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5 hours ago
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Nigerian singer, Oludipe David, popularly known as Spyro, has expressed the challenges he faces in the music industry, particularly the discrimination he believes stems from his open Christian faith.
In an interview with Echo Room aired on Wednesday, the ‘Who’s Your Guy’ hitmaker shared his struggles with industry acceptance since he publicly embraced the “Jesus boy brand.”
Spyro revealed that his declaration of faith led to significant criticism, saying, “My biggest challenge in the music industry right now is discrimination. I came out with the ‘Jesus Boy’ brand, and I’ve received the biggest criticisms. It’s hard.”
He further expressed his frustration over the lack of media coverage and support for his music.
Spyro added, “If you want to be truthful to yourself, how many media moguls support or post me when I drop songs? You see them posting other artists. Aside from the blogs that I pay, how many of them do you see post me?
“Do you see these guys post things about me? Sometimes, I ask myself why, because people who are not doing as well as I am, they post them. They talk about them. The answer is simple; once you come out and declare Christ publicly, you enter a war. It’s like the whole system is designed to drag you down.”
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The singer also shared advice from fellow artist, Bankole Wellington, aka Banky W, whom he claimed told him that embracing a godly path would come with its own set of challenges.
Spyro recounted, “Banky W said something to me. He said, ‘My major problem in the industry started immediately after I said Jesus Christ is Lord.’
“So he told me to be sure that I was ready for this. He said when he was a ‘bad boy,’ everything was going fine, but immediately he decided to do it in a godly way, his war in the industry started.”
Speaking further on the lack of support from the industry, Spyro said, “If you’re saying that you’re promoting Afrobeat, there shouldn’t be any discrimination. ‘Who’s Your Guy’ was the most viewed video in 2023 in Nigeria. Did you hear about it? Did they talk about it? It wasn’t Burna, it wasn’t Wizkid, it was me.
“Did you hear about it? No. In Africa it was No. 2. Who talked about it? If it were one of my colleagues, it’d have been everywhere. I put money in PR. I do a lot of PR.”
Spyro also acknowledged that the industry tends to favour artists who conform to certain trends and lifestyles, saying, “If I smoke Igbo today, I have automatically entered one circle. A circle where everyone feels comfortable with you and vibes with you.
“I was saying hi to a colleague somewhere; he literally saw me but just walked past me.”
He also pointed out that the harshest critics often come from within the Christian community.
He said, “It’s just unfortunate that it’s even Christians that will even criticise you more. The majority of the people that drag me and give me issues are Christians. They are churchgoers. We call ourselves Christians, but we don’t support ours.”
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The singer, however, acknowledged that his decision to speak out and share his faith led to some misunderstandings.
He said, “When you sit to look at some of these things, it could be from the angle that these people feel attacked. I’m not saying that I’m a saint. I’m not coming to say I’m a Jesus boy; I’m the holy one; you’re not holy. I’m not saying that I haven’t made mistakes. I made a couple of mistakes when I came into the industry. I think I gave the wrong impression for some things.
“I feel like some people got the wrong impression when I said, ‘Don’t twerk to my music.’ They felt I was being holier than thou, but that’s not what I was trying to do. So, maybe I should have communicated some things better.”
Despite the criticisms and challenges, he emphasised that his music continues to thrive, with fans and streams supporting his career, saying, “These things don’t really affect my music; I’m speaking about the brand.
“People still stream my music. I’ve still got fans all over the world. If not, I won’t even be making money; I’d have stopped the whole thing. If I had become irrelevant, no shows and no money, dem for use my nose drag floor.
“It’s okay if someone is comfortable smoking Igbo. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that. You can smoke, drink, and do rituals on camera, but once I come and say Jesus is Lord, then it becomes a problem. Now, I’m okay because they did it to Jesus himself. It used to really get to me before, but I’m not bothered these days like it used to be.”
Spyro also took the opportunity to offer advice to emerging artists, noting that staying true to one’s faith in the industry is not without its challenges.
He said, “This is me sensitising the artists that are coming up. It’s easier said than done to declare that you’re serving God. They will come for you. They will try to drag you down. They will twist your words, which is what I’m still going through.”
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