Seyi Shay noted that Sound Sultan co-signed her and introduced her to everybody in the Nigerian music industry.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter, Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, better known as Seyi Shay, has said the death of her mentor, Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi aka Sound Sultan negatively impacted her career.
She made this known recently while featuring as a guest on a programme on TVC.
According to her, Sound Sultan co-signed her and introduced her to everybody in the Nigerian music industry.
She added that after the artist passed away in 2021, she lost the zeal to continue music.
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Shay further explained that she became pregnant with her daughter around the same period, which also encouraged her to embark on a break due to the “toxic” nature of the music industry.
Speaking during the interview, Seyi Shay said, “During the filming of Nigerian Idol, my mentor, also my best friend, who is like a father figure to me, and also the person who brought me to the Nigerian music industry, died. He passed away; Sound Sultan.
“When I first came to Nigeria, I was living with him and his wife in FESTAC for a year. He was the one who co-signed me and introduced me to everybody in the industry to make sure that those who were his people look out for me.
“So, when he passed away, it was really hard for me to complete the filming but I made it to the end. What hurt the most is that I didn’t get to see him before he passed away. I was supposed to fly to see him in New York that weekend when we had a break. He asked me to bring him something specifically. It just torn me apart. I felt like I didn’t have the will to continue to do music without Sound Sultan, my peace of mind, and my mental health. So, I decided to go on a little break.
“Also, during that period, I got pregnant and I told myself there’s no way I’m going to have my child in the toxic music industry that I’m in and under the scrutiny that I was constantly under. So, I just thought I should take a break.”
