MY LOVE FOR CHIDINMA

After carving a niche for himself in Nigeria’s music industry as a rapper, Michael Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, has ventured into fashion, founding the fashion line, Twentieth September Wears, TSW. In this interview with VIVIAN ANABA, Ruggedman speaks on discovering music, dovetailing into fashion and why he is yet to get married, among other issues. Excerpts

HOW was your childhood like?

Growing was not rosy because my parents separated when I was six and then I went to live with my mum. I think that got us really close. We were really close because we all had to fend for each other. My elder sister quit school and did a lot of jobs. She even modelled to send us to school. But thank God, she is now in the UK. She went to study abroad. It was a bit rough growing up but that did not make me a rough person. That did not make me do bad things because anytime I think of something like that, I tend to remember where I’m coming from.

When did you discover music?

I can’t pinpoint exactly when but don’t worry, I’m not going to say from my mother’s womb (laughs). I just realised that I liked music, so I started watching a lot of musical shows. I started writing out the lyrics and then I thought of writing my own songs. It was the passion that was real, so when I found out I could make my own music, I made mine. And then I realised that people liked it. So I put it on radio and I got great feedback. While I was in the university, my first song was out but people did not know I was the one who sang it. I’m sitting in campus and people will be shouting that is the song I’m talking about, they were hailing me. When I finished school, I decided to face my music because I saw that was my calling, though I studied Political Science in school.

source: sunday nation