Afrobeats singer CKay has shared the story of his journey to stardom, revealing the sacrifices he made to further his music career.
The ‘Love Nwantiti’ hitmaker, in a livestream with Carter Efe, said he had to disobey his parents, who didn’t approve of his music aspirations, leading him to abscond from home at 19.
According to him, he relocated to Lagos to chase his passion for music, staying with a friend before getting his own one-room apartment.
Ckay added that he worked as a producer in four different studios to make ends meet.
He said, “My parents didn’t want me to do music, so I ran away from home in Kaduna when I was 19.
“I came down to Lagos to chase my passion in music. When I arrived in Lagos, I wrote a long letter and sent it to my mum via Blackberry.
“Initially, I was staying with one of my friends. But after sometime, I got a one-room apartment. I was making money as a producer working with four different studios.
ALSO READ: CKAY is First Nigerian Musician to Reach 1 Billion Spotify Plays
“At some point, I had to drop out of university”, he explained.
His determination and hard work eventually paid off, as he gained prominence in 2018 with the release of his breakthrough song, ‘Container’.
In 2025, Ckay’s song Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah), which crossed 1 billion plays on spotify.
Additionally, Ckay is the first African male solo musician to achieve this milestone.
Reacting to the achievement, the elated singer wrote via his X handle:
“First solo nigerian song to cross 1 billion streams. Grateful to God and the people involved in this historic success! thank you for streaming.”
Through his partnership with Drake on One Dance, which holds the Guinness World Record as the first song to reach 1 billion Spotify plays, Wizkid became the first African artist to join the Spotify 1 billion club in 2017.
However, Rema’s remix of his smash hit “Calm Down,” featuring American superstar Selena Gomez, is the first song by an African lead artist to reach 1 billion Spotify plays.
With her viral hit “Water,” South African singer Tyla became the first African female artist to join the Spotify 1 billion club.
