Dancehall artiste Najeeriii says he dropped out of high school to pursue dancehall music, but he has no regrets as he is now seeing the fruits of his labor.
The former Calabar student said he did not attend online school as mandated in 2021, and he was ordered to repeat grade 10 but did not show up. While speaking on The Fix podcast, the artiste said his mother was not pleased about him dropping out of school despite efforts to force him to finish high school.
“From mi young mi did realise say wha you see for yourself anuh everybody ago go see it so no matter if you think you a do good somebody ago see it as bad, somebody else sees it as good… da music thing mi a get better. Me see me following a grow, mi YouTube and Audiomack a grow,” the artiste said.
He continued, “even mi mother never agree with this music thing. It was a thing me always look at my mother and say mi ago prove myself,” Panton said, adding that his career choice was scary for his mother, who had her own dreams for him.
“A mother is gonna fear say a son ago just put down everything she spend on. Memba say ah momy a send me go school all this time so for me to fling down school… she never know about [music] none at all, it come in like me a mad out to her,” he added.
The artiste said he was kicked out of high school while repeating grade 10 but explained that he was absent a lot from school because he was busy selling Honey Bun doughnuts. The money raised was to help finance him and his producer, YC (who also dropped out of high school), to create music and to provide for his personal needs.
As for future regrets, the artist said he has the resolve and confidence that he will become a successful artist.
In the meantime, Najeeriii says he wrote 60-100 songs before getting a big break with “Panton” and “Sintrap” both released in 2023.
The artiste also addressed the viral video of him pushing a fan off the stage earlier this year, adding that he apologized to the female.
“If mi did see say a girl is running towards me, me wouldn’t push down a girl. But mi don’t know a wha, work mi a work. Something deh round me, when mi looks mi say Jah know dawg,” the artiste said, adding that he expected the headlines that he “kicked down a female fan.”
“You have some fans weh not even aware of it but end of the day two ah we a human…me a work, me wouldn’t want nobody [run come hug me],” he said.
As for his latest song, “Like Go Go,” Najeeriii and Rajah Wild were the first artists to be tapped by Rvssian as he reprised the Go Go Club Riddim. “This planned at least two months prior. My song voice and just put down,” he said, adding that Rvssian began to revamp the riddim way before the PR stunt with Brysco over the last weekend. “It’s a legendary beat,” he said.
