plan for me had been finalised and l was destined to become big, but when? I did not know. In my early days, there were pointers to what God had in store for me, as I was loved everywhere I performed”.
As for the third album’s title, this was a slang word Orobokibo which was created by one of Pasuma’s backup vocalists who used it during one of the rehearsal sessions. The musician asked the fellow about word’s meaning, and he told him that it was just a slang he heard somewhere. This slang word has made Pasuma a star out of him, and he has become a household name. Originally, the slang word Orobo means ‘fat women’.
Orobokibo was the album that brought him to the limelight. This album gave him the first ever concert at Benson in 1996. That was how he started his journey.
Starting from 1997, Pasuma used to play at Lekki Sunplash. First, he played before the bigger stars like Orits Williki, Femi Kuti, Raskimono would perform. He had a few minutes to do his job and run away. People didn’t want to listen to any rising stars, they are waiting for big artists. One year later, everything changed for Pasuma and he became a recognized brand in the music industry. Now, he would not have to start the show but perform last.
In 2015, Pasuma overpassed many artists like Olamide, Phyno, Flavor becoming the winner of Best Indigenous Artist of the year at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards. That was how his successful career started, and these are Pasuma’s memories from that time:
“I was very very happy at the event when they called my name alongside that of industry giants like K1 De Ultimate, Adewale Ayuba, Pasuma Wonder and they said and the winner is…I nearly passed out”.
The young artist couldn’t even think he would beat such music giants. While Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde was reigning on the music scene being still young and hot, Pasuma was nominated for the first time. Being nominated with K1, his childhood inspiration, sitting beside him was a great honour for Pasuma itself, not even talking about winning in the same category.
In 2016, he was nominated for the Best featured Non-Islamic Artiste in Islamic album. Pasuma has collaborated with many famous Nigerian artists including Saheed Osupa, Bola Abimbola, King Sunny Ade and other.
Pasuma’s songs are Yoruba-oriented being widely listened by the audience inhabiting Yoruba part of Nigeria where his albums are predominantly sold. Alongside his strong devotion to Fuji music, Pasuma was spotted in collaboration with some well-known hip-hop musicians. During Wasiu Alabi Pasuma music career, he has released a great number of Fuji music albums and 1 hip-hop album. Despite working within one music genre, Pasuma proved to be very versatile and fruitful. Sometimes he could do 1 or 2, and sometimes 3 albums in a year. Since 1993, putting everything together it should be around 55 albums. Here is the list of Pasuma’s most significant albums:
- Recognition
- Choice
- Orobokibo
- computer
- The man
- Confidence
- London experience
- London Scope
- African Puff Daddy
- Entertainer
- American
- Extervanganzer
- Desperado
- High and Joker
- Judgment
- Unique and Superior
- Fuji Motion
- Maintain and Sustain
- Initiator
- Importer and Exporter
- Stability
- In and out
- Infinity
- Role Model
- Feel it
- Ability
- Yankee Party Time
- Sure pass
- Influential
- Purity
- December tonic
- Torin tilu
- My World (Hip-hop album)
- Me, Myself and I
- Undefeated
- Compatibility
- Goodness and Mercy
- Wisdom and Maturity
The story of the stage names
Pasuma’s fans know that this is not his real name. He got it in 1997 from his musical fellow and CEO of House of Heavy Sounds Temitayo Adeolokun. Pasuma’s friend saw him as energetic on stage. After watching several times Wasiu Alabi on stage, he called him aside and said:
“Jibola do you know that the way you bounce and jump about on stage, reminds one of a guy I know who uses a brand of energiser called Pasuma strong?”
Since the artist has never heard of the name of the medicine and how it worked, he became curious. After the chat, he spent several nights thinking about the name of this product and in the end decided to adopt Pasuma name replacing Strong for Wonder. If somebody is sick, weak, down or is not ok, Pasuma’s music is aimed at curing the disease.
