DMW Act, Tobechukwu Victor Okoh, better known as Peruzzi, has been on a steady rise since his official introduction into the Nigerian music scene. Customary with the entertainment lifestyle, he has had his fair share of controversies in his short time on the scene but has also achieved some impressive feats at the same time.
According to The Nation Newspaper, Peruzzi ditched dropped out of studying medicine in a Ukrainian University to pursue a career in music. He also talks about his experience in the DMW family and how had he fought to keep his late mum alive.
On how he came about his name and his long hairdo, Peruzzi shared; “Peruzzi is an Italian goalkeeper and I used to be a goalie in high school. So, my friends just gave me the name. That is it. There is no bad guy meaning to it. And for my hairstyle, I started making my hair four years ago. Initially, I wasn’t carrying this particular style but after some time, I just tried this and I love it.”
On his background and growing up, he said; “My dad is a deacon, my mum was also a deaconess and I have two sisters. I am the only son. I learnt how to play the piano my dad bought for me when I was young and I was a member of choir in church, always in church on Sunday, choir practice on Saturday, prayer meeting on Wednesday; I am a church boy. However, in high school, I used to sing in a group and after I went to the university to study medicine and surgery at Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine. My first year, I didn’t do music at all because I had to be serious but during my second year, I went for a party with my course mate, and I was set up by them to sing. I performed and guests at the event liked my voice and I was encouraged to pursue singing. This prompted me to hit the studio and record a song and I began to shuffle between school and studio. At any free period in school, I would rush down to the studio to record like eight songs because I might not have time again.”
Revealing how he had to battle with his family about his choice of music over medicine, the artiste said; “When I came back to the country and my dad ordered me to go back to school, I had to leave the house and rent an apartment close to the house so that I could still be getting food from them because my dad had stopped giving me money. In fact, for three years, my dad was still pressurising me to go back to Ukraine and complete my study. He even called a family meeting and all that. They were like ‘how can you leave medicine for nothing?’ and even my girlfriend also separated with me due to this pressure. I started taking alcohol but I decided to channel my anger into writing songs just to prove my critics wrong”.
You can read the full interview here.