Nigerian Afrobeat singer and songwriter, Ikuforiji Olaitan Abdulrahman, popularly known as Oxlade, has shared some of his experiences when he was still a struggling artiste.
The singer disclosed that he slept under the bridge locate at Abulegba, Lagos State, after running away from home to chase his music career.
He explained that his father, who is a lecturer was against his decision to do music, which made him leave home and do several menial jobs to survive.
Oxlade stated this while featuring on the Afrobeats podcast, hosted by Adesope Olajide.
He said, “Back then, I used to sleep at Ojuelegba barrack bridge sometimes. I did several menial jobs to survive. I was selling BRT tickets.
“If you don’t take your time to create some songs or create anything, it’s gonna sound rushed. If you rushed in, you rushed out.
“I am not looking for hits, I am looking for classics. I mean, ‘Away’ is four or three years old, but it’s still banging. ‘Ku Lo Sa’ is a year old, it still bangs. ‘O2’ from nowhere, it just blew up last year. These songs are old, but they still have value right now.
“I don’t want to mention names but I know of a lot of artists that dropped songs last year that blew up but they are gone now. I’m not trying to impress, I’m trying to leave a long lasting image in your head.”
