SINGER Oludipe David, popularly known as Spyro, has expressed the challenges he faces in the music industry, particularly the discrimination he believes stems from his open Christian faith.
In an interview with Echo Room, the ‘Who’s Your Guy’ hitmaker shared his struggles with industry acceptance since he publicly embraced the “Jesus boy brand.”
Spyro revealed that his declaration of faith led to significant criticism, saying, “My biggest challenge in the music industry right now is discrimination. I came out with the ‘Jesus Boy’ brand, and I’ve received the biggest criticisms. It’s hard.”
He further expressed his frustration over the lack of media coverage and support for his music.
“Do you see these guys post things about me? Sometimes, I ask myself why because people who are not doing as well as I am post them. They talk about them. The answer is simple; once you come out and declare Christ publicly, you enter a war. It’s like the whole system is designed to drag you down.”
The singer also shared advice from fellow artist, Bankole Wellington, aka Banky W, whom he claimed told him that embracing a godly path would come with its own set of challenges.
Spyro recounted, “Banky W said something to me. He said, ‘My major problem in the industry started immediately after I said Jesus Christ is Lord.’
“So he told me to be sure that I was ready for this. He said when he was a ‘bad boy,’ everything was going fine, but immediately he decided to do it in a godly way, and his war in the industry started.”
Speaking further on the lack of support from the industry, Spyro said, “If you’re saying that you’re promoting Afrobeat, there shouldn’t be any discrimination. ‘Who’s Your Guy’ was the most viewed video in 2023 in Nigeria. Did you hear about it? Did they talk about it? It wasn’t Burna, it wasn’t Wizkid, it was me.
“Did you hear about it? No. In Africa, it was No. 2. Who talked about it? If it were one of my colleagues, it’d have been everywhere. I put money in PR. I do a lot of PR.”
“I was saying hi to a colleague somewhere; he saw me but just walked past me.”
He also pointed out that the harshest critics often come from within the Christian community.
The singer, however, acknowledged that his decision to speak out and share his faith led to some misunderstandings.
He said, “When you sit to look at some of these things, it could be from the angle that these people feel attacked. I’m not saying that I’m a saint. I’m not coming to say I’m a Jesus boy; I’m the holy one; you’re not holy. I’m not saying that I haven’t made mistakes. I made a couple of mistakes when I came into the industry. I think I gave the wrong impression of some things.
“I feel like some people got the wrong impression when I said, ‘Don’t twerk to my music.’ They felt I was being holier than thou, but that’s not what I was trying to do. So, maybe I should have communicated some things better.”
Despite the criticisms and challenges, he emphasised that his music continues to thrive, with fans and streams supporting his career, saying, “These things don’t affect my music; I’m speaking about the brand.
“People still stream my music. I’ve still got fans all over the world. If not, I wouldn’t even be making money; I’d have stopped the whole thing. If I had become irrelevant, no shows and no money, dem for use my nose drag floor.
“It’s okay if someone is comfortable smoking Igbo. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that. You can smoke, drink, and do rituals on camera, but once I come and say Jesus is Lord, then it becomes a problem. Now, I’m okay because they did it to Jesus himself. It used to get to me before, but I’m not bothered these days like it used to be.”
Spyro also took the opportunity to offer advice to emerging artists, noting that staying true to one’s faith in the industry is not without its challenges.
