White Money: Life Before BBNaija was Horrible, I Literally Begged for Everything

Big Brother Naija ‘Shine Ya Eye’ Season 6 winner, White Money – real name Hazel Oyeze Onou – recently hosted BBNaija stars and other top celebrities in the industry to a listening party for his new single “Selense”. The reality TV star, singer and actor, prior to the party, had a session with select arts and entertainment journalists where he shared his grass to grace story, the inspiration behind the song, events before, during and after the BBNaija 2021, plus his plans moving forward. Ferdinand Ekechukwu who was part of the session captured the moments

When you were going into the BBNaija house, what was on your mind?

What was on my mind basically was to get myself out of poverty; to help my family. I went there not as a single person but as a human representing an entity of people. So, I went there not just for myself, but for my friends, my family and my neighborhood, my community.

When you were also in the house, you showed a lot of humility, where is it coming from?

Humility is of the Lord. If you are a believer, and if you believe in God, you should know that the first thing to getting God’s favour is humility. The bible counts countless places of being humble, being humble and how pride can ruin a man. So, humility is something that everyman should have. Especially ones you have the understanding that the life that you live is not yours, it’s a borrowed time; you can die anything so why being proud? There’s no pride in the grave.

Can you tell us a little bit about life before the house?

Life before the house was very, very horrible situation. It was not funny. I literally begged for everything. You understand. I hustled too hard; too, too hard. Like working in the street trading, hawking, driving people’s car, fixing people’s generators, driving okada, barbing, name it. I did it all. So it was not really pleasant one. It was just struggling point of life for me.

What kept pushing you; what was the driving force?

The fact that I’m an Igbo boy, that’s number one. The blood of an Igbo man flows in me. You need to make it before you can stand out. And the fact that you know if you don’t have money you are nobody in the society. Nobody listens to you. You can’t even have a good girlfriend, can’t live a life of luxury. You need money to keep that lot going. That’s the least you can even do. So even when you come out, you go to parties and everything you can go out because you look good but you don’t have money. People call you to do something and you are there and you are well dressed but you don’t have money to represent your name and your name is White Money, so where’s the money?!

Now that you have money are you saying you are going to have lots of girlfriends?

Now that I have money, I’m going to have potential women who want to be girlfriends and so help me God. I’m a pre-descendant of Solomon anything can happen.

Compare post BBNaija life in contrast to before. Apart from money, what’s the major difference?

Fame. It open doors; you know my name open doors. People use my name in doing things now and I just laugh. A lot of guys have used my name to have girlfriends. I have seen that happen. I travelled to Enugu I saw that. So the name is opening doors in relationship side making things happen. Even business opportunities; it make things easy like I don’t have to be queuing up.

But there are some things fame can rub you off; you can’t do now with fame…

Freedom; it rubs me off of freedom of some certain kinds of foods I would want to eat…, like ewa agoin road side, street side food, street side boli…Not that I cannot do that but it’s risky… But I don’t care, it doesn’t affect my brand; my brand is a street brand. But I just can’t access it easily the way it used to be.

Did winning the Big Brother Naija show give you any sense of fulfillment?

It gave me a sense of belonging. Because prior to that, I have seen people who won, I have seen lifestyles, I have seen everything. These are things you want to become. You want to be among the top people, you want to mingle among the high class and everything but you cannot because you don’t have that status, you understand… because you don’t have that name. Going into the house is one thing, winning is another thing on a different level.

Was there a time in the house it crossed your mind or you thought you were going to win?

There was never. You can never enter that place with a map. It’s not a script. It did not cross my mind. It did not go. And it can never cross. The best way to survive in that house is to go through every week. If you make it every week, be grateful. But you can never know. A lot of people who left the house early didn’t see they were leaving.

So what was that unique selling point that made you win?

It’s called Grace because everybody was very unique. So Grace no be juju; it’s there it’s there. I just believe it’s the grace of God; this is what stood me out.

Tell us some of the memorable moments for you in the house?

Memorable moments, first was entering the house, that was a very memorable moment. That’s number one. Number two was hearing Big Brother call my name; that was interesting. Number three was winning the Lipton Ice contest. Yeah because I didn’t see that coming, even the Revolution Plus challenge I didn’t see that coming. Then the most memorable moment was eating those foods the last day, Jesus…those foods were amazing.

