"I Left Gospel Music Because It Wasn't Profitable" — Producer Ozedikus Opens Up On Church Beginnings, 30 Songs With Zero Pay, And The Dark Side Of Nigeria's Music Industry
By Hotgist9ja Entertainment Desk
Okay so this one is going to make a lot of Nigerian gospel music lovers uncomfortable. And it is going to make every upcoming music producer in Nigeria nod their head in painful recognition.
His name is Igbinoba Osaze — but you know him as Ozedikus Nwanne. The man behind Rema's global breakout hit "Dumebi." The producer who has worked with some of the biggest names in Afrobeats — from Rema to Oxlade to Crayon. One of the most respected beatmakers in Nigeria's music industry today.
And in a recent interview that has set Nigerian social media on fire, Ozedikus sat down and said something that no one in the gospel music space wants to hear — but everyone already knows is true:
"Gospel music does not pay that well. Most of the time it is like you are doing it for God. It's just like charity work."
E don enter. 😅🔥
But the gospel music comment — as explosive as it is — is actually just one layer of a much deeper, much more painful story that Ozedikus told. Because the real gist is what happened to him when he left gospel and entered the secular music world. The exploitation. The 30 songs produced for free. The begging to be tagged on Instagram. The years of being treated as invisible by the very artists whose careers his beats were building.
Sit down. This one is a full story. 🎵
🎹 From Edo Village To Lagos Barracks — Where It All Began
To understand Ozedikus, you have to understand where he came from. Because this is not a story of overnight success or privileged access. This is a story of a boy from a small village in Edo State who found music the hard way.
Born Igbinoba Osaze in Edo State, his early years were split between worrying about making it to school and contributing his labour on his maternal grandparents' farm. When his military father eventually brought him to Lagos to live in Ojo Barracks, it was there — after his father urged him to take piano lessons — that everything changed.
The piano became his world. He played it in church. He played it in bands. He played it at competitions with his peers in the barracks. Music was not just a passion — it was survival. At one point, he played piano for a church for eight months without being paid — and he was still surviving, which later made him realise that his production work must have been sustaining him during that difficult period.
His name came from an unlikely source — a fictional wizard named Zeddicus from the early 2010s TV series Legend of The Seeker. People started calling him "Ozedikus" and the name stuck. Today, that name is on some of the biggest records in African music.
⛪ The Gospel Music Chapter — And Why He Left
Before Ozedikus became the producer behind global Afrobeats hits, he was a gospel musician. He played piano for churches across Lagos, earning what he could, building his skills and staying connected to the music that first moved him.
But the money — or rather the absence of it — was always a problem.
In his recent interview with Punch, Ozedikus was asked directly why he did not pursue a career in gospel music instead of production. His answer was honest, direct and — depending on your perspective — either refreshingly truthful or deeply controversial:
"The truth is, gospel music does not pay that well, especially when you are starting out. I was playing piano for a church, so I was getting paid for that. But when I got into production, I was working with friends who were doing secular music, and I quickly realised that gospel music does not pay well. Most of the time, it is like you are doing it for God. It's just like charity work, especially when one is not yet known. I had to go where the money was."
— Ozedikus, in interview with Punch
He was asked if he would have stayed in gospel music if it had been more profitable. His answer was equally honest:
"Yes, most likely. I was more connected to gospel music at the beginning, so I would have had more gospel artistes around me. I probably would have started there. However, most gospel artistes at the time were not recording in studios, and you need money to start those things."
— Ozedikus
The statement — "I had to go where the money was" — instantly became one of the most quoted lines on Nigerian social media after the interview dropped. Because while many people found it controversial, most industry insiders knew it was simply the truth that nobody says out loud.
🎧 How "Dumebi" Happened — The Beat That Was Almost Rejected
The turning point in Ozedikus's career came through a chain of events that he himself describes as "coincidental — none of it was planned."
It was at a DIY studio in the Ojo area of Lagos called Much More Studio that a young Ozedikus first met an equally young Crayon. United by their shared hunger for music, the two formed a creative alliance that would eventually bring both of them to the centre of Nigerian pop.
