Lola Rae: I thought I would ‘blow’ in Lagos — but God humbled me

Lola Rae, Nigerian-British singer, says she was humbled when she relocated to Lagos to pursue a career in music.

The singer said she thought it would be easy to “blow”(be successful) in the Nigerian music scene but she met a rude shock.

Rae, real name Rachel Akosua Funmilola Garton, is the girlfriend of ‘Pana’ singer, Tekno. The pair recently welcomed a child together.

Talking about her experience of the past few years, Rae said, “sometimes, God puts you on pause and you are like God, have you forgotten me? What have I done? When God puts you on pause, don’t wait there and be playing victim”.

Rae acknowledged that she now realises that she “was not ready” at the time she moved back to Nigeria.

“Once I started to focus on myself, the music I started to make now. Honestly, I just thank God. I wasn’t ready before,” the ‘One Time’ singer said in videos posted on Instagram stories.

“I never used to speak about the struggle of music. Forget the packaging, music has been tough.

“I was born in Nigeria, Lagos, Obalende. I moved here towards the end of secondary school. When I wanted to make music, I had to go back to Lagos.

“So I moved to Lagos, I thought I would walk up in the spot and the b***h gonna blow… I was blowing dust.

“Living in Naija and pursuing music is no joke. Shout out to everyone that is hustling there because God humbled me in Nigeria. I was humbled.

“I’ve been through so many ups and downs and one thing I have learnt is that everyone’s time frame of how things will work out and how things work out is different. Don’t give up. I have been through so many ups and downs. By now I should have given up.”