Olu Maintain Offered Me N1.5m To Buy My 2015 Hit ‘Shake Body – Skales

Nigerian musician Skales has revealed that his colleague Olu Maintain once offered him N1.5 million to purchase his 2015 hit song ‘Shake Body’.

The track regained virality after Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal used it in a TikTok video.

In a recent interview on the With An S podcast, Skales recalled his struggles with self-doubt and industry rejection after leaving Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) record label in 2009.

The 34-year-old singer revealed that despite ‘Shake Body’ eventually becoming a smash hit, most industry heavyweights initially rejected the song.

“… a lot of people like turning their backs on me because of the whole separation from EME. I felt so inferior, I had like low self-esteem,” he said.

“It was whatever people loved from me that I thought was best. I honestly did not know… Honestly, I played the song for like all the big people in the world in the industry at that time, and everybody passed it on except one person, Olu Maintain.

“I remember Olu Maintain and Tunde Ednut… Because Tunde Ednut and I used to squat together. Olu Maintain offered me N1.5 million to buy the song, by the way. I remember my manager said ‘do not sell it’.”

Skales gained recognition after winning the North Central region of the Zain Tru Search contest in 2008.

The singer recently revealed that he was once forced to perform ‘Shake Body’ in a police cell.