I Was About Selling Rechargeable Lamps Under Ajah Bridge Before Olamide Signed Me – Fireboy DML
Afrobeats sensation Fireboy DML has opened up about his challenging journey before rising to fame, revealing that he was on the brink of becoming a roadside trader when his life took a dramatic turn.
Speaking on a recent episode of the 90s Baby Show in London, the singer, whose real name is Adedamola Adefolahan, shared that he was preparing to start selling rechargeable lamps under the Ajah Bridge in Lagos before he was signed to YBNL Nation by Nigerian rap icon Olamide in 2018.
Despite holding a university degree, Fireboy said he had already been hustling at a pepper soup joint and was looking for a more “dignified” way to make ends meet.
“I was considering selling rechargeable lamps,” he recalled. “I met a guy under Ajah Bridge who told me about the business, and I told him I was interested. To me at the time, it was more dignified. At least people would call you a lamp seller, but selling pepper soup was crazy.”
He added that his parents were unaware of the menial jobs he had been taking on to survive. “It was crazy, but now, we thank God,” he said.
Fireboy also revealed that his deal with YBNL happened in an unconventional way – he was signed over WhatsApp.
The singer shot to fame in 2018 with his breakout single “Jealous,” featured on the YBNL Mafia Family album. His debut studio album, Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps, released in 2019, cemented his place in the Nigerian music industry and beyond.
