Singer Joe El Amadi has recently opened up about the challenges he has faced due to his striking resemblance to his fellow artist, 2Baba. In a candid appearance on the ‘Hoha’ podcast, Joe El shared that being frequently compared to 2Baba has had a detrimental effect on his career.
He explained that several music executives and media personalities have denied him opportunities simply because of his similarity in appearance to 2Baba. Joe El recounted some specific instances that illustrate the obstacles he encountered: “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,” he revealed.
He recalled a particularly harsh confrontation with a Sound City presenter, who, during a night out at Club Rumours, openly admitted to having instructed his colleagues not to play Joe El’s music because he believed the singer was mimicking 2Baba. “The presenter even confronted me at Club Rumours one time, boasting that he was the one who ordered presenters at his station not to play my songs because I was mimicking 2Face,” Joe El claimed.
The discrimination didn’t stop there; an event planner for Festac Carnival insisted that Joe El would not be allowed to perform because of his resemblance to 2Baba, whom he referred to as “their King.” Joe El also recounted an experience at Cool FM where a presenter refused to interview him, stating that he couldn’t engage with someone who supposedly imitated 2Face.
Faced with these challenges, Joe El turned to his mother and his record label boss, Baba Keke, for support. They encouraged him to remain calm amidst the adversity. He shared, “Sometimes, when I try to pay homage to 2Face when we meet in public, some of his team members will block me.”
However, things began to change for Joe El after he collaborated with 2Baba on the song “Hold On” in 2015, leading to greater acceptance of his music and career.
Reflecting on his departure from Kennis Music after a 12-year tenure, Joe El simply stated, “The contract was over.”
