Nigerian singer and filmmaker JJC Skillz has revealed how a frustrating experience at an MTV-organised event in Ikeja, Lagos, led him to walk away from live performances.
The entertainer, whose real name is Abdulrasheed Bello, shared the story while featuring on a recent episode of the Fresh Off The Boat podcast.
JJC said MTV had invited him to perform at the event and featured him on the promotional material. After arriving at the venue, however, he claimed he was left waiting backstage for about two hours as other artistes were allowed to take the stage.
He said organisers initially asked him to wait because he was an “OG”, assuring him that he would perform later.
“MTV called me to come and perform at a show in Ikeja. You know I came, they did a poster and everything. I was in my house, they called me, they said I should come. I came backstage, was waiting for about 30 minutes, people were performing, even people that I met there,” he said.
“An hour later, I was like I wanted to perform and they were like you know you are an OG, we need to keep you till late. Another person came, now it is like two hours and I am getting pissed off and I wanted to go. I remember that Wande Coal had just come and they were like ‘Oh! Wande Coal just came, let him perform’.
“I was like what is going on? I greeted him, we spoke and then he went on stage and he performed. Another person came again, they were it is this person, let him perform. I was like ‘bro, I need to perform now and go’.”
According to JJC, he eventually went to the stage with his manager, ready to begin his performance. His manager stayed with the DJ while JJC held the microphone and waited for his song to be played.
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He said the promoter then approached him with another request, asking him to give way for an artiste who had just arrived to perform one song.
“So me and my manager finally got to the stage, I grabbed the microphone. I am standing by the side of the stage, my manager is standing with the DJ, they just needed to put on my song. Then the promoter came to me, he was like ‘bro, this artiste just came, he has to go so I just need him to do one song’,” he added.
Prompt News reports JJC said he refused to give up his slot, explaining that he had already waited for a long time and wanted to perform immediately.
“I told him that he should just let me perform and go and he was like no, that I should just give him one more. I was like no, we started having a back and forth and I was like I am not going to give away the microphone and I was going to perform now.
“The guy just went on to grab another mic, gave it to the other artiste, pushed my manager away, put the artistes song and the artiste started to perform.”
JJC said the development left him disappointed and he eventually dropped his microphone before leaving the stage.
He added that his managers attempted to persuade him to continue performing at live events, assuring him that a similar incident would not happen again. JJC, however, said he had reached his limit and decided to draw a line under his live performances.
“I dropped the mic and turned around, then my managers started coming to me and I was like I was not performing. They were like ‘do not worry, next time this would not happen again’. I was like no, I am never performing again. At this age, I do not need that disrespect, it was not the first time but today definitely would be the last time and I drew that line,” he said.
JJC was previously married to filmmaker Funke Akindele. The pair got married in 2016 and welcomed twins in 2018 before announcing their separation in June 2022.
