Quite unlike his predecessors such as Iyanya, Chidinma, Praiz, who all went through Project Fame, the MTN sponsored music show and took their love and
Quite unlike his predecessors such as Iyanya, Chidinma, Praiz, who all went through Project Fame, the MTN sponsored music show and took their love and passion for music to great heights, it is not so for the winner of the 2013 edition, Olawale Ojo who has now resorted to being a cab driver. While there is nothing wrong with being a cab driver in itself, it comes as a shock that having emerged as a growing force to reckon with via the Project fame platform, a platform that many crave to have and many never did have, but made something of themselves even without a platform, Olawale could resort to cab driving.
But the singer has squashed any notion that he squandered the N5m prize money he got from the music competition rather than using to propel himself further in the competitive music industry. In an interview with Saturday Punch, he said,
“It is very true that I am a cab driver but I am doing it to support my music career. Everybody knows that money finishes, especially when you are in an industry where you have to pay for virtually everything. To promote your songs, you need money. When I completed the Project Fame competition, I released some songs, even after the one year contract I had with them expired. To release all those songs cost me money; it is not as if I won N200m. There were some other personal things I spent the money on.
“I have a video that tells my story and I mentioned a lot of things I faced in the song, titled, ‘Blessing’. There are so many things I cannot outline word for word. I did not spend the money lavishly and there are a lot of things people do not know. I went back to school and that is something a lot of people do not know. When I was in 400 Level, I had some challenges but at the end of the day, I completed it and had my national youth service in 2017. I resorted to driving cabs because a white collar job would not give me time to face my music career. At a point, I thought about how I could support my music career while working; I thought about jobs that would allow me to have time for my studio session and do what I love doing without being tied down under someone’s employment and have time to do what I have a passion for. Music is what I love doing,” he added.
Olawale said that he often picked people who knew that he was once a winner of the Project Fame competition, but that the situation never made him feel embarrassed about his job. He added that he often played his new songs for his passengers, just for them to know that he was keeping his dream alive.
“This is just to let them know that I have not stopped doing music. I make them realise that since music is not putting food on the table right now, I have to find another source of income so that I can eat. Being a Project Fame winner does not stop you from being hungry or in need of basic things of life, like every other person. I have to do what I have to do to survive.”
