Singer Michael Olayinka, popularly known as Ruger, has said he was blacklisted in the Nigerian music industry after leaving his former record label, Jonzing World.
Ruger made the disclosure during a chat on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast where he spoke about the challenges that followed his exit from the label founded by D’Prince.
“After leaving the label [Jonzing World], there were a lot of comments about it. Some people were saying, ‘This is the last year you’re going to tour’, ‘This is the end’, ‘You’re finished’, this and that,” he said.
According to him, many people in the music industry distanced themselves from him, seeing him as ungrateful for leaving the label that introduced him.
“Not everybody were willing to help me because the public sentiment once you leave a label in Nigeria is that you are ungrateful. Many people don’t want to associate with that person, even those in the same industry. It happens,” Ruger added.
The singer also said he had to rebuild his music career from scratch.
“I was battling cancel culture. I had to meet a lot of people and reintroduce myself. I was doing a lot of things from the scratch. It’s stressful, I’m not going to lie. It’s not easy to leave a label. You have to build your own system. It was just like starting everything over again. But because I was strong inside – I was also down but I was still strong – I triumphed.”
Ruger left Jonzing World in 2024 and launched his own label, Blown Boy Entertainment. Before then, he had accused the label of failing to push his brand despite making money off him.
“As much as I’m very appreciative… Jonzing World introduced me to the world, I just couldn’t continue with them because they got too comfortable with the money they were making from me and couldn’t push me further,” he said in a previous interview.
Ruger, who broke into the scene with the hit song ‘Bounce’ in 2021, gained further success with his debut album RU the World in 2023. He also teamed up with Bnxn (formerly Buju) for a joint EP ‘RnB’ in April 2024.
The singer recently credited Wizkid for helping him bounce back after the setback he faced.
“Wizkid revived my career after I left my former record label,” he reportedly said.
Ruger now runs Blown Boy Entertainment independently.
