I Once Stole Keke To Fund My Music – Bella Shmurda

Nigerian street musician, Bella Shmurda, has recently revealed some of the shady activities he engaged in during his up-and-coming days.

The 28-year-old singer said he once stole a tricycle commonly known as keke napep and sold it to fund his music career. In a new documentary titled ‘Bella Shmurda: Tension in Ibadan 2024’ that was shared on X platform by WeTalkSound, he disclosed that he was too desperate for a record deal that he signed an agreement which didn’t end well.

Shmurda expressed regret over his hasty decision, saying, “I shouldn’t have rushed. We will never get to see the future. So everybody is rushing. I went into some things that didn’t later pay off. I went to sign a deal with rush which later was funny. I stole keke (tricycle) because of money but Alhamdulilah, I’m here today.”

The ‘CashApp’ hit maker also talked about how becoming a father has affected the kind of music he creates and visuals he puts out. He said, “Seeing my son inspires me. What’s on my head is, ‘Wetin this boy go see in the next 10 years?’ I don’t want him to see my old videos. I want him to see a new Bella.”

In other news, Bella Shmurda, whose real name is Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed, popularly known as a street artiste, has revealed that he paid a staggering N20 million to free himself from the contract he signed with his former record label, One World Global Records.

He disclosed that he spent just a year out of his three-year contract and had to pay a huge sum of money to be an independent artist. According to the singer, he was being cheated by the label because they equally funded his music projects but took a larger percentage of the earnings.

He further explained that he would source for N500k as requested by the label, and they, in turn, would bring N500k for production, promotion, and other things that needed funding. However, when money started coming from shows, streaming, endorsement, and other areas, they would take 70 per cent and give him only 30 per cent.

Bella said he was not comfortable with that arrangement, so he hired a lawyer and bought himself out of One World Global Records.