Michael Adebayo Olayinka (born September 23, 1999) is a leading Afrobeats musician who is known professionally by the stage name Ruger. He is a singer and songwriter who is currently signed to Jonzing World Entertainment.
He became national prominence in 2021 after being unveiled as Jonzing World‘s latest signee. He released his debut EP, Pandemic, on the 4th of March, 2021.
He released his sophomore EP titled The Second Wave on the 26th of November, 2021. He released his third music project, The Second Wave Deluxe, in June 2022.
RUGER |
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 Ruger: History • Bio • Photo |
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| WIKI FACTS & ABOUT DATA | |
| Full Name: | Michael Adebayo Olayinka |
| Stage Name: | Ruger (Fmr. Mikki Drey) |
| Born: | 23 September 1999 (age 24 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Lagos, Nigeria |
| State Of Origin: | Lagos State |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Height: | 1.72 m |
| Parents: | Mr. and Mrs. Olayinka |
| Siblings: | N/A |
| Wife • Spouse: | Not Married |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Susan Pwajok (rum.) |
| Children: | N/A |
| Record Label: | Jonzing World • Columbia • Sony Music |
| Occupation: | Singer • Songwriter |
| Net Worth: | US$300,000-S$500,000 |
Michael Adebayo (born 23 September 1999), known professionally as Ruger, is a 24-year-old Nigerian singer and songwriter.
Ruger, born and brought up in Lagos hails from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria.
He hit the limelight on the 18th of January, 2020 after being announced as the newly signed artist to D’Prince‘s Jonzing World Records.
Jonzing World which is affiliated with Don Jazzy‘s Mavin Records also houses the likes of Rema and Ozedikus.
Table of Contents
Early Life
Ruger was born to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Olayinka. He belongs to the Gen Z generation and was birthed on the 23rd of September 1999.
His parents named him Michael Adebayo Olayinka. “Adebayo” is his native name. He hails from the Yoruba ethnic group and is an indigene of a Southwestern State.
He was born and raised in Lagos State, where he lived with his family. He comes from a Christian household and attended church regularly with his parents. In church, he discovered his musical talent and began to express it. As a teenager, he joined his church’s choir to serve God with his talent.
In a matter of years, he became an outstanding vocalist and could compose gospel songs. He was also a member of his school’s music band. This helped him improve his singing and songwriting prowess quickly. He and his band mates performed at school functions and represented the school at events.
Ruger was born in his fatherland Nigeria in 1999. He is from a humble and respectable Adebayo family.
The young man was bred in Lagos, the former capital city of the nation. From his early years, he came across different genres of music which made him develop a love for art. This wasn’t unusual because his family was music lovers.
Ruger’s musical influences growing up includes Bob Marley, Rihanna, Boyz II Men, Beyonce, R. Kelly, 2Baba.
Thus, he made up his mind to become a musician, and his family supported him. He is the only son of his family.
Education
Ruger obtained his First School Leaving Certificate and West African School Certificate from reputable primary and secondary schools in Lagos.
He is currently an undergraduate at a high-ranking university in southwest Nigeria.
Career
From his teenage days, Ruger had decided that he wanted to make mainstream music. He began composing Afrobeats songs in his final year in high school to fine-tune his songwriting skill.
Driven by his passion for succeeding in the music industry, he began to record his composed songs in studios in his neighborhood. Some of these singles did reasonably well locally, helping to increase Ruger‘s fame in the Lagos underground music community. Thus, he began to receive invitations to perform at local music shows and concerts in Lagos.
Ruger‘s recorded a significant success break when he was discovered by rapper and talent manager D’Prince of Mavin Records. D’Prince was intrigued with the Ruger‘s talent and decided to take the latter under his wing. D’Prince began grooming Ruger into a better musician, helping him improve his singing and songwriting ability. D’Prince, who is also a music executive, decided to sign Ruger under his record label, Jonzing World Entertainment.
D’Prince unveiled Ruger as Jonzing World‘s latest signee in January 2021. It is a joint venture deal between Song Music Entertainment UK, Columbia Records, and Jonzing World. He was introduced into the Nigerian music community when he released his debut single, One Shirt, on the 20th of January 2021. The song featured appearances from Rema and D’Prince.
Two months later, Ruger showed the industry what he had to offer when he released his debut music project, Pandemic, on the 12th of March 2021. The project is a 6-track EP composed of the following songs – Bounce, Ruger, Abu Dhabi, Bow, Monalisa, and Yekpa. Kukbeatz produced all the songs on the project. Earlier, he had dropped the self-titled single, Ruger, on the 17th of February, 2021.
