Quite a number of newspapers and magazines have interviewed Evangelist Tope Alabi in the past.

This page includes excerpts of such, so that the viewers of this site may know more about Tope Alabi's past, and some of her plans for the future.

SUNDAY PUNCH MAY 17, 2008

" Because of poverty, my parents had to take me to Ibadan to live with a family, but they treated me badly because i was not their biolgical child..It was like they enslaved me because my parents were paupers and could not feed us.."

Punch What was always on your mind then?
Tope   I felt the world would come to an end. My mother used to make ogi(pap). After sieving the waste called eri, we would grind and eat with 'ewedu' or 'ila alasepo'. We even had to beg miller to grind for us, because we couldn't pay. It was so bad, So they had to take me to Ibadan to live with my mother's elders sister. But her second child treated me as if I was brought there to be a maid. It was always on my mind that a trailer should just come and crush everybody because of the suffering.

Punch Could it be suffering that pushed you into acting then?
Tope   Yes and no, I love acting, no doubt about that. Again, I saw actors as happy people, so I thought I would be happy if I joined them.

Punch  I learnt you are the champion of movie title tracks.
Tope    I am not the champion, I only do movie soundtracks for people.

Punch But all this while, you were not a born again Christian.
Tope   Yes, before I was born again, iwas doing soundtracks for all manner of movies. But after I became born again, I began to discriminate, especially against movies where there is so much emphasis on voodoo powers.
Apart from singing soundtracks, I still act. I have my own outfit for christian movies. I told you I love acting.

Punch How did you meet him (your husband).
Tope  He is a studio Engineer, we met in the studio while I was doing the soundtrack stuff and advertising for movies. Actually I was his convert. He was the person that stopped me from
wearing clothes that were showing off my body. I wore bad dresses, in fact any dress that would not show my boobs and body outline, I would not buy it. I want to show everything about my body.

Punch How easy was it for him to make you a born-again christian?
Tope  It was not easy at all, because I was so wild as a threatre girl. Then we used to see ourselves as classy girls. If I wanted to wear red, evrything would be red, and I would be
like a 'sango' worshipper, the same thing with orange in fact you will not like to see me at all. I saw girls who dressed properly as uncivilised people. If any beautiful girl covered
her body, I would be pained that she was covering her wonderful endowment instead of flaunting it.

Punch  What kind of spirit was pushing you then?
Tope    The spirit was terrible, a spirit that was working with a girl like that was devlish spirit. It would want to kill you, but you would not know, it was a deadly spirit.

Punch Do you know you could have done any other thing apart from Showbiz?
Tope Yes, I used to like selling provisions, my father has a small house in Mafoluku, Oshodi, I thought I would take a shop there and start selling something, I even started. I asked
carpenter to make a small counter for me.

Punch What do you plan to do in a couple of years from now?
Tope   I want to win souls for God. You know people are dying because of ignorance. Ask any girl that dressed nude why she does that and you would hear a lot. I want to see myself all over the world preaching the gospel to people. I want to have a school for up coming singers and a rehabilitation home for all these girls around.

SUNDAY INDEPENDENT, DECEMBER 18, 2005

TO BE AN ACTRESS IN NIGERIA IS SHEER HELL

Independent  But you didn't act in home videos?
Tope            I acted in some home videos

Independent   How was it then when you were acting?
Tope             I acted for so many years; it wasn't easy. It's a hell. To be an actress is a hell. I dont know how the people there now would described it, but it's a hell. You know you had to beg Jide Kosoko before you acted in film; and beg Yinka Quadri. You would leave Yinka Quadri to go and beg Alade (Aromire) again because you wanted to act in their films.
At times, they will ask you 'What did you bring for me?' and all sort of things i don't want to mention, so that it would not be as if it's because I am now a gospel artiste I want to spoil their trade.

Independent  So, you don't believe a Born Again Christian can go into this profession and still maintain his/her Christian intergrity?
Tope          If you are a man, I think it would be easier, but if you are a lady, and you really want to give your life to Christ, I don't know what you are doing there.

Independent Talking about soundtracks, how did this start?
Tope       My soundtracks didn't start like sound tracks. Those days when we used to produce stage plays, I used to sing at the back of the curtain, often to introduce the plays, with musical accompaniment. I've been singing for long; I found myself in it since about 17years now. I just found out people kept complementing my voice, and eventually God called me and I decided to sing gospel. I did an album in the secular music genre, 'ikoko dudu' before I did 'Baba Iwo l'akepe', I had not given my life to Christ. But you know you canot deceive God. It had very little success.

Independent Singing gospel music is supposed to be a ministry, but there are so many gospel artistes today, some even incorporating rap. What do you think? Are they all called? Can we really still regard gospel singing as a ministry?
Tope   I really don't know some people are singing without the Holy Spirit ministering to them. I don't know how they do it, and they are making money! Many of them are making more money than Tope Alabi. Tope Alabi herself is not making money; Bola are is not making money except if she
travels abroad. These people do not go anywhere, and they have so many cars and they are living fine. But like the bible says: (quotes in Yoruba) 'Let the wheat and tares grow together; at the time of harvest, the wheat will be separated from the tares'.

