Nigerian singer Bella Shmurda has revealed a painful sacrifice he made early in his music career, stealing a neighbour's bicycle and selling it to help fund his studio sessions.

Speaking in an interview on The EchoRoom podcast, the singer recalled the incident from his days living in Okoko, Lagos.

According to him, a boy who lived in the flat upstairs owned a bicycle, which he would park downstairs, where Bella Shmurda and his family lived, overnight.

"When we lived in Okoko, there was one boy. He had a bicycle. He lived upstairs while we lived downstairs, so he used to park the bicycle downstairs for the night," he said.

He went on to describe how he took the bicycle late one night and later sold it in Alaba to raise money for his music.

"One midnight, I stole the bicycle and hid it, and then later I took the bicycle to Alaba to sell it. I sold it for ₦7,000. I used it to pay for half of the studio sessions," he said.

Bella Shmurda acknowledged the guilt tied to the act but explained it as part of the sacrifices he made while pursuing his dreams.

"Shoutouts to him, the incident was painful but I was chasing my dreams," he said, revealing he has since made amends. "I've bought him a new bicycle tho," he added.

“When we lived in Okoko, I once st%le a boy’s bicycle and sold it at Alaba for N7,000 to pay for studio sessions. I’ve bought him a new bicycle, but that incident was painful.” — Singer Bella Shmurda pic.twitter.com/NsRDeKUfQ6

— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) September 9, 2026