From nothing to heroes

By Kehinde Ajose

Step away from the glamour and attention they garner whenever  they go, these crooners’ journey to stardom has been filled with bumps, detours , and tough times. Some of   them had to hawk on the streets to make ends meet, while others engaged in low paying jobs in order to sustain themselves.

Today, they are big, popular and living their dreams. Here are the stories of their pains, anguish, disappointments and triumphs:

DON JAZZY

Don Jazzy

 Micheal Collins Ajereh, the renowned  music producer and entrepreneur has had his own fair share of life’s hard knocks .According to him, when he began, his family moved to Ajegunle in Lagos where he sold akara and pap with his younger brother D’Prince.

In pursuit of his love for music, he found himself doing odd jobs in London in order to survive. He even got a job as a security man in one of the eateries there. The 31years old MARVIN boss is currently one of the most influential personalities in Nigeria’s entertainment sector and also a philanthropist  known for doling out gifts to his fans on the social media.

ICE PRINCE

Ice Prince

“Better cars, better clothes      on me. Better parties, better houses and better girls on me. See, I can take you there Champagne everywhere”. These are the opening lines of Ice Prince’s hit single, Superstar, where he raps about  his lifestyle as a superstar, saying cameras flash wherever he goes. But His life didn’t start out this way.

“I remember the first few months we got to Lagos. I used to sleep on the carpet and didn’t have a place to stay. It was Djinee who housed us. We came with him and it worked. The power to fight the fear of the unknown is what we had,” he declares.

MI

M.I

 Jude Abaga ,better known by his stage name, moniker. M.I has paid his dues when it comes to the pursuit of his passion for music and his determination to make something of his life.

Hear him: “I didn’t grow up as a rich kid and I wasn’t poor either. We weren’t middle class either. I think we were amongst the upper lower class. There were days we didn’t have
food, we did the cocoa yam and oil too. I mean, those days when we boil cocoa yam and then you put onions inside the oil and fry it with salt. So, we did that too. But my parents did their best; they worked hard and did their best to give us education and good life.”

The award-winning Jos-bred shared on a radio programme, his tales of struggle to stardom. He reveals that   while he was in the US  he had to resort to washing toilet in order to put food on his table, and that he once worked as a personal assistant to Jeremiah Gyang.

JULIUS AGWU

Julius Agwu

Ace comedian, Julius Agwu, who also doubles as a musician, is an individual who isn’t afraid to share his story of grass to grace. He  recalled his days of little beginnings when he used to hawk before going to school. He once revealed on a TV show that he used to wake up at 5am in the morning so as to hawk pap before going to school.

On his social media account recently, he posted a picture of himself  with a tray of oranges on his head. Underneath the picture he wrote: “Never underrate anyone… Yes!!!  Yours truly used to hawk #Oranges #Akamu #Okro .It’s been an interesting journey … Thanks to my family, friends, fans and to God who oiled my wheel of creativity” .

SOLID STAR

Solidstar

Joshua Iniyezo  popularly known as Solidstar has crossed a lot of troubled waters  in order to prove that he is indeed a solid star.The Achievas Entertainment artiste once revealed the price he had to pay in order to record a song.

He puts it this way: “I faced a lot of challenges. There was a time I had to hawk pure water on the street just to record a song. Some friends used to make jest of me and tell me I could not make it as a musician. There were times I would be about to perform on stage and the organisers would get me off stage. I thank God now though,” he says.