Nigerian singer Alexander Adegbola Akande, better known as 9ice, has revealed that when he started his music career, he was famous but broke.

The ‘Gongo Aso’ crooner disclosed this in the latest episode of the Chart with Sims podcast.

He said, “Don’t become popular or make money. When I started, I was popular, but I didn’t have money.”

He added that money finally started coming after he put in work.

9ice said, “The money didn’t just come in; I had to do the right thing. As of then, we were depending so much on Alaba International Market. Then we didn’t have Facebook, Instagram, and the rest. If you want your song to be popular in Kaduna, you have to go to Kaduna to do a radio interview. "You have to be there for people to see you.”

“So, when the money started coming, that's when we put in the hustle and marketed the brand by doing print interviews for newspapers and magazines and putting your face out there. I mean, there are sometimes people who have good songs, and their fans don’t even know what they look like.

“I think it is not just about getting popular." But putting your brand out there Market it and promote it. Let your face be known, and the money aspect will come later,” he added.