Nigerian singer Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma, popularly known as Qing Madi, has said the music industry is as lucrative as “drug” business.

Speaking in a recent episode of the Tea with Tay podcast, Madi said an artist can make what the average Nigerian employee earns in a year or years from a single show.

The 19-year-old said music has given her financial freedom, but she doesn’t flaunt her wealth online because she doesn’t want it to become her persona.

“Music money is not normal, it is like drug money. I don’t think people know how… And I’m not the person who would buy stuff and put on the media because I do think that that would change the narrative of what I am to the media. And I don’t like people looking at me and seeing money. But I am rich.

“The average Nigerian works 9-5 and earns maybe N500,000 at the end of the month, while as an artist, you do one show and get N20 million. Music money is huge,” she said.

Madi said she believes the reason Nigerians love music could be due to the limited access to therapy in the country, stressing that a lot of people rely on music for therapy and escapism.