Stories of grace and grass are timeless and inspirational, appearing in everything from movies to social media. Femi Dapson, this week's subject, has one such story, describing how he went from a backbreaking factory job to working with some of the most sought-after artists on the continent. He shares his journey with PiggyVest.

He created the following snippets of music:

The following music videos were created by me: City Boy - Burna Boy Rema, please relax. Kizz Charm Rema Daniel coughed. Pheelz feat. Buju - elegant Mavins: Excessive Use Ruger - Viber Ladipoe - Running with Fireboy Omah Lay: Female Kenkele - Buju Kizz feat. Buju The Gwagwalada, Daniel Blaqbonez: returning to college Glacier spice by Blaqbonez Joeboy—spirit and body Eazi Mr. - Wena Beggie / Ayra Starr Startie Ozumba-Reekado Banks The Fireboy, Yawa

I was raised in Lagos. My mother sold groceries, while my dad drove a commercial bus. I have a younger sister and two elder brothers. Up until 2017, we have lived in incomplete structures my whole life. Though I never really knew what I wanted to accomplish with my life, I do believe that everything is meant to be. I started working hard during my time in high school. I would trim shrubs and paint houses. For ₦7,000, I worked at a hotel. I was paid less than ₦10,000 for my duties as a primary school teacher, however, I can't recall exactly how much I was paid. I also had a job at a facility that made an alcoholic beverage using herbs.

They got ₦500 every day. It was a horrible job, but it was financially secure. I put in a ton of work. It required a lot of physical exertion. If I didn't finish packing 24 boxes a day, I had to come back the next day. I worked from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. every day, depending on how quickly I worked. When I was ill and unable to work, they would deduct ₦500 from my pay each month.

 Together with my parents, I relocated to Ota. I used to assist my mother over there while she served meals to employees at Winners Chapel. For three years, I was also employed as a cleaner at the church. I started working as the overseer's son's assistant secretary a few months before I quit. The overseer's son had recently returned to Nigeria.

My task was to help the secretary. [Giggles] After a while, I moved to Lagos and started working as a cleaner at an event center. I later discovered that a company that uses the LIRS was hiring a trainee for the position of junior auditor. I went to the interview and was hired. We examined tax returns and other related documents. That's the reason no one can now complain to me about taxes.

It taught me a lot. social skills. In addition, I had sufficient experience working in an office setting to know how to conduct myself professionally there. At the church, I had to deal with a good deal of paperwork and bureaucracy. That transferred in part. People simply think I'm intelligent, too. I'm not sure why, but I have the ability to market myself. In addition, I firmly think that you can learn anything on your own if you can read and write. For example, I drove a car from Egbeda to Maryland for the first time. That was a result of my prior observation of drivers. Computers work in the same way. One of my relatives had a computer when she was younger, and she learned how to operate it by

30k. At the time, that was the highest I had ever been paid! However, I resigned and moved in with a buddy of mine who was a photographer. I simply had a lot of faith in him. I could see his promise. I also didn't want to go home, even though my cousin who was hosting me had become weary of me. I was in charge of him. I would make it happen if he had a concept that he wanted to shoot. We worked on international initiatives with Aljazeera and the BBC. Eventually, he began directing videos.

In a sense. My friend's house was a three-bedroom, and we were about eight guys. His older sister had a room, and his parents had a room. We were all eight in the same room. Seven large males in one room. Yes. Apparently, Macjreyz, an artist, was one of the people in the room. Mr. Eazi chose to film a music video for his song after growing fond of him. The person who takes my photos suggested he could record the video. He performed a freestyle to a song by Mr. Eazi.

When it was posted online, Mr. Eazi We were requested to direct the music video for Lil Kesh's "YAGI Level" by artist management. Following that, we worked on Zinoleesky's "Kilofeshe." After LAX saw the video, they asked us to shoot the "Go Low" music video. We contracted with an international production business and began receiving additional work. I founded Nouvelle Films once that contract ended, and the rest is history. "Gwagwalada" by BNXN, "Back In Uni" by Blaqbonez, and "Charm" by Rema the reason for all of this was because one of the eight large men performed a freestyle to a song by Mr. Eazi.

That served as our introduction to the world of music videos. Strange things. Yes. However, I neglected to bring up something that occurred prior to the success of our music video creation. I was managing a model on Instagram at the time who had a large following. Working with her introduced me to a few representatives of a well-known alcohol company, and together we began planning a party. However, the party was in progress when we arrived. With that party, the brand took off, and I earned enough cash to purchase a car.

I believe I first received ₦100,000 from them. a large sum of money! I now use that to make my monthly power purchases. We used to dine for ₦2,500 in the morning, all of us. I was able to put money aside, and I used some of the earnings from those events to fund our video projects. I want to assume that everything that has occurred to me thus far has brought me here. I did everything from helping my mother sell food to making friends with folks who weren't really from the impoverished area where I grew up. We cannot support one another because we are all impoverished—you, me, and our parents.

 The video at LAX. It was unlike anything that anyone had ever seen. What was the price? At the time, between ₦2m to ₦12m. I have already contributed informally to a few Burna Boy videos. However, "City Boys" was our first significant project. One of his employees ended up getting in touch with a friend in the nasty part. He liked the "Gwagwalada" music video that he had seen. Burna performed some new songs for us when he welcomed us to the studio. He was hoping to collaborate with my man, but it had not materialized. However, he requested that we record some viral videos the next time he visited Nigeria. That's what gave rise to the "City Boys" music video.