Kcee has opened up about a painful chapter in his career, revealing that being repeatedly overlooked by award organisers once brought him to tears.
The Afrobeats star, who rose to fame as part of the duo KC Presh, said the lack of recognition during his early years in the industry deeply affected him and eventually changed how he views awards.
“I grew up in an industry that wasn’t fair to me. There wasn’t any attention given to me at any moment. I was doing a lot that the industry wasn’t recognising.
“The fans were the ones who were behind me. I did a lot of work; they were not nominating me for awards. And I cried; I was pained,” the singer said on Afrobeats Intelligence podcast.
He explained that over time, he stopped seeking validation from awards, choosing instead to focus on tangible success and fan support.
“Right now, when I win awards, or you don’t nominate me, I don’t care. I prefer the rewards to the awards. So, when ‘Limpopo’ came, oh, I was in tears.
“I was like, no, God has answered my prayer. He took me to the global market straight. After all the years I’ve worked with Presh, that’s like the biggest record I’ve ever done,” he added.
Reflecting on his recent success, Kcee pointed to the viral rise of his 2024 hit “Ojapiano,” which gained massive traction online.
“I dropped ‘Ojapiano’ like today, the next day, it was doing 120,000 videos on TikTok in one day. And it happened for seven days non-stop. That’s organic. The white people were vibing to it,” he said.
