Personality Clashes with Talent, and other interesting gems on surviving the music industry.
“A lion isn’t afraid to walk alone, Stars don’t beg to shine” Beyond Portable’s boorish and crude mannerisms, is an astute individual representing the familiar trench to triumph story. His sojourn represents a quite similar story to a majority of the fast-rising and successful acts within the music industry around the world. The difference is Habeeb Olayomi blazes his way out as he employs sham bravery. The good part is he saves himself from unscrupulous deals as he takes on the great yet demanding task of steering the course of his musical career independently. Going forward, whatever turns his journey takes is largely owed to either his omissions and oversight or indefatigable work rate.
Portable rose to fame in December 2021, following YBNL CEO, Olamide’s timely assistance and feature on the track Zazu Zeh . Unfortunately, there is no telling of his story without touching on his action-packed highlights through the years. Shortly after the release of Zazu Zeh, he was engaged in a brawl with sensational-energetic dancer Poco Lee over money given to them by Wizkid- he accused Poco Lee of being unfair in his dealings as he held onto his money. Thereafter came the allegation of Poco Lee’s attempt to defraud him by posting his video onto his personal platform as opposed to Portable’s under the pretense of its being a Poco Lee track featuring Portable, regardless of the reality being the reverse. Shortly after he took to social media to announce the fallout with show promoter Kogbagidi.
In 2022, the Headies committee announced his disqualification from the nominees’ list following the public threat to the lives and safety of his fellow nominees and audience to be in physical attendance. Earlier in the year, he went viral for emotionally coercing TG Omori into granting his music video and direction request. In April, news of Portable being charged to court over an alleged assault occurrence in Ogun state made rounds.
He recently appeared on one of Nigeria’s more controversial platforms, “The Honest Bunch Podcast.” As usual, he dropped valuable gems on understanding self-worth, being in tune with one’s self-identity, and most importantly how to avoid being ripped off by staying in charge. The music industry has a renowned reputation for its noxious and unethical workplace practices. Therefore anyone seeking to maintain sanity requires doggedness while applying the colloquial “shine your eyes” approach. In light of the clear message of Matthew 11: 12 which reads the “ Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent takes it by force.” Portable understands his need to steer the reins, although his method quite frankly lacks professionalism. It’s a commendable effort at handling his newfound fortune, from a naive, emerging act, notably taking into consideration his grassroots background. He takes proactive steps to redeem himself from the hungry claws of industry mongers.
Every encounter with the cocksure Portable never fails to provide insightful egotistical golden punchlines on the outlook towards the life he upholds. He lauds himself for the grandeur of his artistry and aptitude. Highlighting outlandish comparisons and statements like “There is no second coming of Jesus, instead its the era of Portable,” or when he boldly acclaimed that he can’t be compared to Micheal Jackson because the pop icon is dead and he, on the other hand, is alive and on ground. As cocky as it might seem, the reality is truly that competition is for the living and the dead have had a good run to be relished in absentia.
What’s a Portable interview without a direct verbal attack? One thing about Portable, he doesn’t shy away from airing his dirty laundry in public. Sometime recently he referred to “Poco Lee’ as “Agba Shawo Shawo” a derogatory slur used to describe a renowned money picker. Addressing his ongoing feud with Seyi Vibes, he spoke on how cordial they were initially and the strain in their relationship coming as a result of Seyi Vibes not reciprocating a favor that cost him both physical and financial damage. Taking a dig at his gimmicky musical triumphs, he alluded to his success as an imitation of Asake’s fast-rising discography and accused him of using bots to boost his streams and his evidence to back up these claims were Seyi Vibes drastically falling from 1st place on 174th position on the Music Charts in just a few weeks.
His delivery might be brutish, but within the blurred lines is what Portable represents, an insanely talented and highly intelligent ambitious artist with big dreams devoted to the cause of making a name for himself. He is prepared to do whatever is within his reach and power to take on the world through his music, one step at a time, his goal is “IKA NATION TO THE WORLD.” Studying the psychology of the game, he takes notes and plays the Uno reverse card, utilizing the plot against him as a strategy in his favor. He speaks on his social media outbursts as a PR approach as well as a cry for help to be saved from being unfairly taken advantage of. He was asked to pay a huge sum on Naija Loaded, and his inability to make those payments made him review his social media presence. He was aware of being posted by blogs regardless of the story’s perspective. This led to the decision to handle his publicity himself.
Contrary to the expectations of many, he has somewhat maintained relevance over the years. He is regularly booked for shows, last month he performed at the NBA conference and has a fast-rising record label fostering new cats. It’s the tussle between a great likable personality and undaunting talent. His talent takes the win, however, the question of longevity lingers like the elephant in the room. Through his discography, he employs native Yoruba lyricism, and his wordplay and double entendres are packed with parables and insightful quotes. In his interview with Timi Agbaje, he takes pride in his versatility as he questions his contenders asking “Can you sing live band? Can you sing a good song, Can’t you sing a reality song? Can’t you praise God?” Habeeb Olayomi stays locked in with the streets, for the longest time the grassroots have determined the viral sounds that hit the sound waves and radio plays and formed the most loyal fanbase. This was before Afrobeats was granted this warm embrace and made a successful icon with multiple parents. The groove was determined by the impression the music left on ordinary people on these same streets. Unperturbed by the new era of AI and stream farms, Portable makes music for people with quite similar lives as his, it’s the street and they seem to be on the same wavelength. It quite ridicules the impressions of his music and career progression made by individuals whose definition of music is determined by streams and numbers as opposed to versatility, message, and talent.
Originality and benevolence are his watchwords, he believes in giving back and helping out and tries to do that as much as possible. He advocates for always keeping it real and staying true to one’s identity.
“I no wan me dey de rip me dey go that is why I dey para dey go,” Music is point-blank business, and regardless of the close ties and love triangles you have to fight for your right. He preaches the importance of being aware of financial and administrative dealings. Having people you trust being in charge of administrative affairs, and how that lack of this caused the strain in his relationship with his one-time manager Kogbagidi, he was misled to believe that he wasn’t acting in his best interest. This amongst other occurrences is the cue to doing your due diligence. Imploring emerging acts to be cautious and take control of their artistry, he gives practical examples of how record labels operate as loan companies that would be eventually reimbursed, for the reality of things are not as they seem online, many have little or nothing to their name. He advises investments and savings to be prioritized in order not to go broke.
Conclusively, Portable, often described as troublesome and uncouth, epitomizes the intricate odyssey of an artist navigating the music industry. While his personality clashes with conventional norms, it is undeniable that he possesses raw talent and a sharp wit. His Journey stands as a testament to his resilience and determination to carve a unique path as an indigenous artiste in the music industry while warding off the predatory forces that often lurk within it.
Anu-oluwapo Idowu is a talented Creative Content writer and accomplished music Journalist with a profound passion for critiquing new releases and exploring artists’ discographies.
Her mission revolves around dispelling the mysteries that often shroud emerging artists through her insightful writing