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, The PUNCH reports.
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.”
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.”
