By Chukwudi Nweje
Determination and persistence best describe fast rising Afro hip-pop/gospel artiste, Oluwaseun Peters.
From whence he was a young boy, Seun has had a desire to become a musician. Fate, however, played a twist on him, as he could not go farther than secondary school due to lack of finance.
But with eyes set on the target he set for himself, he went for vocational training and acquired skills to become a caterer. He then established a business whereby he fried yam and akara (bean cake), which he hawked in the streets.
With the proceeds from his confectionery business, he paid for the studio sessions to record his music. Today, he has an album and video in the market, with some other tracks in the final stages of production. Please enjoy his story.
Background
I am Oluwaseun Peters but people know me by my stage name, Showboy. I developed a passion for music since I was a small boy. I knew that was what I wanted to do and I’ve pursued it since then. I’ve been into music for more than 10 years now, playing inspirational, Afro hip-hop, dance hall and R&B. However, my genre of music is Afro hip-pop, I love to combine African songs and dance hall rhythms to make fantastic tunes. My vision is for my music to go global and impact people’s lives; that is the purpose for which I sing.
How I finance my music
After my secondary school, I went for vocational training due to lack of finance to further my education. I leant catering and decoration business; I always believe that no matter how well you are doing, you should have multiple streams of income. I believe that everyone should work to earn a living and not just depend on other people to finance their needs. So, I had to start a confectionery business, I fried akara and yam, which I hawked in the streets and I used the proceeds to finance my studio sessions.
Theme song
So far, I have released about nine songs, debuting with Se K’ama Salo Ni, a song about Nigeria and how we need to co-exist peacefully. The truth is that we need each other to fix Nigeria. The situation in Nigeria today is that everybody is looking for a way to emigrate, everybody is struggling to get out of the country. But, if I run away and you run away, who do we expect to stay behind and fix Nigeria for us? The song is calling on Nigerians to unite, join hands and salvage the country. It is a clarion call on youths to unite and make Nigeria better. The song, Se K’ama Salo Ni asks the question: should all of us run away from the country? The video of the song is currently on MiTV and YouTube. For some years now, on every October 1, Se K’ama Salo Ni has become a regular Independence anniversary song on MiTV.
African Lady
My other songs include African Lady, which is more of an advice to young ladies. It talks about those qualities that make an African lady unique. There is another one called Ife, a wedding song that celebrates love and which is popular at wedding receptions. It talks about celebrating love and happiness.
A third song, Iyanu talks about dignity in labour and aiming for greater heights. The message in the song is never to give up. As you keep going out to work and doing your best everyday, you need to believe in yourself and trust that God will make a way for you. My other track, Take Me Up, is an inspirational gospel song with some element of rap. I’ve finished with the songs’ production and now working on promos.
On producers
Se K’ama Salo Ni is my only song that has a video. I did the song in a studio owned by Tokunbo Ninolowo, a Nollywood actor. I’ve also worked with wonderful producers like MC Glad’s GHS Beats, KuzB and Slur.
Advice to Nigerian youth
My advice to Nigerian youth is never to give up. I believe the future is bright. I have a song called, Ewa Jo, meaning ‘come and dance’. There are some people who don’t have food to eat; there are those who don’t have a place to sleep, and there are people who have no hope for tomorrow, but they have peace and joy. When you have peace and joy, you will make it; so we have to be joyous and dance. That is the message of the song, Ewa Jo.