Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed, better known as Bella Shmurda has been on a steady roll since his debut and has enjoyed an impressive following, owing to his unique song expressions and lifestyle.
The Rush crooner sat down with select entertainment personalities to preview and talk about his latest offering, an E.P titled High Tension Vol. 2.0 which dropped Friday.
Here is an excerpts from that interaction.
When asked about the inspiration behind the title of his new Extended Play album, ‘High Tension 2.0’, He said,
I describe myself as ‘tension’ because of my ability to penetrate and strike against all odds. I come from a place (Okokomaiko, Lagos) where there are very few opportunities, and I believe that being able to find my way out of there was a ‘tension’ thing.
When asked how he coped during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, considering that he would have made more money from concerts if things were different, Bella said,
Actually, I think the COVID-19 pandemic preserved my brand as an artiste. It also preserved my talent and longevity. The pandemic also gave people the time to get better and learn more. COVID-19 actually helped me to improve. Before, I just wanted to be an artiste, but now I want to be an entrepreneur.
Other important point worthy of note is Bella admonishing up-and-coming artistes to attend seminars about the music industry and understudy what really they want asides fame.
Some artistes don’t really want to sing, they just want fame. Most times, artistes shout about money, but it is not all about that. They need to answer certain questions— ‘Am I talented’? ‘How well can I write songs’? ‘Will my songs touch people’s lives’?
According to Bella, while coming up, he was also shouting that he wanted to be popular and make money. But, as time went by, he realized the important of having a ‘strategy’. He said,
That’s why we need to educate them, so they can have a better understanding of the industry.
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