By ITTY OKIM

“Oxlade’s story inspires me. His story is one of the things that keep the hope that success is still very possible for me in the industry alive in me. Oxlade is some badass success story.”

This was the reaction of Gravie, an upcoming Lagos based alternative artiste, when I asked him what he thinks the Oxlade brand represents.

It turns out he’s not alone in this school of thought about Oxlade as even Ox himself doesn't hesitate to speak, with the slightest opportunity he gets, about how his life turned around.

In “Tables Turn” (one of his tracks featuring Moelogo off the ‘Oxygene’ album), he expressed how much gratitude he owes God for taking him out of struggle through his talent.

But should the ‘Boy Ox’ really be doing this at this point in his career? Shouldn’t the success storytelling be left for the international big names like Wizkid, Yemi Alade and the rest of them? How much “success” has he exactly made in the industry yet?

“I look forward to sharing my success through my music as well. Using Oxlade as a measure, it won’t be too long before I can do that. Oxlade proves that I don't have to be Michael Jackson or Alicia Keys to have a success story,” says Gravie.

Ikuforiji Abdulrahman Olaitan (popular, Oxlade or Boy Ox) might still be a “Lagos artiste” but he is definitely stealing the airwaves with his music and has gotten very encouraging reception from Nigerians so far.

He might not be a Drake yet, but one thing is sure: his story reaches out to the thousands of young, up-and-coming artistes that there are and helps them realise that it is never too early for them to have a great story and to tell it beautifully through their music.