- Appearing on a recent Podcast, Joe El said being compared to 2Baba because of their resemblance had negatively affected his career.
- He said some music executives and media personalities had denied him access to their platforms because of that
Singer Joe El Amadi has shared his experiences, discussing the challenges he faced due to his resemblance to legendary singer, 2baba
Appearing on the ‘Hoha’ podcast, he revealed that his resemblance to 2baba had a negative impact on his career, with some music executives and media personalities denying him access to their platforms.
Joe El claimed that presenters at Cool FM and Sound City, as well as an event planner at Festac Carnival 2013, refused to give him opportunities because of his similarity in appearance to 2Baba.
He also claimed that a Sound City presenter confronted him, boasting that he had instructed his colleagues not to play Joe El’s songs due to the perceived imitation.
Joe El said:
“The downsides of 2Baba comparisons almost broke me down. Some presenters at Cool FM and Sound City, and an event planner at Festac Carnival 2013, denied me access to their platforms for looking like 2Baba.
“The Sound City presenter even confronted me at Club Rumours one time boasting that he was the one that ordered presenters at his station not to play my songs because I was mimicking 2Face.
“The event planner at Festac Carnival insisted that I won’t perform because I look like their King 2Face. The same thing happened when I went for an interview at Cool FM; the presenter said he can’t interview someone who imitates 2Face.
“I complained to my mum and my record label boss, Baba Keke but they urged to be calm. Sometimes, when I try to pay homage to 2Face when we meet in public, some of his team members will block me.”
Joe El revealed that his situation changed after collaborating with 2Baba on the song “Hold On” in 2015.
He stated that people began to accept him more after this collaboration.