Seasoned singer and songwriter, Simi Kosoko, simply known as Simi, has revealed how her music career taught her to fight for whatever she wants.

During an Instagram Live session during the week, she said, “My mum worked really hard, and I went to a great school. I did not have to fight for anything. I feel like everything I had before then was handed to me. I got good grades because I was smart. I did not like reading. I only used to read days before taking exams. Everything I had was easy for me. Music was the one thing I wanted desperately but it was not handed to me. So, it taught me how to fight. It taught me not to sit down and wait for things to be handed to me. I always tell people that nobody owes one anything. Nobody owes you your growth.”

The award-winning singer also admitted that there were times she was scared about her career would turn out. She said, “One will always be afraid because one doesn’t know what will happen (eventually). One doesn’t know if people will like one’s song. There are many people that started in the industry with me but things did not pan out the way they wanted. There is no guarantee (for success).

“You cannot be waiting for people to believe in you because people tend to believe in things that are (already) working. People will invest their time and resources if they see that you have done the same thing for yourself. There were days I was scared. I felt stuck and I used to be so sad.”

The mother of one also stated that she was not bothered when she was regularly criticised for her dress sense. She said, “I remember when they used to say that to succeed as a female artiste, one had to dress in a certain way. I am really stubborn, and I was resolute that I don’t want to get success on somebody else’s terms. People used to bash me saying I did not dress like a celebrity.”