Nigerian singer Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel, aka Mayorkun, has revealed his reason for keeping his mother's identity a secret for many years.
The entertainer recently guest starred in the latest episode of the Tea with Tay Podcast, where he stressed that he did not want people to know that his mother was a popular Nollywood actress when he was growing up.
Before becoming famous himself, he and his brother wanted to have normal lives, which was hard to do because their mother, Toyin Adewale, was so popular. So to have the freedom they sought, the next line of action was to keep their mother's identity low-key.
Mayorkun began, “Growing up, my brother and I didn’t like the fact that our mom was a popular actress because we wanted freedom, but with her fame came fake attention and all."
His next reason for keeping her identity under wraps was rather humble. The artist stated that he did not want people to have a bias towards him because of who his mother was. He wanted people to like him as who he was, not because of his attachment.
“I hated being treated differently, not because you like me but because I am Toyin Adewale’s son," he added.
The singer went on, recalling his days at the University of Lagos, where he studied accounting. He then narrated the great lengths he went to to maintain a normal lifestyle while there, adding that he successfully kept his mother's identity hidden for the four years of his higher education.
He said, “Even in my university, people didn’t know she was my mother for four years. I was intentional about this. My mum brought food to me at school once, and a girl saw her. I quickly ran to her to get what she came with just so no one else saw her.”
Mayorkun is the oldest of his parents three children and was born into a family of entertainers, so it comes as no surprise that he became an entertainer himself.