Nigerian singer Oludipe Oluwasanmi David, widely known as Spyro, openly admitted to feeling hurt when he observed that his fellow musicians, Fireboy DML and Oxlade, achieved stardom before him. During his appearance on the Tea With Tay podcast, Spyro recalled the emotional difficulty he faced as younger artists in the music industry rose to fame ahead of him, despite his efforts to promote his music on blogs.
As a guest on the podcast, Spyro revealed that he had paid to feature his song on NotJustOkay, a prominent platform at the time, with the belief that it would lead to success. However, when Fireboy DML gained popularity, Spyro experienced a sense of disappointment, questioning why others had succeeded before him. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Spyro acknowledged that God was using the delay in his success to teach him a valuable lesson — that success is not solely dependent on talent but also on divine grace.
Reflecting on his experiences, Spyro shared, “I paid for my song to be on NotJustOkay, which was a big platform back then. Once you hear their voice tag on a song, the song don blow. So, I thought that [I would blow]. So when Fireboy came to blow, I was like, ‘Eh! Fireboy blew before me? God, I’m still here…’ And all those times, God was teaching me that it’s not about my talent but by his grace.”
He went on to express his reactions to Oxlade’s success, detailing the frustration and confusion he felt when artists he had supported and worked with, such as Oxlade, achieved fame before him. Despite the initial pain and struggle, Spyro acknowledged that the experience served as a lesson, prompting him to reevaluate his perspective on success and its correlation with divine grace.