Kcee has opened up about a painful period in his career, revealing how being repeatedly overlooked by award organizers left him emotionally affected despite his contributions to Afrobeats.

Speaking during an interview with Afrobeats Intelligence, the singer admitted that the lack of recognition from industry award bodies once brought him to tears.

According to Kcee, although his music connected strongly with fans, it often failed to receive the same acknowledgment from industry gatekeepers.

“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,” he said.

The singer explained that he has since changed his perspective, choosing to focus less on awards and more on the real impact of his music.

He noted that he now values “rewards” such as fan support and global reach over formal recognition.

“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. Right now, when I win awards, or you don’t nominate me, I don’t care. I prefer the rewards to the awards,” he stated.

Reflecting on a major turning point, Kcee highlighted the success of his hit song Limpopo, which he described as a breakthrough that launched him onto the global stage.

He also pointed to the viral success of Ojapiano, noting how quickly it gained traction on TikTok, generating massive user engagement within days of its release.

Kcee emphasized that the organic popularity of the song, including its reception from international audiences, reinforced his belief in the power of genuine fan connection over industry validation.

“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. 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 added.

Kcee: “The Nigerian Music Industry Wasn’t Fair to Me”