Ruger opens up about being blacklisted and canceled after leaving Jonzing World for independence.
He says many in the industry shunned him, forcing him to rebuild his career from scratch.
Nigerian singer Ruger, discloses the challenges he faced after he parted ways ways with Jonzing World record label.
Speaking during an interview on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Ruger revealed that his decision to exit the label came with serious backlash. According to him, he was blacklisted by some industry colleagues and even faced cancellation from some fans.
“After leaving the label, there were a lot of comments about it. Some people were saying, ‘This is the last year you’re going to tour’, ‘This is the end’, ‘You’re finished’, this and that,” he said.
He added that many people were hesitant to associate with him simply because he left a label, a move often seen in Nigeria as a sign of disloyalty. “Not everybody were willing to help me because the public sentiment once you leave a label in Nigeria is that you are ungrateful. Many people don’t want to associate with that person, even those in the same industry. It happens.”
Ruger noted that rebuilding his career after the split was no easy task. “I was battling cancel culture. I had to meet a lot of people and reintroduce myself. I was doing a lot of things from the scratch. It’s stressful, I’m not going to lie. It’s not easy to leave a label. You have to build your own system. It was just like starting everything over again.”
Despite the difficulties, the singer said he remained determined. “But because I was strong inside, I was also down but I was still strong, I triumphed.”
In 2024, after falling out with D’Prince, his former boss, Ruger officially left Jonzing World to establish his own record label, known as the Blown Boy Entertainment.
