Nigerian singer and songwriter, Ikuforiji Olaitan Abdulrahman, popularly known as Oxlade, has claimed that after running away from home to pursue his music career, he worked odd jobs to make ends meet.
According to Oxlade, in order to support his musical career, he had to sell bus tickets, a profession often performed by motor park touts known as “agbero.”
Oxlade revealed in a recent interview that his father, a university lecturer, never encouraged him to pursue music.
In his words;
“Honestly, he [my dad] was indifferent at first. But my stubbornness and consistency paid off.
Honestly, he [my dad] was indifferent at first. But my stubbornness and consistency paid off [laughs].
I ran away from the house at some point in my life to pursue music personally. And I had to do all sorts of stuff to survive. Selling bus tickets and selling foods at parties.”
He emphasized that he was from the Surulere neighborhood of Lagos and declared that “if you can survive there, you can survive anywhere.”
He continued by saying that the ghetto experience had improved his decision-making.
Watch the interview below,