Afrobeat singer, songwriter and performer Joel Amadi known as Joe El has opened up on the downsides of his striking resemblance to 2Baba his colleague in the music industry.
On the ‘Hoha’ podcast, Joe El said being compared to 2Baba because of their resemblance has affected his career negatively. He further said some music executives and media personalities had denied him access to their platforms just for sharing a resemblance with 2Baba.
He said “The downsides of 2Baba comparisons almost broke me down. Some presenters at Cool FM and Sound City, and an event planner at Festac Carnival 2013, denied me access to their platforms for looking like 2Baba”.
“The Sound City presenter even confronted me at Club Rumours one time boasting that he was the one that ordered presenters at his station not to play my songs because I was mimicking 2Face. The event planner at Festac Carnival insisted that I won’t perform because I look like they’re King 2Face. The same thing happened when I went for an interview at Cool FM; the presenter said he can’t interview someone who imitates 2Face”
“I complained to my mum and my record label boss, Baba Keke but they urged to be calm. Sometimes, when I try to pay homage to 2Face when we meet in public, some of his team members will block me.”
He also said people started accepting him after he collaborated with 2Baba on his song ‘Hold On’ in 2015.
Joe El began his musical career in 2006, when he participated in the Star Quest singing competition which happened to be his first TV appearance. In 2009, he moved to Lagos in 2019 hoping for better chances. He eventually met Kenny Ogungbe, the CEO of Kennis Music who offered him a contract in 2010. His debut single “I No Mind” was later nominated for the Best R’n’b Video at the NMVA 2011 awards.
