Nigerian singer, Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo, popularly known as Kcee, has opened up about his early career in professional football and how it eventually gave way to his now-thriving music journey.
In a an interview with Taymesan, Kcee recounted his formative years playing for top Nigerian league clubs, Julius Berger FC and Puma FC, during the 1990s.
He revealed that his first international travel experience was football-related, stating that he once journeyed to South Africa as part of his team’s lineup.
“The first time I travelled out of this country was football. I was playing for Julius Berger. I played for Puma. The first time I went to South Africa was soccer. That was before music,” he shared.
Reflecting on the timeline, Kcee said he was still a teenager at the time and belonged to the crop of young talents expected to succeed football legends like Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.
“I was a very young boy. This was in the middle 90s. I was a teenager then. Jay Jay (Okocha) and Kanu were a set before me. After them, we would have been like the people to take over Super Eagles,” he said.
However, the singer noted that his football dream was eventually derailed due to lack of financial support and sponsorship. This pushed him to lean further into his other passion—music.
“When I found out that it was difficult to take my football career to the next level, I picked up my next love, music. I was running both of them side by side. In the course of that, I won Star Quest talent hunt and I started making money. So, I had to drop one for one. That was why I quit football,” he explained.
Kcee gained national recognition in 2002 after winning the Star Quest talent hunt alongside Precious John, popularly known as Presh, forming the music duo KC Presh. The success of the competition and its prize money allowed him to pursue music full-time.
Now with a career spanning over two decades, Kcee has established himself in the Nigerian music scene with popular hits such as “Limpopo” and the more recent “Ojapiano,” cementing his place as a veteran in the industry.
