Nigerian singer, Alexander Adegbola Akande, better known as 9ice, has revealed that when he started his music career he was famous but broke.
The ‘Gongo Aso’ crooner disclosed this in the latest episode of Chart with Sims podcast.
He said, “Don’t become popular o, make money. When I started, I was popular but I didn’t have money.” He added that money finally started coming after he put in works.
9ice said, “The money didn’t just come in, I had to do the right thing. As at then we were depending so much on Alaba International Market. Then we didn’t have Facebook, Instagram and the rest. If you want your song to be popular in Kaduna, you have to go to Kaduna to do a radio interview. You have to be there for people to see you.”
“So, when the money started coming was when we put in the hustle and we marketed the brand by doing print interviews like newspapers, magazines; putting your face out there. I mean, there are sometimes people have good songs and they [fans] don’t even know what you look like.
“I think it is not just about getting popular. But putting your brand out there. Market it, promote it. Let your face be known and the money aspect will come later,” he added.
Things have really evolved. I remember when he released the Gongo Aso album, it was a hit and it became very popular despite the absence of the numerous social media platforms we have today. I still have the CD at home. Kinda life (track 1) and street credibility (track 3) were my favourite tracks back then.