Zlatan Ibile: I worked as bricklayer before fame

Zlatan Ibile, a Nigerian singer, has opened up on how he worked as a bricklayer before attaining fame.

He was speaking of his career and early strides towards making music during a recent chat with BBC Pidgin.

Zlatan said he also used to cut grass for construction workers and once gambled in gaming centres to feed himself.

According to the 25-year-old, university education would later usher in the luck that led him to music success.

“Before fame, things were hard. I was doing bricklaying, cutting grass for people’s foundations, working in a cold room, gambling at game centres so I could earn a living. Now I’m Zlatan Ibile,” the singer said.

“I went to shows and they wouldn’t let me perform. I’d go submit my CD but when it’s time to perform, the DJ doesn’t find it. Even when you perform, the DJ scratches after your first verse to signal one’s time’s up.

“It was university education that eventually helped me, although I didn’t gain admission in time. Before my first semester exams, a competition came up. I won a car, something nobody had owned before in my generation.

“I still had to use the car as a cab because, for three years, my music didn’t meet the success I was aiming at. Most of the time when I’m recording in the studio, it’s my adlib people see.

“Because when I do my adlib, it sounds like I’m making noise; as though a dog is barking. But it’s just the seasoning I’m adding to the soup. I always warn my friends not to video me but they don’t listen. I’ll soon sue them.”

When asked what policy changes he would make if he was made president, Zlatan said: “I’ll legalise weed so I’ll have weed farm in Nigeria because a lot of countries are making money from this thing. It’s not such a big deal as we think it.

“I’ll also embezzle money, pack all the money because that’s what our president and governors go there to do. I’ll pack my own share and hit the exit. I’ll fix the country but I’ll also embezzle money. That’s just the truth.”