Through Crayon came the connection to Mavin Records — and through Mavin came Rema.
The beat that became "Dumebi" — Rema's 2019 debut single that launched one of the most extraordinary careers in recent African music history — was not initially intended for Rema at all. According to industry reports, the beat was rejected by its primary intended recipient before finding its way to the teenage Rema, who transformed it into a global sensation.
"Dumebi" was not just a hit. It was a statement. It announced a new sound, a new voice and — quietly — a new producer. Today, with over 60 production credits including records for Rema, Oxlade, Ladipoe and more, Ozedikus is one of the defining sonic architects of contemporary Afrobeats.
💔 The Dark Side — 30 Songs, Zero Pay, And The Instagram Tag He Never Got
But before "Dumebi" and before the recognition, there was pain. And Ozedikus — triggered by a viral interview from fellow producer Sarz on the Afropolitan podcast — decided it was time to tell the truth about that pain.
Sarz had opened the floodgates by revealing on the podcast that major artists had exploited him throughout his early career:
"So many popular artists took advantage of me; they would make music with me and not pay me. There is one big artiste I made two songs with but he only paid for one. That day I said anyone who doesn't have what I'm charging, I'm not working with them — then I started becoming a notorious person."
— Sarz, on the Afropolitan Podcast
When Ozedikus saw the clip, something broke open inside him. He took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared his own experience — raw, unfiltered and heartbreaking:
"After watching Sarz talk about artists taking advantage of him, I remembered 2016/17 when I produced 30+ songs in 2 months for someone. Got paid for none. They dropped one track and I was begging just to be tagged on IG for 'exposure.' Still didn't happen lol."
— Ozedikus, on X (formerly Twitter)
Read that again. Thirty songs. Two months. Zero payment. And then — even the basic dignity of an Instagram tag — denied.
The post went viral immediately. Because every upcoming producer, every session musician, every songwriter who has ever worked for free in hopes of a "big break" that never came — they all recognised themselves in Ozedikus's words.
DJ Kaywise joined the conversation next — revealing his own exploitation story involving rapper Eldee The Don, who he claimed promised to sign him to his label after he produced over 1,000 mixtapes for the label's artists — a promise that was allegedly never kept:
"After seeing your tweets, I remembered in 2012 @eLDeeTheDon promising to sign me to his label… after I made over 1,000 mixtapes for him and his artists in my Alaba days. Baba said @NOTJUSTOK would announce it after he signed @EvaAlordiah to the label. That was the first major industry lamba I ever got and that's why I haven't signed with any label since."
— DJ Kaywise, on X (formerly Twitter)
🎤 Who Is Ozedikus Today — The Producer Behind The Sound
Despite the early exploitation and the painful journey, Ozedikus has built something extraordinary. His production fingerprint — shaped by his gospel music roots, his ear for melody and his years of grinding — is now one of the most recognisable sounds in Nigerian music.
His credits include:
- 🎵 Rema — "Dumebi" (the global breakout hit)
- 🎵 Rema — "Woman"
- 🎵 Oxlade — "Kulosa"
- 🎵 Crayon — multiple records
- 🎵 Ladipoe — multiple records
- 🎵 60+ production credits overall
In his recent Punch interview, Ozedikus also spoke about how he selects artists to work with — and his standards are high:
"When I work with an artiste, the first thing I look at is how versatile they are and how well they understand music. Their foundation in music is very important to me. I pay attention to their voice texture and how they work around melodies. For me, it is more about the music. If the person is not talented to the level I want, I would rather not work with them. I am very selective about who I work with."
— Ozedikus
🗣️ What Nigerians Are Saying — Reactions Are EVERYWHERE
The internet has been deeply divided since Ozedikus's gospel music comments and exploitation revelations dropped. Here is what people are saying:
On the gospel music comment:
"He said what every gospel music producer is thinking but is too afraid to say. The church needs to do better in paying its creatives."
— Twitter/X user
"So you left God's work because it wasn't paying? God will judge this man. Music should be a calling not a business."
