One of the perks of being a successful entertainer in Nigeria is the ability to afford and flaunt luxury cars. From Davido to Kcee, music artistes have proven their worth by the type of cars they purchase. But it appears Banku music pioneer, Mr Eazi is not about that life.
In an interview with Punch Newspaper, Mr Eazi revealed that he does not own a car of his own and would rather use taxi-hailing app, Uber when he is moving around town. He said, “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.
“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.
Till today, I use Uber but I do not care and by the way, 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 singer who released his ‘Lagos to London’ album in late 2018 said, “There are better things to do with that money. 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.
“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.”
Mr Eazi also spoke on the consistent backlash that comes with being in a relationship with, Temi Otedola, daughter of billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola. For him, he does not care what people say as that is the price to pay for being in the limelight.