Most often, Pasuma is called Oganla, or Oga Nla, which means Big Boss. The artist wanted to use the English version but when he realized that most people who buy his albums are Yoruba, he decided to stuck with the Yoruba language. This was the best way to make people know where he was coming from. Pasuma has also been given other names like Ijoba Fuji, Anabi Omole, Omo Ijawo Anabi, and other.
When talking about Pasuma’s career choice, he once told that he wanted to be a footballer:
“I could have been a footballer, a professional footballer. I was part and parcel of Kodak 1985 Under 17. I couldn’t travel with the team, they dropped me. Only God knows why that happened. Maybe if I had gone I would not have been the successful musician I am today. They had to go to the World Cup then. They dropped me. So, I was part of the Kodak Under 17 World Cup team made up of Fatai Atere. Thank God they dropped me. If not that they dropped me, I wouldn’t be a musician today. No regrets”.
Despite his football career failed, Pasuma has been blessed to become a musician. It has been over 30 years since the Fuji star, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma has been on the stage as a musician releasing 1 album every year. It seems like he doesn’t regret his career choice.
To celebrate 3 decades of Fuji music career, Pasuma decided to release a hip-hop album. It might look weird, but given the fact that unlike fuji music hip-hop is the world popular genre, Pasuma’s desire can be easily explained.
Wasiu Alabi Pasuma has also featured in a few Yoruba Nollywood movies including Alenibare, Aworawo, Iyanje, and other.
Pasuma’s personal life
The famous Fuji musician is known to have quite a lot of women, but the truth is that he has never been married. He has 3 baby mums and 10 children (8 girls and 2 boys) many of whom are living abroad.
Wasiu Alabi Pasuma’s first child and beautiful looking daughter, Wasilat Ajibola is 28 now. Wasilat is known to study at Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State. Wasilat has once told that her father is the best father in the world because he helps his children in making a good career choice and always encourages each of them.
Other children’s names are Barakat, Wasbar, Amirah, Opeyemi, Sultan, Waris, and Aliyah. The names of 2 children are not known. When talking about his family, Pasuma said:
“I have children and I don’t hide them. I’m still single but I’m not searching. I am very proud of my kids. That’s why you see I always praise-sing them in my songs. As long as they continue to do well in school. As long as they continue to make me proud, I’ve promised to always give them the best”.
Answering the question, why he is not married, he said that he didn’t want to rush into marriage. Pasuma is known to have a relationship with a few women. As the musician told in one of the interviews, he was supposed to marry Ayo Adesanya, the Nollywood actress. Pasuma told that he loved her very much and everybody in his family knew her. According to Pasuma, journalists scared the actress who wanted to keep the relationship secret.
After some journalists saw them together, they published their pictures on the front page of the newspaper after they have heard the rumours which could not be confirmed before. Ayo was not able to handle it. When the musician called her, she would say she was busy. He felt that she was withdrawing from the relationship, so he decided to let her go.
A woman who claimed to be Pasuma’s legal wife for 7 years was Alhaja Yetunde Babajide Odetola. She is known to be an influential person in politics, namely, the Chief Executive Officer of Yefadot Group of Companies. She is a title holder of Iyalode of the entire Ojodu kingdom in Lagos state. According to her words, destiny brought them together:
“If you listen to one of his albums he released and titled My World, it is the story of my life and his own life that necessitated the message of that album”.
She herself couldn’t believe that she, a well-educated woman, married someone like Pasuma. This marriage was kept in secret. She even didn’t live with her ‘husband’ in his Omole home. Pasuma has never approved her claim.
Pasuma was heard to date a famous Nollywood actor and producer Jaiye Kuti when he played the role of her fiance and husband in the film titled “Jaiyeola Ni Mo N Je” produced by Jaiye Kuti. The actress said she has never dated Pasuma. She claimed to be married while working with Pasuma who was invited to play in her movie for his charisma.
As for the onset photos of them, she explained that they were taken during the working process. Choosing Pasuma to feature in the movie was a smart decision as his bright personality encouraged people to buy the movie.
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