Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Asake, has revealed one of the secrets behind his meteoric rise to the centre of the world’s most influential music scene.
Speaking with the GQ magazine, Asake, real name Ololade Ahmed, said the first step was getting a neck tattoo so he can’t get a real job.
All five letters of the singer’s stage moniker are tattooed in big, unmissable ink across his neck.
The 29-year-old artist said his tattoos symbolizes determination.
“In Nigeria, if you have a tattoo on your neck, you can’t work anywhere. I can’t work for any company. I can’t sell anything,” Asake explains.
Asake said he got the tattoo at a time when he felt especially discouraged, beaten down, and unsure about this music thing.
“I was tired,” he recalls. “I felt like, I don’t want to keep trying.”
His response to those feelings of doubt? Get a neck tattoo and give himself no other option.
“The second step is just working really, really, hard. You have to understand: I got there in two years, but I’ve been working for years,” he says.
“People are counting the days you’re successful. They don’t count the days you’ve been working toward it. Nobody gives a fuck about that.”
Credit Gist New Today News in Newspaper Nigeria Headlines