Nigerian fast-rising artist, Crown Uzama, popularly known as Shallipopi, has revealed how several of his friends refused to accommodate him when he initially relocated from Benin City to Lagos to chase a career in music.
Speaking in the latest episode of the Zero Conditions podcast, Shallipopi said he came to Lagos before his song ‘Elon Musk’ blew, hoping to stay with some of his friends who had told him they liked his song ‘Elon Musk’.
According to the singer, he contacted four of them but they all turned down his request.
He said a group of boys finally agreed to accommodate him after he deceived them that he was going to stay for only four days.
The ‘Obapluto’ crooner said, fortunately, he got a show at Port Harcourt which provided him with some money and he was able to support his benefactors in paying bills.
He said, “Before my song ‘Elon Musk’ blew. I came to Lagos and I was looking for who to stay with. Then I started contacting some of my acquaintances in Lagos who have been flaunting their flamboyant lifestyle on WhatsApp statuses because some of them had told me before that they like my song, ‘Elon Musk.’ I contacted four people but they all said I couldn’t stay with them.
“I eventually found someone that said I should come stay with them. I deceived them that I was going to stay for just four days. After I stayed there for four days, I got a show in Port Harcourt just with my song ‘Elon Musk’ which wasn’t gaining much traction then. But the fee was N50,000 and the organisers paid for my flight. The people I was staying with insisted on going with me. It was my first flight.”
As the interview went on, Shallipopi revealed that there is “a lot of money in music, even an up-and-coming artist with just one hit song can make so much.”
Shallipopi hit stardom after his song ‘Elon Musk’ went viral on social media earlier this year. He did a remix version with popular rapper, Zlatan Ibile which solidified the song as a street anthem.