Little or nothing was known about the singer, Ayoola Johnson, fondly referred to as Ay.com till 2009, when he released the hit song, ‘Pass Me Your Love,’ which featured Terry G. Fast forward to 2019 and not much has been heard about the singer.
However, speaking to Saturday Beats, the musician noted that getting married early made him sacrifice most of his time for his family rather than his musical career.
“I got married after my first album; I was a bit distracted. I was a young man when I got married; I got married at the age of 25. My wife and I attended the same secondary school, we were both young people who were in love and we had the opportunity to get married. I have produced more songs after that, but the industry is messed up now. I’m not desperate about music. I am doing music for the passion.
“My son will be eight years old soon, my wife got pregnant almost immediately after we got married, she was a young girl and I had to be there for her. Some of the guys that make waves in the industry have given 100 per cent of their life to their career.
“Most of them who are reigning in the industry today are baby fathers. A lot of them don’t even have time for their children. I was caring for my family, so I had little time for my music. It took me time to get myself together, and now that I am ready for music, the competition is very high. I just try to do music because I am passionate about it. It’s worth it at the end of it all, I have no regrets,” he told Saturday Beats.
Asked about some of the differences he has noticed from the period when he started music and now, he stated that a lot had changed in the industry.
“The difference is clear, it’s not about talent anymore in the music industry; it is all about money. If you have money, you can buy music and airtime. In the past, music gets aired based on the quality, but now no matter how good the song is, it is going nowhere.
“However, we are grateful that the Nigerian music industry has grown and it’s being accepted globally, it is a positive change. A lot of people are doing well; lots of investors now invest in music,” he said.
Recently, the ‘Pass Me Your Love’ singer has been using his social media platform to air his views on marriage, music and depression. He used the moment to speak about the motive behind that, while stressing that he was trying to enlighten people.
“I watch a lot of artistes say negative things about marriage; they fail to understand that if their marriage is not working, they should check themselves. They shouldn’t generalise because by doing that, they may mislead their fans. I’m trying to be realistic and help the people to see the light.
“A lot of people go into marriage for the wrong reasons, not for love. Some of their marriages don’t last; I have been married for nine years but I don’t put my wife on social media. During the time I got married, social media was not really active then, so my marriage wasn’t based on social media. The woman I married is not the social type. I try to take my marriage away from my career.
“We are in the industry where people relate with you the way you portray yourself. A lot of people live fake lives. I have seen people in the industry being neglected because they don’t have enough money. There was a time a colleague of mine said people should do away with their friends who don’t meet up to their standard,” he said.
Speaking about the death of DJ XGee, AY.Com noted that his death could have been avoided if he had someone to talk to when he was depressed.
“The reason why a lot of people are dying due to depression is because they have no one to talk to; most of them are afraid of people gossiping about them. A colleague of mine relocated to America because a conversation about him and his wife leaked on a blog.
“After this, everybody castigated him for not being able to handle his home. It was one of his friends who his wife was chatting with that leaked the chat on the blog.
“The late DJ was not really my close friend, but each time we saw each other, there was always a big smile on his face. I wish he had the opportunity to talk to me, I would have motivated him. I guess he was afraid to speak up because of fear of being neglected. There is no love in the industry,” he said.