Media entrepreneur and host of the viral talkshow #WithChude, Chude Jideonwo, sits down with Femi Dapson, a film and music video producer and entrepreneur, for a real conversation about poverty, loss, ambition and the determination to build a different life. Femi recounts growing up in the ghetto, leaving school in SS2, cleaning toilets and watching his father die poor after battling cancer. He also recalls begging for ₦100,000 on Twitter to support his father’s treatment, and the stranger who sent the money twice before eventually blocking him.
In a story of grit and unconventional choices, Femi speaks about deliberately building friendships with people from wealthier backgrounds because he understood early that connection could change the trajectory of a life. He recalls walking into a job interview despite lacking the qualifications others had, and instead selling the interviewers on his dreams until they gave him a chance. He also shares how a connection to Mr Eazi and emPawa unexpectedly opened the door into music production, eventually leading him towards a career he now believes he may have always been meant to pursue. “I was a cleaner and eventually ended up in the office when I worked with Bishop Oyedepo,” he says, reflecting on the unlikely journey from cleaning toilets to finding his place in the room.
But beneath the career story is a deeper philosophy about faith, generosity and refusing to be defined by circumstance. Femi recalls a moment when, despite having almost nothing, his principles led him to give his toothbrush at church because he believed that “giving is receiving.” From begging strangers for help to creating a life of his own, his journey is a powerful reminder that where you begin does not have to determine where you end, and that sometimes, ambition, courage, relationships and the willingness to take an improbable chance can open doors that qualifications alone cannot.
WATCH EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY758Gn3ubE