— Facebook user
"He is honest and I respect that. Why should musicians be paid but producers do it for free? God appreciates excellence — excellence costs money."
— Instagram comment
On the exploitation story:
"30 songs. 2 months. Zero pay. And still begging for an Instagram tag. This is the real Nigeria music industry story that nobody wants to tell."
— Twitter/X user
"The fact that Sarz, Ozedikus and Kaywise all have similar stories tells you this is systemic. It is not one bad artist — it is the entire industry culture."
— Music industry observer on Twitter/X
"Ozedikus produced Dumebi and was still being treated like this? Imagine what happens to producers nobody knows. Nigerian music industry needs to do better."
— Instagram comment
⚖️ What Industry Analysts Are Saying
"The revelations from Sarz, Ozedikus and DJ Kaywise confirm what music industry analysts have been saying for years — Nigeria's music ecosystem, despite its global success, still lacks the contractual frameworks, intellectual property protections and payment culture that would allow its creators to truly benefit from the value they generate. The irony is profound: the same industry that is celebrated globally for producing Afrobeats is simultaneously exploiting the very producers and DJs who create that sound."
— Music Industry Analyst, The Native Magazine
"Ozedikus's gospel music comment is uncomfortable but important. The Nigerian church — one of the wealthiest institutions in the country — has historically underpaid its creatives while demanding excellence. If you want world-class worship music, you must pay world-class rates for the people who create it. Charity begins at home — and that includes paying your musicians fairly."
— Music and Culture Critic
"The power imbalance between producers and artists in Nigeria is structural. Established artists have the platform, the following and the leverage. Upcoming producers have only their talent — and talent alone, without legal protection and formal contracts, is easily exploited. Until the industry standardises its contracting practices, stories like Ozedikus's will keep repeating."
— Entertainment Lawyer and Industry Observer
🔮 The Bigger Question — What Does Nigeria Owe Its Creators?
The Ozedikus story raises a question that goes far beyond one producer's personal journey. It asks something fundamental about how Nigeria — as a country, as an industry, as a culture — values its creative people.
Nigeria has given the world Afrobeats. It has produced artists who sell out arenas in London, New York and Paris. It has created a cultural export that has reshaped global pop music. And yet — the producers, the session musicians, the DJs, the songwriters who built that sound from the ground up — many of them are still fighting for basic payment and basic credit.
Ozedikus's story is not unique. It is the story of thousands of Nigerian creative professionals who pour their talent into an industry that rewards the visible faces while rendering the invisible architects disposable.
The gospel music comment will generate the most controversy. But the exploitation story is the one that demands a real response — from artists, from labels, from the Nigerian Copyright Commission and from the industry as a whole.
Because if the man who produced "Dumebi" was once begging for an Instagram tag and not getting it — what chance does everyone else have?
🗣️ In Pidgin — As Naija People Dey See Am
E don enter for gospel music people side. 😅
So Ozedikus — the same producer wey make "Dumebi" wey scatter the whole world — him come out to talk say gospel music no dey pay. E talk say e was playing piano for church but when e enter secular production, e realise say the money dey for the other side. So e follow the money.
Some church people vex. Some people say e talk the truth wey everybody dey hide. Gospel producers dey suffer for Nigeria — dem dey create anointed music wey dey move thousands of people but when pay time reach, na "God will bless you" dem dey give am.
But the part wey really pain people na the exploitation story. This man produce 30 songs for two months for one unnamed artiste. Zero pay. The artiste drop one track. Ozedikus beg to be tagged on Instagram — just tagged, not paid, just TAGGED. The person still no do am.
Sarz talk him own. Ozedikus talk him own. DJ Kaywise talk him own. Three of the biggest names for Nigerian music production — all of them don chop industry lamba. If na them suffer this thing, how about the small producers wey nobody know?
Nigeria music industry, e good from outside. But inside? Na another story entirely. 🦅🇳🇬
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Sources: Punch, Premium Times, Vanguard, The Native Magazine, InfoStride News, 9jaSonic