Nigerian Afrobeats singer, Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo, better known as Kcee, has revealed that repeated snubs by award organisers in the entertainment industry once left him in tears.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Kcee made this known in an interview on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, stating that the entertainment industry was not fair to him.
‘Limpopo’ crooner spoke about the emotional toll of being overlooked despite his contributions to the music industry.
Kcee further stated that, after a consistent pattern of exclusion, he eventually chose to detach himself from seeking validation through awards and to focus on rewards.
He said, “I grew up in an industry that wasn’t fair to me. There wasn’t any attention given to me at any moment. I was doing a lot that the industry wasn’t recognising.
“The fans were the ones who were behind me. I did a lot of work; they were not nominating me for awards. And I cried; I was pained.
“Right now, when I win awards, or you don’t nominate me, I don’t care. I prefer the rewards to the awards.”
According to him, he has since focused on his music and fans, finding success with hits like “Ojapiano” and “Limpopo”.
He added, “So, when ‘Limpopo’ came, oh, I was in tears. I was like, no, God has answered my prayer. He took me to the global market straight. After all the years I’ve worked with Presh, that’s like the biggest record I’ve ever done.
“I dropped ‘Ojapiano’ like today, the next day, it was doing 120,000 videos on TikTok in one day. And it happened for seven days non-stop. That’s organic. The white people were vibing to it.”