Ruger under fire after admitting he sneaked into parties at age 9

Fast-rising Nigerian singer, Michael Adebayo Olayinka, popularly known as Ruger, has opened up about his early love for music, revealing that he began sneaking out to parties as a child just to experience the thrill of Afrobeats and Dancehall.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast hosted by Joey Akan, Ruger shared how his passion for music was already burning strong before he turned 10.

“I was sneaking out to go to parties to listen to Afrobeats and Dancehall. I was not up to 10 years old then but knew how to dance. So I would just go to parties and shake my body,” he said.

Ruger burst into the Nigerian music scene in 2021 with his breakout hit ‘Bounce’, which earned him a record deal with Jonzing World.

He followed up with his debut EP ‘Pandemic’, which further solidified his place in the Afrobeats space.

In 2024, Ruger parted ways with Jonzing World after a reported fallout with his former label boss D’Prince, and went on to launch his own independent imprint, Blown Boy Entertainment.