Nigerian singer Salle, also known as Kosisochukwa Gospel Peters, has shared the real story behind the viral video that helped spark her career.
The rapidly emerging singer talks about her background, her trip to Lagos, and the myths around the viral video that gained her global notice in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, host of the popular show #WithChude.
She said that she was merely helping her mother, who sells food in the east, and not hawking at the time.
“I wasn’t hawking,” she clarifies. “Though you know, it’s hard to explain right now. Because literally, that’s what it looks like. When the person who made that video made that video, he took my permission, yes. He wanted to make that video in my mum’s shop; my mum sells food in the east.
“My mum said no. She doesn’t want a camera, and she doesn’t want herself out there on social media. She doesn’t want her property on social media, and we should go somewhere else. So the guy who made the video was like, ‘I need something that would make people know that this is your background, something that will represent who you are. I don’t just want people to just watch a random video. So you pick something from your mum’s shop to represent who you are.’
“The tray I was holding, when people from the street behind my mum’s shop order food and they don’t have the strength to come, you know, to probably eat or pick it up, I go to serve them the food with the tray. The guy was like, ‘Why not pick this tray? At least is a good symbol of everything.’ That was how it happened. I wasn’t hawking; I serve food for my mum,” she narrated.
Salle further expressed her pride in her mother’s business.
“It wasn’t uncomfortable for me because I was very proud of my mother’s business. It wasn’t too big, and it wasn’t too small either, and I know the kind of people who walk into that shop to eat.
“So it wasn’t something to be, though yes, somehow I’m like, I’m a big girl, you know, but I was still washing plates, I was still selling pure water, and I was still serving people across the street. It’s something that if I don’t do it, who will? I just had to.”
Salle shared the story of how her talent was discovered.
“He was a music-minded person. He has good ears for music. He heard me singing while I was washing plates in my mum’s shop. He was a customer in the shop. He was like, ‘I want the world to hear what I’m hearing right now. I like what I’m hearing.’ I knew I could sing, but I did not know there was something like videos going viral. If you could sing, then put yourself on social media. It was because I wasn’t inclined then. I was just going about finishing school, then going on with my trade and finishing my trade. That was it.”
Reflecting on the support she received after going viral, Salle recounted:
“I was in my shop, on my machine making a cloth, when my mom called me, that people have been calling her. They said I was trending on social media. I didn’t have a phone then; he posted the video on his own device. I had to ask my colleague that my mom just said something to me and I needed to check it. So at first, I think I was on 35,000 followers already. I was surprised.”
“The guy posted it on his own handle, and from there, King Tunde Ednut, shout out to him by the way, reposted the video, and that was when the guy said, ‘You know, you need to open an Instagram account so that they can tag you.’ That was when I made the Instagram account; no, I had an old Instagram account; I just had to go find it,” she added.
Discussing her move to Lagos, Salle says,
“I came to Lagos on the invitation of Don Jazzy. I wasn’t really prepared. I was just with a few of my stuff. After meeting Don Jazzy, he said so many motivational things to me. He gave me a strong word. I told myself, ‘Why do I need to go back to the East? I can just start off here.’ That was why I stayed back. I was staying in one room by myself. I was very close to going back to my family house, but I was already interested and involved. I wanted to make music for real, meet my colleagues, and work with different people. I knew Lagos was a very big center for that, and going back, I didn’t want to go and start sewing clothes again and neglect music.”
Salle discussed her decision to sign with Black Butter Records.
“When I put out Icon, that’s my single, I got a lot of reach out and deals from different record labels and management companies. Black Butter stood out. That’s Black Butter Records. Everything was very flexible and much in my favor, and that was the best I could work with. And they believed in the kind of music I make. Black Butter is under Sony. They saw the song on TikTok because it was really big on TikTok. Right now, I take TikTok seriously because it’s my number one.”
