The story is particularly intriguing because back in 2011, Sauce Kid was one of the most popular rappers in the country, while David Adeleke (Davido) was just another up-and-coming singer that no one really paid attention to.
However, Sauce Kid had given Davido his first big break in the industry by featuring him on the chorus of his hit song, Carolina. Seven years down the line, the tables have indeed turned. Sauce Kid has since fallen from grace and Davido is now one of the top artistes in Africa.
Back then, Sauce Kid seemed to have it all. He was a respected rapper and his songs were doing well. However, probably in a bid to impress fans and society, he got mixed up in some fraudulent activities. He begun uploading pictures of a lavish lifestyle on social media that his music definitely couldn’t pay for. He was also moving with the heavyweights in the music industry and nobody asked any questions.
At the peak of his career, the rapper moved to the United States of America and continued to lead a flashy lifestyle, not taking cognizance of the fact that he was now in a country with strong laws. Before long, the rapper started getting involved in brushes with the law until he was finally incarcerated in 2016.
While it isn’t good to stigmatise ex-convicts, one must examine the factors that led Sauce Kid down that path. The music industry is one where everybody seems to flaunt money, jewellery, cars and property. This ultimately puts pressure on artistes who don’t have enough to also want to show that they ‘belong’. That is why artistes, who have never had a hit record or sold out concerts, can claim to spend millions on champagne.
There have been cases of up-and-coming artistes who come on social media to post pictures of multi-million houses which they claimed they acquired as a result of their hard work. It has now become a norm that people don’t even bother to ask obvious questions anymore.
The earnings of artistes are not shrouded in secrecy; it is easy to know an entertainer who is on top of his or her game. An artiste, who is not a regular at concerts and doesn’t have endorsement deals, cannot claim to be making much money in today’s music industry. However, it is sad that these days, there are a lot of artistes living large on social media without verified sources of income.
One of such artistes, Dammy Krane, was recently busted for fraud. He was arrested in the US for booking a private jet with fake credit cards. Before that, he used to post pictures of a first-class lifestyle on social media. Even without a hit record in years, Krane was travelling round the world in private jets and living like a superstar.
At different times, the singer had cited Sauce Kid as one of his role models, It is not surprising that the same fate befell both of them. Needless to say that the incident has cast a dark shadow on Dammy’s career.
It is good that Sauce Kid is back from prison and one can only hope he has learnt his lessons. This should also serve as a deterrent to other artistes out there. Even if you have to fake it to make it, you don’t have to do anything illegal all in a bid to look successful. Sauce Kid has been offered another shot in the music industry. One can only hope that he makes the right choices this time.
