In an exclusive chat with Saturday Beats, the Oshozondi singer said that he once worked as a factory worker for about ten years where he earned about N15,000 per month. “Before fame found me, I worked as a factory boy for about ten years.
I worked with Dangote and a lot of companies that produce dry gin. I earned about N15,000 per month but now, I am one of the most sought-after artistes and I charge about N1m per show,” he said.
Three years after he began working as a factory worker, he decided to give music a shot but chose the rap genre, a move that did not pay him at all. After embracing ghetto sound, he decided to switch genre; a decision which has turned him to one of the rave-of the-moment artistes.
“I never believed that I would be this big within a short period of time. I have been in the industry for about seven years but when I started, I was a rap artiste, I did radio-friendly songs but my life and music changed when the Shaku Shaku trend came on board.
Before I released my hit song, ‘Oshozondi,’ the guys on the streets of Mushin and Agege area had been dancing the Shaku Shaku dance but there was no beat that blended with their songs.
They had been looking for a peculiar beat that would be rhythmic with the sound but the likes of Davido and Wizkid were giving them posh songs till I came on board and released the ‘Oshozondi’ song and the beat was purely for the street; it was pure Shaku Shaku beat. The trend of the new song and the dance step just came out at the perfect time and it worked for me.
Before I knew it, they started dancing Shaku Shaku to my song and people began to believe that I was the one that originated Shaku Shaku. After the ‘Oshozondi,’ the ‘Legbegbe’ song came on board,” he said.
It appears as if he is the new King Midas of the music industry as every artiste both established and unknown seek to have collaboration with him. He told Saturday Beats that he thought he had a prank call when he was invited to sing with D’banj. “I never imagined the likes of D’banj or Tiwa Savage featuring me in a song but it has happened and next week, I am releasing another song with Wizkid.
It was after the ‘Legbegbe’ song trended that I got a call from someone in D’banj’s camp for a feature with him because the sound was already trending on the mainland. After that, I got a call from DJ Enimoney and we did a song that featured the likes of Tiwa Savage and Reminisce,” he said.
Despite the fact that most people are speculating that he is a threat to the likes of Olamide, Lil Kesh and Small Doctor, the singer noted that he was simply their colleague and not a threat.
“I am not a threat to the likes of Olamide, Lil Kesh or Small Doctor but people may think I am because I have brought a new sound from the street to the industry. People just like the way I do my thing because in my songs, you cannot easily decipher if I am singing or talking. They just love the uniqueness of my style. Everyone is doing well in their own lane. I just thank God for where I am today,” Slimcase said.
The singer emphasised that the Shaku Shaku songs do not promote immorality.
“The Shaku Shaku songs are street songs from the innermost parts of the ghetto. These songs only paint the picture of what happens in the innermost parts of the ghetto. Someone just has to sing about things like that,” he said.
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