17th March, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Nigerian singer Joshua Iniyezo, popularly known as Solidstar has opened up about how he got involved with the use of hard substances.
In a snippet of an unreleased episode of the Honest Bunch podcast, the ‘Omotena’ hitmaker revealed that he was introduced to “ice” by some young boys in 2021.
Ice, also known as crystal methamphetamine, is a stimulant drug, which means it speeds up the messages travelling between the brain and body.
The singer said the substance had a terrible effect on him. He said after consuming the hard substance, he would start feeling like a king with a voice telling “me not to pay for things”.
Solidstar recalled walking from Awoyaya in Ibeju Lekki in Lagos to the Oriental Hotel in Victoria Island– an estimated seven-hour trip on foot — during his battle with drug addiction.
“A lot of things happened to me. A couple of young boys introduced me to this substance called ice. This was three years back. The thing really affected me a lot,” he said.
“Sometimes this substance will tell me you are king, you are this, you are that, make I no dey pay for stuffs. Can you imagine say I waka from Awoyaya to Oriental Hotel.”
In August 2023, videos surfaced online showing Solid Star, looking dirty in tattered clothes and walking aimlessly on the street.
According to his brother, Joseph, who posted the video, the singer was addicted to drugs and was being adversely affected by it.
In 2019, the singer also narrated how he nearly died from bleeding after overdosing on drugs.