Nigerian rapper Zlatan Ibile has shared how his journey into music began unexpectedly after he failed to gain admission into university.
During an interview on Africa Now Radio with Nandi Madida on Apple Music, the 30-year-old singer said his music career started as a result of a major academic setback.
Zlatan explained that in 2011, he had planned to go to university but failed mathematics and accounting, which meant he could not secure admission that year.
“I was supposed to go to university in 2011/12, but I did not have my complete papers. I failed mathematics and accounting, so I could not go to school that year,” he said.
With a year to wait before reapplying, Zlatan said he suddenly had a lot of free time on his hands. During that period, his passion for music — which began in church where he played drums — started to grow.
One day, a friend of his, who had no prior music experience, played him a song he had recorded. Curious, Zlatan followed him to the studio, and that marked the beginning of his music journey.
“One of my friends just came back home one day, and he played this song. I knew him from church, and I knew he had never made music before,” Zlatan recalled.
“We went to the studio, and for the first time, I went on the microphone. It was so funny. When I came back home, I felt the song was rubbish. But when I played it for my siblings, they started making me feel like Jay-Z that day.”
That encouragement from his siblings gave Zlatan the confidence to continue recording music. Even when he eventually gained admission a year later, he said he didn’t have more than three songs recorded at the time.
“I just started following my friend to the studio from there because I had to sit out one year before going back to school. And I didn’t have up to three songs,” he said.
When he finally got into university, Zlatan entered a rap competition during his first semester — not because he expected to win, but simply because he enjoyed performing.
“I was loving the way people were carrying me, who is an artist now,” he said.
“The rap competition came up, and I did not believe that anybody could actually win a car off music. I didn’t even have up to five tracks. The songs were not mixed or mastered — just pre-recorded.”
To his surprise, Zlatan won the competition — and the grand prize was a car.
“Out of 140 candidates, I won the car. I was 19 years old then. It was my first semester in school. I had not even written my first exam yet — just three weeks into school,” he said.
That victory marked a turning point in Zlatan’s life and confirmed that music was more than just a hobby. From there, he went on to build a successful career with hit songs like “Zanku,” “Bolanle,” and “Lagos Anthem.”
