Skales’ story shows how inspirational mother’s are in the life of an artist

It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and as I scroll the internet searching for cute photos of mothers and their musically inclined children, I come across lots of photos of artists and their mother.

These photos carry with them stories of love and affection, sacrifice and encouragement.

A mother’s love is one of the purest relationships on earth. Mothers would do anything for their kids, and fight to the death to create a path for their children to succeed. Burna Boy has had a rocky business manager with his mother, who continues to seek the best management style for him. Wizkid’s mother goes somewhere in a corner of her room every night, and tasks God to help him become the greatest. That’s why he sang her the song ‘Joy’, in her name.

But perhaps how influential are these mothers in the career of an artiste.

For Skales, his mother was the driving force for his success. He recently shared a story which confirms that part.

According to him, he used to sleep in a shopping complex with his mother and has had to deny her several times in the past.

"My father left us when I was really young. I do not even know how he looks like.

My mother and I used to sleep in a shopping complex at a time. I am talking about during my primary and secondary school days in Kaduna.

Then, the only hope for me was music. At some point, I told my mother I wanted to work and support her.

I was chased out of school because I did not pay school fees. I had to steal school uniform because mine was bad and I would tell my mother I saved money for it."

Still speaking on their difficulties, he said, "Also, my mother would go to my friends’ houses to do their laundry, which was embarrassing to me.

I had to deny my mother. I also did not let my friends know where I lived because most of them were children of politicians." Adding, "When I told my mother I was moving to Lagos, she asked me to finish my university education in Kaduna. But I convinced her I could cope.

From Kaduna to Lagos, I got a free ride and the first place I stayed was Orile (Lagos). I lied to the person that gave me free ride that I would stay with him for a couple of days and it turned to months.

He later started a label with some friends; they knew some people but it was not easy."

The 'Temper' singer has since proved that he has so much love for his mother. December last year he showed off a home recently completed for his mother.

Without the looming specter of his mother, and the promise he made to improve on their lives, would Skales have stayed focused to push his career beyond the odds and trolling he receives on a daily? Perhaps. But we never can tell. His reality is that he has a mother who took care of him selflessly, and that provided enough determination to enable him stay on course in his craft.

That’s the lesson here. Mothers and their presence in the lives of artists is a huge driver for creativity, focus and consistency. Without them, a lot of the good music that has come through and improved on our lives would never have been possible.