My Hit Song “Penalty” Was Inspired By My Mom – Small Doctor

Nigerian musician, Temitope Adekunle, popularly known as Small Doctor opens up on his experience in his rise to fame. The singer who recently won the 2018 Best Street Hop Artiste at the Headies Award had an interview with a news source.

The “Penalty” crooner revealed that the brain behind his hit song “Penalty” was a phone conversation he and his mother had. Recall in 2016, the singer was nominated for the Best Street Hip Hop Artist category in the Headies Award but he lost to fellow counterpart, Olamide. He explained that after event, he got a call from his mother and when he picked up, she said ”Ah winner, winner, winner”, and while he tried to inform her that he had lost out, the mother told him, ”You better work hard, Ko ma lo gba penalty lo throw-in next year (which means So you don’t play a penalty into a throw in).  He kept on thinking about the line and he then infused the line to the intro of his song. He said he’s been to 15 countries because of the hit song.

He also confirmed that he worked as a bus conductor and an Okada driver. He shared that he shuttled almost half of Lagos state while he was receiving airplay for his songs in his hood, Agege, Ogba, and other places but he had to make ends meet so he worked as a transporter.

He said;

“I had recorded my first single, I had been gaining airplay in my hood back then. Agege, Ogba, all those places. But person no fit just stand dey believe say dem go dey call you for show. Those times if you’re opportune to be on the stage you go beg with the fact that they’ve been playing the song all the while. So I just needed to have some other things to just keep the ball going.

Despite my early successes by going to school in my neighbourhood, I had to make a living. I was a conductor for years, almost a decade, From Agege to Ikeja, Ikeja to Maryland, Maryland to Yaba. I shuttled that place for like three to four years. I moved to Oshodi to Mushin under bridge. So it was from Oshodi to Mushin, Mushin to Oshodi I spent like six to seven years.

He further disclosed that he dropped out of the UNILAG because there was no money and time for him to concentrate on his studies. He added that he still has plans of going back to school to complete his education soon.