Nigerian Afrobeat artist Terry Akewe, popularly known as Terri, has shared the difficulties he has encountered in his music career, including health problems, online bullying, and the sacrifices made to follow his passion.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Terri disclosed, “Ulcer complications, anxiety issues. In and out of the hospital. Crazy hospital bills, mum losing her mind, all for the music. Shit crazy. Jesus never fails. We go win finally.”
The artist, signed to Wizkid’s Starboy Records, gained recognition after featuring on Wizkid’s track “Soco” and has since released his debut EP, “Afro Series,” which includes popular songs like “Shuu,” “Turn on Me,” “Bia,” and “Same You.”
However, Terri’s path has been challenging. He shared, “Lost friendships, family, just trying to find myself. Stanship war and distractions, something I know little or nothing about.”
Recognizing the impact of the industry on him, he pleaded: “Please, just see Terri for Terri. This shit is my whole life…. Support my craft.”
He even had to sacrifice his education for his career, “2018, after getting admission into UNILAG three times and couldn’t make it cause of finances, I was ready in 2018 to begin study, I quit cause of this music. I gave my all to it.” He went further to explain how he even struggled with cyberbullying, he says All He Wants To Do Is Sing.
Upcoming artists struggle with a whole lot, from the pressure to be better and quickly climb to the top, to the anxiety, to the stress and sleepless nights, to the demands from fans, and then also the case of Bullying. These people are humans too and the earlier we understand that, the better for all of us. Terri’s post had lots of encouraging and positive comments and we hope to see him bounce back sooner than later.