Nigerian singer Joeboy revealed that his brief employment at a sachet water factory during a university strike was one of the factors that fueled his determination to pursue a successful career in music.
He mentioned that due to the challenges he faced while searching for employment during his undergraduate years, he feared he might not secure a well-paying job upon graduation.
Speaking in the latest episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence Podcast, Joeboy said, “I studied Human Resources and Personal Management. When I was in the university, there was a strike for like three months. So I decided to get a job and I was searching for a job for like three months in the whole of Lagos. I did not get one single job.
“There was even a time I worked in a pure water factory as a marketer. At that point I was like, ‘I’m looking so hard for a job and I can’t find any. Is this how I’m going to end up when I finish school?’ So that was also a trigger. I told myself, ‘You really have to make sure you make it [in the music industry].”
He characterized his life as a “miracle,” emphasizing that despite some people advising against his signing by his former record label boss, Mr. Eazi, he miraculously secured a contract with Empawa, leading to a rapid ascent in his music career.
The artist mentioned that even his parents had not anticipated his career path as a musician.
Recently departing from Empawa and establishing his own record label, Young Legend, Joeboy claimed to have secured “the best label deal in Afrobeats history in Nigeria.”