Independent But what do you think is the attraction? Why always gospel, of all the other genres of music?
Tope    You know this seems to be the end-time, and people notice that there is explosion of rivals and church programmes and they decided to cash on the situation. I've talked to about three gospel singers, telling them: if you want to sing gospel, you should call God. Before you write your songs at all, you need to call God. If you don't call God, there will be no
inspiration in your songs. People should feel the Spirit of God in what you are singing.

Independent Now that you are a full time gospel singer, do you still do these soundtracks? What is your relationship with them now?
Tope    The marketers and producers at times give me soundtracks to produce for them, I've told God
several times that I want to stop, God said I should not stop it. I'm telling you this because it is what God told me. God told me not to stop soundtrack because HE is using it for something.

Independent Who are those people you would say have had the greatest impact on your life?
Tope   Two people: my husband and my father in the Lord, Prophet Ajanaku of Christ Revival Ministry, Ipaja Ayobo.

 

THE NATION SATURDAY NEWS
I LIVED THE LIFE OF A BAD GIRL BEFORE GOD CALLED ME

The Nation Tell us about your career as an artiste
Tope I am gospel singer, I'm not an artiste as they call us, and I'm a minister.

The Nation What do you mean by not being an artiste but a minister; what is the difference?
Tope   An artist is someone who can do his thing by going to concerts to entertain people but in my own case, I don't go to concerts to entertain people but I minister to people, to win souls for God.

NEWS OF THE PEOPLE
I HAVE SUPERNATURAL POWERS

"Multitalented gospel singer Tope Alabi is today one of the most outstanding gospel singers in Nigeria. Married to Soji Alabi, apart from the fact that she started as a secular singer she got arrested by the "Holy Spirit" after her first album. Today she has about six albums to her credit with soundtracks for more than 600 movies a feat nobody has ever done in this part of the world. This Ogun state born woman who is, only daughter of her parent draws her inspiration from God. Her way of writing and singing is supernatural because according to her, she does not compose songs, God does it for her."

 

News  Having done like over six hundred different soundtracks for over six hundred different films, apart from your album, people tend to see you as someone who is more than ordinary, how do u reat to that?
Tope Well, what i will say is that all I have been doing is a gift from God and not talent . Although talent and gift go with each other but mine is gift from God.

News So being a secular kind of person initially, how did your lifestyle change?
Tope Many thanks to my loving husband, let me quickly tell you that he does the arrangement of my songs for
me, he play the keyboard very well. About the change in lifestyle, he did everything, he started by telling me stop putting on big earrings because i liked big earrings then, he said i should change my mode of dressing too, then i used to put on anything like net, trousers and all that because he is a son of a pastor, the first son, changing me was not a difficult task for him.

News What are your favourite colours?
Tope Peach, pink and brown.

News What is your favourite dish?
Tope Combination of Amala, Ewedu and Gbegiri.

News Reach out to your fans?
Tope I want them to know that I love them just like they love me because what they are giving me is love. Ordinarilly, I would not expect an alfa to call me, appreciaing my work but I have alfas that call and tell me how much they appreciate me and my work, I want to tell them I will not disappoint God firstly and I will not disapoint them.

THE HERALD WEEKEND MAGAZINE, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007
INSIDE THE WORLD OF TOPE ALABI

"But Tope Alabi has not allowed her good looks to get into her head neither has she allowed her fame to make her arrogant. The lady with heavy Ibadan accent has remained very humbled and dutiful to her husband, like sarah she respect her husband.

"Although, Tope Alabi is not a jester, but, there is no dull moment with this fair compexioned lady who
has brought glamour to gospel music and whose albums are most sought in many Afrian countries, Europe and America.

"But life has not been bed of roses for her. At a very tender age, she knew what it was to be poor.
This was the same person that people gathered round in Ibadan singing and calling her "olodo rabata" meaning a dullard. Today, those who despised her and thought she would not make it in life are now singing a new song and looking unto her for one form of assistance or the other.

"When I started it was tough, but before I started singing gospel music, I love talking about sango and other gods. But God in His infinite mercies changed my music"

"However, my first album titled ' Baba Iwo lakepe' was not a success, but the man of God still encouraged me telling not to lose focus.....I have experienced poverty. For more than 20 years, I was eating poverty, leaving in poverty. I know
what it was to be poor."

"What I am saying is that when you have gone through poverty, you appreciate God more when you eventually
have breakthrough."

"The saddest day of my life was when a relation of mine gathered people together, put me at the middle and
started singing that I'm a dull girl. It was a painful experience , but thank God that those that despised me and thought i will never make it in life are now turning to me for one form of assistance or the other.

SUNDAY PUNCH NOVEMER 27,2005
WHAT'S IN A VOICE?

Concerning her husband, Tope says "We are always together. We are hardly separated from each other. We work together and do many things with
respect for each other's opinion.

NB: Click Tope's Blog to ask the public a question about Tope Alabi or to tell everybody something you know about Tope Alabi. Also, lyrics of Tope Alabi's Songs will be available from this blog page.