4th November, 2023
By Victoria Oluwayemi
An emerging artiste named Charles Chukwu, also known as Crayon, has shared the story of his past experience selling fruits in the bustling traffic of Lagos.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, he discussed the inspiration behind the title of his debut album, ‘Trench to Triumph,’ and how he transitioned from a challenging background to his current success.
Crayon explained, “My ‘Trench to Triumph’ story is about where I come from, and how I got to where I am today.
“I was born in Orile Iganmu, Lagos and when I was seven years old, we moved to a ‘face-me-I-face-you’ apartment in Ojo. We were about nine or 10 people sharing a room. I am the eldest child of my parents, and I faced a lot of financial struggles growing up. Money was very tight. I was sent home regularly from school due to unpaid fees, and I ended up taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination five times.”
He continued, “During that time, I was working on my music, and helping my mum at the stall where she sold fruits in the market. Sometimes, I would even hawk the fruits in traffic. Going from that kind of life to being signed by Mavin Records, and on my way to becoming a global superstar, is my triumph. I used to be in the trenches and now I am triumphant.”
Crayon also highlighted one of the most memorable moments of his year, which was his visit to the veteran actress, Ngozi Ezeonu. He expressed his gratitude to the marketing team at Mavin Records and explained how the idea of collaborating with Ngozi Ezeonu for his song “Ngozi” came about.
He said, “First, I appreciate the marketing team at Mavin Records. We were going back and forth on ideas on how to push my song, ‘Ngozi’, and Ella, the head of marketing, suggested that should do something with Ngozi Ezeonu.
“So, I reached out to her management, later contacted her personally and shared the idea with her. She was really open to the idea. She is such a sweet soul. She actually knew the song, because her kids used to playing it in the house. I was so excited seeing her, and it was a full-circle moment for me, because I used to watch her in movies while growing up, and my mum is one of her biggest fans.”
He concluded, “When I showed my mum the video of my visit to her, she was quite excited as well. That visit was one of my best and funniest moments this year. When I posted the videos and pictures, some people even thought she was my mum.”