Tell us about your love for food and cooking

My love for food is amazing because food is part of life…the way to my heart is food. For me it’s not a strategy, it’s a lifestyle. It’s not something that I do every time. It is something that God, my mother has put inside of me. It’s a talent. Like most of the things we cook in the house, I had to device them, you know, with the little ingredient we have.

Tell us about your growing up

My growing up was a beautiful one and rough. I was born with a silver spoon, diamond spoon, and a golden spoon in my mouth at the same time. But growing up I lost it along the way; all the spoons. I went into the street from a very young age. But to God be the glory I never smoked, drink or did anything the street does.

The only thing the street helped me was to define my life and helped me be a better man. So I have been a hustler from a very young age. It wasn’t easy but it was all a process because if the things I have now God gave it to me two years ago, I would have died, because I wouldn’t know how to handle it. But most times God delays your blessings for you to have the maturity to handle the things He’s bringing your way.

What has been your biggest mistake in life and what did you learn from it?

Biggest mistake in life has been not doing the proper evangelism when I had the opportunity to do it. Now I’m going to do that well with everything in my body. I’m not a man of God; I’m a child of God. So I want to use my lifestyle and everything to bring people to quest in my own way. My music, everything that I do… you mustn’t be a pastor. But like I said, I’m a musician you understand. So music to me is diverse. I can sing about women, I can sing about love, and everything and that’s what makes you a musician. I’m not a secular artiste, I’m not a worldly artiste, and neither I’m a gospel artiste. But I can perform in the mosque and in the church.

Some say that you are a good cook; they suggest that you can do well having a restaurant as a chef instead of doing music?

Oh there are plans of having my own restaurant big time. But trust me the food business is not something you dabble into. A cooking show and a restaurant itself definitely I’m going to do. You don’t just move into it because you want to standout. You don’t just do rice and beans.

How did that name White Money come into being?

It was given to me by the Holy Spirit believe it or not…because I prayed for it. I have different kinds of names. So one day I told myself I need a name that will cause controversy that when I call it people will marvel. So I slept. Believe it or not the way you wake up with songs in your mouth was the way I wake up with ‘White Money’ on my lips. I didn’t know what it was I was thinking is it going to be a name nor is it going to be a song title. I just felt this should be a name and I told my guys in the saloon to start calling me White Money and it stuck. It became a household name.

Is what you are doing now what you had wanted to do?

Oh it is and more! This is one month and three weeks I guess that I have been outside the house and in one month and three weeks I’m an ambassador, an honourable, I’m a high Chief, not the normal regular Chief, a high one, first of its kind in my state, the youngest. Also I was also inducted into the Actors Guild of Nigeria. I have bills that I have not mentioned. Those three things are major achievements…And I dropped a single yesterday.

Tell us about the single you dropped

‘Selense’, it’s an amazing music, the song I wrote when I was quite young. I think about 18 or 22 I think. I wrote that song then during the space of those years. It’s a very inspirational song. Funny enough, I had recorded the song before but I didn’t release it. It was just in a CD plate and 5000 copies of that song with other songs like an EP but I burnt it out of depression. I burnt them, 5000 copies out of depression. No helper, no sponsor, no nothing. I was just new in Lagos that was about 2012. So basically I got into the house as God will have it the talent came back. The music thing everything just started coming back. The house brought back the better side of me.

So while I was coming out of the house, I’m a songwriter, I have too many songs, I said Holy Spirit direct me what song to release first that will announce to the world and the world will know… Someone that really helped me to really put the song out was Pere (housemate) because I just sang it to him and Cross in the kitchen and we left. Before you know, he was singing it unconsciously and then Cross tapped me and said ‘ah see Pere dey sing your song’. That was when I know that ‘okay this is the song to put out’. If you listen to the song, you will see a lot of message and depth in it. It will tell you it will show you how, it will tell you the story of my life.

You just dropped a single, how soon are you going to drop the next one, any album in the making and also what genre is your music?

I just dropped the single ‘Selense’ on the 3rd (December, 2021) produced by Masterkraft, Fiokee and mixed by Selebobo. It’s a banger if you have not heard it, with the video and everything dropped the same day. So it’s a project that is very dear to me. January, by God’s Grace ending of January between February (2022) I should drop another one, a follow-up. I wouldn’t be doing an album now; I would be doing an EP because my schedule is very tight. But this is just one song that is bringing this kind of people together. What happens when my EP comes out? My genre of music is called CUM-CUM – Cool United Melodies. It’s melodies that are united. That’s my kind of songs.