Nigerian singer, Alexander Adegbola Akande, popularly known as 9ice, has recently shared his experience of the challenges he faced when he began his music career.

In a recent episode of the Chart with Sims podcast, the singer advised upcoming artists to focus on making money instead of just aiming for fame.

9ice explained that despite his initial popularity and fame, he struggled to make ends meet in the early stages of his career.

In his words; “Don’t become popular o, make money. When I started, I was popular, but I didn’t have money.”

He attributed this to the absence of social media, which made it difficult to promote songs without depending on Alaba International Marketers.

He said;

The money didn’t just come in, I had to do the right things. As of then, we were depending so much on Alaba International Market. Then, we didn’t have Facebook, Instagram, and the rest. If you want your song to be popular in Kaduna, you had to go to Kaduna to do a radio interview. You had to be there for people to see you.

“So, when the money started coming was when we put in the hustle and we marketed the brand by doing print interviews like newspapers, magazines, putting your face out there. I mean, there are times when people have good songs, but their fans don’t even know what they look like.”

He went on to emphasize the importance of marketing and promoting one’s brand in order to attract financial success.

According to him, it’s not just about becoming popular but about putting one’s brand out there and making it known.

“I think it is not just about getting popular. But putting your brand out there. Market it, promote it. Let your face be known and the money aspect will come later”, he advised.