Nigerian singer, Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, better known by his stage name Mr. Eazi says he was once offered a £356,000 (GHC 2,250,177) record deal but rejected it at a time he had only £20 (GHC 126) left on him.
His decision to reject what may seem a mouth-watering deal for many was based on the premise that he was worth more than that.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, Mr. Eazi mentioned that: “If your self-esteem is based on how much you have in your bank account, then you have a serious self-esteem issue. Right from when I sang my very first song, someone offered me N80m record deal but I turned it down and at the time, I did not have N300, 000 in my account.”
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He added that; “My first record deal offer from the UK was £356,000, I turned it down but at the time, I had done a tour and the total amount I earned was £12,500. I used the money to shoot the videos of some of my songs. I was left with £20; they were offering me £365,000, but I turned it down. The reason I did that was because my value was not dependent on what was in my account.”
Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade as the musician is known in private life schooled in Ghana where he had the opportunity to record with music producer PeeWee as well as KluMonsta.
He released his debut mixtape, ‘About to Blow’ in July 2013 and shot to limelight following the release of ‘Skin Tight’ in 2015.
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Despite the fact that most artiste get themselves cars to make their movements easier, Mr. Eazi has other ideas. He feels that even though he can afford to buy himself a car, he felt it was a waste of time as he preferred to use Uber for his rounds.
“Till today, I use Uber but I do not care and by the way,” he says. “I don’t even pay for the ride because I was given Uber credit. But if you see me in the Uber vehicle and feel that Mr. Eazi is poor, what is my business (with that)? For instance, everybody around me has cars, and besides, I buy cars for people. If it makes sense for me to use an Uber, why should I drive? Why would I pay about N100m for a car that I would probably drive just five times a year?”
The “Skin tight”hitmaker explained that he used to live luxuriously as he was doing other businesses with his friend. They made so much money that he was paying in dollars for his rent but due to poor management he was back to square one.
“In the short time I have spent on earth, I have made a lot of money. While I was into mining, I had so much money that I was living at a place that was a stone’s throw away from the airport in Accra and I was paying my rent in dollars.
He however stated that despite going bankrupt, he never allowed his setbacks stop him from pursuing his dreams.
“I was making a lot of money. That shows you how expensive it was but I went from there to squatting with my friend in a one-room apartment. I was sleeping on the floor in his room. Also, when I was doing the business of selling beverages, we started with a crate and in a short while, we began to import four containers every two weeks. From importing four containers every two weeks, we went back to nothing. In my life, I have had ups and down. If my self-worth was based on material things, I would have killed myself.”