Nigerian singer Oludipe Oluwasanmi David, professionally known by his stage name Spyro, had replied to his former label boss, Paulo Okoye.
Kemi Filani reported that Spyro in an interview with Echo Room, shared his ordeals while he was signed to Paulo Okoye’s record label. He claimed that he had to take a loan to take care of himself while with the label as he never made anything from the label.
He said Paulo knew of his plight and never did anything about it as he wasn’t good at running a label. Spyro, however, said that the lover of actress, Iyabo Ojo is a kind man and is good in show business but not in handling his record label affairs.
Reacting to it, Paulo, via his Instagram story, debunked his claims as he shared receipts of his expenses on the singer. Okoye said he spent N12 million on Spyro and never gained a kobo from him.
In a series of posts on his Instagram story, he noted how he didn’t lie against the show promoter, and his proof further proves his point. He recalled how he was chased out of a hotel at Wembley because the room was booked for only one day, and he was in the cold for hours before someone got his sister to book him a room in another bite.
He stated that he is appreciative of Paulo’s support to him and for putting him on as he noted how they recently did a tour together and had fun. He, however, made it known that upcoming artists are maltreated in the industry, and he was one of choice. Though he isn’t blaming it on Paulo, since he was rarely in the country, he went through so much under his label.
“I didn’t lie, Oga @pauloo2104. Your sheets further prove my point, and these travel figures tho. I didn’t vet it because I remember being chased out of my hotel after One Africa at Wembley because the room was booked for one day and I was in the cold for hours before @superkunle got his sister to book me an Airbnb, was there without food and the lady in the house was the one that fed me for two days before I moved my flight forward and ran to Lagos and till date nobody asked how I fared.
I am a very appreciative person, and you know it, sir. I appreciate you for putting me on all, and this was all part of the process for me to be the Spyro I am today, and of this, I am grateful, and Baba, if we are to say the truth, you know you and I are cool to date. We did a tour together recently, and you were really nice, we had fun. All love baba
Should I also go into detail about how upcoming artists are treated by label workers? Oh, I was treated like shit, like my words meant nothing. I was battling an inferiority complex at that point, and they made it worse. One of the workers one day then spoke to me like I didn’t even exist. I reported the case to Oga Paulo, and in all fairness, he handled it well and scolded the person, but he was never present in the country most of the time. If I begin to talk wetin my eyes see, but that’s no talk for today, but yeah, no one cares how the artiste feels; after all, he is just an acquired commodity. This was me as a graduate of the University of Ibadan.
I saw hell”.
Paulo’s daughter, Vanessa, had also defended him as she stated that many in the music industry are crãzy. She noted how musicians love granting unnecessary interviews the moment they gain fame. Vanessa slammed Spyro for being so quick to bite the hand that once helped him before and prayed for God to forgive him.