Emmanuel Samuel Inyang

My Dad Boy Alone passed away when I was just 12. I had to take care of my family so I left home at 13 and joined the Illeg@l refinery in Naija Delta, During this time, I lost many friends.

At 16, I started working as a laundry man.’ My dream was to learn how to produce my music by myself, so I served under my mentor, a gospel music producer, for a year and a half. Initially, I wanted to be a rapper but my teacher, Dr. Roy, explained that he could only teach me gospel music production. Hence, I had to quit my rap ambitions.

Dr. Roy never taught me how to produce; instead, I served as an errand boy in the studio. When the day ended, he’d pay for my transport home. I would pretend to leave but return to the studio because he never allowed me to access his computers. I stayed up all night learning from YouTube tutorials.

By the time he came back the next morning, I would have cleaned up the studio. Things got complicated and he kicked me out.

— A recap of Omah Lay’s Journey into the music industry with Afrobeats intelligence, hosted by Joey Akan.