Otolorin Kehinde Peter, known as Kenny Blaq, is a popular and reputable comedian and artiste.
His driving force has been his environment, where he comes from and the people around him. Kenny tended to have a lot of people around him that believed that a person can only be successful when they have money, connections or do things illegally.
Meanwhile, Kenny wanted the opposite. One of the things that kept him going, was the desire to make his family proud. To do things differently than his friends were doing. His major force, has been the yearning to be a good example to others.
His background didn't look very positive. After secondary, Kenny knew that all he wanted to do was become and artiste and entertainer. Performing in events, and keeping people entertained while getting paid. But, actualizing his dreams weren't as easy as it sounded. It took sacrifice and hardwork. There were days when it didn't work in his favor. Sometimes, the results he expected wouldn't be what was gotten.
Despite the hardwork he might have put into that performance. Of course, his friends and close associates thought he was crazy. A young guy who had his life ahead of him, decided to branch out and become a comedian. They questioned his choices, and so did his parents. Kenny's parents were worried about the kind of lifestyle he would live, if he became one of the top dogs in the entertainment industry. Kenny had to promise, that he would be better and not one of the typical artistes or entertainers.
At some point, he felt like giving up. With all the challenges along the way, his dreams now looked like an impossible feat. Sometimes, he got booed off the stage. And other times, he didn't have the strength to trek the long distance before getting to the event. People weren't even interested in paying to watch him perform because his jokes had become monotonous. But, everytime he wanted to give up a new inspiration pops up. It could be a new joke, or a new idea.
Music has also been a major inspiration for Kenny Blaq. On days when it seemed like there was mo hope, listening to music would help to keep his hope alive. Music also helped with his career. Rather than doing just comedy, he decided to branch into music comedy. It was a different aspect that helped him to earn recognition.
Kenny made his first million naira about five years ago. It was for an end of the year event, and he was called to perform. Before then, his rate was between 150-400k. That was because most people weren't willing to pay more than that. But for some reason, he was advised to ask for 1.5 million naira instead of the regular thousands of naira. The organizers said they couldn't pay up to that, but eventually both parties settled on one million. Kenny described the feeling as surreal. He couldn't believe that someone was willing to pay that much for his craft, and hustle. He wasn't even in the limelight then, but someone didn't mind and still paid that much.
That event opened doors to more jobs and events for him. Now, one million is way less than he would charge.
His greatest accomplishment, was his show at Eko Hotel. Prior to that day, a lot of people questioned why he wanted to do a show at Eko hotel. They believed that he wasn't reputable enough to pull off a show there, and it wouldn't work out well. But, on that day, the story changed. Two hours before the show, all the tickets had been sold out. Yet, the people outside were more than those inside. A lot of people went home upset that they weren't able to purchase a ticket. People of affluence and influence were in attendance, and Kenny saw that as the beginning of his spotlight.
According to Kenny, he would rather describe his success as grace, not luck. Luck didn't find him. Grace worked its way into his life.
★Fashion and styling in Nigeria ★
Jane Michael Ekanem is an award winning fashion stylist, and a reputable young woman in the fashion industry. Many people would see her success today, and wonder if it took hardwork for her to get to where she is today. Jane says that, it's not easy. It has not been easy, and would still not be easy. Of course, she has been through some things in order to get to where she is today. But, Jane sees all of that as a part of life. Afterall, you can't have a testimony without a test of time. You need to go through the process.
She started off in the fashion industry simply as a result of her passion. Then, Jane did most of her work for free. She would sell some clothes, and go from office to office teaching people how to wear these clothes. She didn't know that she was styling then, it was just a passion. Unlike now, Jane has monetized on the said passion. Back in the day, she had a partner and both of them transitioned into becoming professional stylists. They were the stylists for the show “MTN Project Fame”, and it helped them to see the line of business as something more professional.
Moving into becoming professionals as at the time they started, was quite easy. Luckily for them, there weren't many stylists them. You could count the number of them, unlike now where there are hundreds of fashion stylists. What set Jane and her partner above the rest, was their willingness to work. The were ready, and willing to do the work. Contradictory to their competitors, who simply acted like divas without wanting to do much. Not everybody would be willing to make the sacrifices she has made or even go through the stress she went through.
Most of the time, people focus on the glam and extravagant lifestyle without wanting to see the hardwork behind it. Jane has also had her fair share of challenges. She has been in the industry for over 13 years, and has also had some ups and downs along the way. There had been times when she wanted to quit, give up and never look back. But, thankfully she didn't. Things might still be a bit difficult, but it's easier and more tolerable.
Everything Jane has been doing evolved around creating. She always wanted to be more than just Jane Michael. She wanted to be something more, someone that people would look to up and admire. There's is always something to be done, and she tries to do it. At the end of the day, Jane ended up touching lives in the process. Which is quite admirable.
To Jane, her mistakes define her. Every single mistake she has made so far, serves as a testament for her success. For all her mistakes, there are lessons. And one of the lessons is that communication is key. For upcoming and aspiring stylists, they need to learn to communicate with their clients. There's a need to ask questions, and understand what their clients are comfortable with. The clients makes up the industry, and it's important to put then into consideration always.
In ten years time, Jane would like to have retired and still be making money. She doesn't have a definite plan for where she is going to be, ten years from now. But, she hopes it's somewhere comfortable, where she can do her own thing.
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