Why I prefer privacy to showmanship - Qing Madi
By Yewande Fasan Afrobeats singer Chimamanda Chukwuma, popularly known as Qing Madi, has revealed she deliberately keeps her wealth private, choosing not to flaunt it on social media. In a
By Yewande Fasan
Afrobeats singer Chimamanda Chukwuma, popularly known as Qing Madi, has revealed she deliberately keeps her wealth private, choosing not to flaunt it on social media.
In a recent podcast interview on Tea with Tay, she explained that this decision stems from a desire not to be defined solely by her financial status.
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According to her, financial freedom allows her creative control over her music, though she admits commercial pressures sometimes influence her work.
“Sometimes I might fall victim to consumerism, because I’m like, oh, at the end of the day, they like this one, so it’s fine. But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to reduce the quality of what I make to fit what people desire,” she said.
She likened music earnings to "drug money," highlighting the disparity between artists' income and that of salaried workers.
“When I look at the average Nigerian, and you see a person with a nine-to-five, they go to work, and at the end of the month, they get paid maybe a 500,000 salary. And you, as an artist, go for a show and let’s just say you get like 20 million for that one show. And it’s like, whoa,” she said.
Qing Madi also stated that music serves as an emotional outlet for Nigerians, compensating for a lack of mental health resources.
“I believe the reason Nigeria loves music so much is that we don’t have therapists. It’s an escape because Nigerians are the most out-of-town people. Like we, even if we’re sad or depressed, we don’t take a break. We just have to get work done. So when they finally hear someone else repeating their story to them, it’s like, oh, okay,” she said.
