Bad remarks hurt me – Sasha

My name is Yetunde Alabi a.k.a Sasha. I am in
my 20s and I have a degree in law from the
University of Lagos. Rapping is a talent and I
just discovered that I could do it. Growing up
in the 90s, I got a lot of influences from hip
hop. I love Lauryn Hill, Tupac, and Fugees to mention but a few. It had an influence on my
choice of music. Rapping came naturally to
me because I also started off writing poetry. Why I went off the scene It was a deliberate decision because I needed
to take some time out to focus on my retail
clothing line, ‘Eclectic by Sasha’. My dream is
very big; I want to be in every state in Nigeria.
The fashion in Nigeria was getting bigger and
what I wanted to do had not been done. I had to just focus on my fashion business. Even
during that time, I made sure I released one or
two singles and collaborated with other
artistes. We are still recording but I am not
going to announce any dates. All I would say
is that we are very excited about the new sound we are working on. Fashion business Fashion has always been something that I did.
I have always made the clothes that I wore for
performances. Also, I had dressed other
artistes and I had styled videos. My mother
had a fashion house when I was growing and
she had loads of tailors. I had done music for about 10 years when I decided to delve into
fashion properly. The unofficial debut was in
2011 at a multi-brand retail store but after a
year, I got familiar with the business and I did
an official launch in 2012. The brand has done
very well. I wear my clothes and I have been invited for a lot of shows in the last one year. First Lady of rap That title was given to me by my fans .It was
the title of my debut album and everybody
decided to call me the First Lady. As much as I
am not into titles, I think the reason why the
name resonates is because I have had a lot of
firsts in my career. Other female artistes I always say it is not about the competition. I
love music and I am excited about the success
being recorded by all the female artistes. The
more, the merrier. All the divas are my friends
and we have helped and advised one another
in some ways. Staying power It is God. When God blesses you and you do
what you are supposed to do, He will grant
you favour. I don’t miss Law I studied law because I have always been very
opinionated. I am very inquisitive and I have
an opinion on everything. I did not go to Law
School and the choice not to practise was
mine. I did not have nine months to go away
just when my career was taking shape. Apart from that, there is nothing you do in life that
you don’t require legal knowledge for;
therefore, my degree in law comes in very
handy. I am already taking courses in
arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
Maybe when I retire from music, I will do that as well. Bad remarks hurt Everything that I do does not necessarily have
to be liked by people that are even my friends
not to talk of people that don’t know me.
People are going to say a lot of things but
figure out which is true and if there is a lesson
to be learnt , take from it and go instead of dwelling on it. I won’t lie, I have been upset a
lot and that is one of the reasons I did that
song, ‘Adara’. Endorsements I was not dropped by Samsung. My contract
expired and we did not renew. It is wrong to
say I was dropped because you don’t even
know what was in my contract. Style I think style is being comfortable in your own
skin. Style also means confidence. If you lack
confidence, you can’t be stylish; you will be
following every fad to make up for your
inferiority complex. Marriage I don’t talk about my personal life and when
you don’t talk about something, people are
going to speculate and say all sorts of things. I
won’t even tell you the qualities my Mr Right
must possess because you won’t receive
applications from prospective suitors on my behalf.