“Ikorodu Bois Are Not Competitors”: Incredible Kids’ Manager, Maliki Emmanuel Opens Up About Group
- Maliki Emmanuel is the manager of the foremost dancing group, Incredible Kids. who have been worming their way into the hearts of music lovers with their impeccable dance steps
- The group became a sensation after they were featured by BBC News and they have also danced for some celebrities in their music videos
- TheTalk.NG had a chat with Emmanuel on how he formed the group and has been raising the children who are all fatherless
Incredible Kids, a group made up of young dancers who came into the limelight after Mavin record boss, Michael Collins Ajereh, better known as Don Jazzy reacted to the way they danced to his signee’s music. They danced lovingly to Ayra Starr’s song, ‘Good Samaritan’.
They were celebrated after that and Don Jazzy handsomely rewarded them for their feat. The group is made up of six kids but now five, Daniel Emmanuel, Joshau Anu, Vincent Marcus, Lucky Micah, and Emmanuella Micah.
Maliki Emmanuel speaks about trenches dancing group, Incredible Kids. Photo credit @incredible_kidsSource: Instagram
Emmanuel spoke with TheTalk.NG about his group, how he has been taking care of the children, and the celebrities who have come to their aid.
It started five years ago – Emmanuel says
The journey of a thousand miles, they say begins a day, Emmanuel’s walk to stardom and that of his group started five years ago. As a dancer, some children used to watch him display his talents and they took an interest in the craft. He later picked some of them and trained them.
He said:
“It all started five years ago from making them do what they love doing. They all used to come and watch me while rehearsing. I saw the passion in them because they always try to imitate what I do. So I decided to bring all of them together and teach them. I didn’t know it was going to be big like this.”
Ikorodu Bois are not a competitor – Maliki Emmanuel
Speaking about a rival dance group, Ikorodu Bois, Emmanuel stated that they are not their competitors. He however named another international group as their competitor.
He said:
“No, but ghetto kids from Uganda because we are on the same lane but they have a lot of supporters and sponsors which we don’t have. Though they started before us long ago, they have so many videos we’ve done that they got the credit for because people known them more than us. They have achieved so many things. We are hoping to get there too by God’s grace.
A mother withdrew his son – Emmanuel says
According to Maliki, a member of the group, David Azuike is no longer part of Incredible Kids. His mother felt he was being used to make money so she called him home and prevented him from coming back.
He said:
“Azubike David left the crew last year because his mother wanted urgent money. People have been going behind to tell her that they are using her son to make money and she believed it. She told me that she wanted him to come and greet her for a week before school resumed. David left and she didn’t allow him to come back again. The boy has been crying that he wants to come back. He wanted to run from home but because he was not up to 18 years then, my lawyer suggested that I should not allow him to run because he was still underage.”
“All of them don’t have fathers”- Maliki Emmanuel
Emmanuel said that all the children of the group are fatherless but he has been supporting their mothers the little way he can.
He said:
“Any of the children can leave at any time, I do entertain that fear once in a while. As a human being, I believe anything can happen at any time but I have been supporting the mothers in the way I can because all of them don’t have fathers. So I think they believe in the future the way I do. If any of them later change their mind and want to take their child, no problem. So many kids want to join, but I am the one stopping them because I want them to grow to some extent before I get new members”.
“Don Jazzy has been our greatest support system”- Maliki
Emmanuel also spoke about the celebrity who supports Incredible Kids the most. According to him, Don Jazzy has been their greatest cheerleader. Though a lot of music artists have used the group for their music videos, they promised and many didn’t fulfill it except a few.
He said:
“Catering for the welfare of the kids has not been easy. It’s through song promotion that I have been using to cater to their welfare. Only a few celebrities have been supportive. The rest of them will just come and use our audience to promote their songs and promise to support us but they end up not doing so. Don Jazzy and Rudeboy of Psquare have been very wonderful to us.”
“Our major challenge is funding” – Maliki says
When asked what the greatest challenge of the group was, he said they needed funds. According to him, Incredible Kids don’t have sponsors and the responsibility of the children falls on him.
He said:
“Our challenges are mostly funds and sponsors. The kids are growing up now and they give me more challenges because I am always shouting and settling quarrels. We need sponsors because these kids don’t have fathers. People think they are kids who are just talented that I took from their homes, no. These kids don’t have the opportunity of good parenting because they are always on the streets. I picked them up and they stay with me. Their feeding, schooling, and clothing are all on me. That is why we need all the support we can get.”
From painting to managing Incredible Kids
Aside from taking care of the group, Emmanuel is also an artist. Proceeds from his artwork are used as funds for the upbringing of the children.
He said:
“When I started the crew, it was the paintings I was selling to pay their school fees even when we never started earning from the dances. But now, I don’t have much time for my paintings again because I have to train them.”
Davido gushes over Ikorodu Bois
TheTalk.NG had reported that Ikorodu Bois gained the attention of Davido after they repeated the video of his trending song, Stand Strong.
They did it so well that many asked who copied who between the young skit makers and the singer.
The video went viral on social media and received a lot of applause from many celebrities.
Source: TheTalk.NG