The single, Bounce was a commercial success. The song went viral as soon as the EP was released, increasing Ruger‘s popularity and fanbase. Bounce debuted at number 39 on the Top 50 Chart. The single also reached the number 20 spot on the TurnTable End Of The Year chart.
Later that year, Ruger dropped his sophomore EP titled The Second Wave on the 19th of November 2021. Once again, the project was solely produced by Kukbeatz. The 4-track project is home to the following hit songs – Champion, Snapchat, Dior, and Useless.
The success of the EP paved the way for Ruger to embark on his first international tour, tagged The Rugged Tour. The tour began in the United States in May 2022, which saw Ruger perform in cities like Houston, Dallas, and Las Vegas. He has also performed at sold-out shows in countries like Cyprus, Netherlands, and Australia. He is also billed to perform in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Malta.
In June 2022, Ruger‘s announcement that he was dropping a third EP was met with excitement on social media. He dropped the project titled, The Second Wave Deluxe on the 17th of June 2022. He added the singles Girlfriend, Wewe, and Warning to the project.
As a teenager, Ruger joined his church’s choir as a vocalist. He also signed us as a member of his school’s musical band. He did all these so as to develop himself as a musician.
He started composing songs from his high school days and would perform them at his school’s events and local shows in Lagos. By this time, he had already come up with the stage name Ruger.
In 2020, fortune finally shined its rays on Ruger as he was lucky to meet talent manager and top artiste, D’Prince. D’Prince is the brother of big-time producer and record label owner, Don Jazzy.
After listening to some of his sounds, D’Prince fell in love with his sound and started working with the young act. D’Prince began inviting him for studio sessions at his recording studio so as improve on Ruger‘s sound and make him a better musician.
On the 18th of January 2020, D’Prince took to social media to announce that he had signed Ruger under his imprint, Jonzing World. Thus, Ruger became the second artiste D’Prince signed in the space of two years. The second being Rema. In Rema‘s case, he is co-signed to Mavin Records owned by Don Jazzy.
But Ruger‘s case is different. D’Prince is partnering with Sony Music West Africa and Columbia Records in managing the talented artiste.
As soon as the news hit the internet, several big names in the industry beginning from Don Jazzy sent congratulatory messages to D’Prince for his latest achievement.
Ruger‘s debut single was released on the 20th of January 2020 with guest appearances from his Jonzing World acts, Rema and D’Prince.
In September 2023, the accomplished Nigerian musical artist Ruger, proudly associated with Jonzing World Records, unveiled his highly-anticipated debut album, “RU The World.”
Within this auditory creation, Ruger showcases his musical brilliance across 17 tracks, revealing his songwriting finesse and his remarkable ability to collaborate seamlessly with artists from diverse genres and backgrounds.
The album includes captivating songs such as Tour, Ashana, I Want Peace, Blue, featuring a striking collaboration with Stefflon Don on Addiction. Kristy and All My Days, featuring Sauti Sol, contrast harmoniously. Asiwaju, Nine, and Likely featuring Govana, add further layers to this musical journey. Meanwhile, BoyToy, Dear Ex, and Island Girl, featuring Projexx, contribute to the album’s dynamic range. Red Flags, Jonzing Boy, Bun Bun, and Holy Ground complete this sonic masterpiece.
There are many high expectations from Ruger who is expected to become one of the best Afrobeats artists in the next few years.
Discography
- Bounce
- Abu Dhabi
- Bow
- Yekpa
- Monalisa
- Ruger
- Lock Down
- Pandemic (EP)
- Girlfriend
- The Second Wave (EP)
- Champion
- Warning
- WeWe
- Useless
- Dior
- SnapChat
- Ru The World (Album)
Social Media
Since he rose to fame, Ruger has become a force in the African social media community. He has millions of die-hard fans following him across his social media pages.
He has over 1.1 million followers on Instagram and over 172k followers on Twitter.
- Instagram handle: @rugerofficial
- Twitter handle: @rugerofficial
Personal Life
Ruger is in his early twenties. He lives in an upscale neighborhood in Lekki, Lagos. He resides in a well-furnished serviced apartment and owns a range of exotic cars.
He likes to unwind with his family members and friends when he is not traveling the world performing at sold-out shows and making music. He is a close friend of Rema. Both artists are signed to Jonzing World Entertainment, and D’Prince manages them.
Ruger is currently single, even though he receives advances from females regularly. He has a lot of female admirers. It is believed that his relationship status will change soon. He has been rumored to be dating Susan Pwajok, a model and social media influence. He came out to clear the air that they are just friends.
The handsome musician, Ruger is 24 years old and he is a Christian. He is currently single, not married but this is bound to change very soon.
He resides in Lagos in an apartment leased for him by his label. He has at his disposal a nice ride gifted to him by his label.
He is in Mavins now alongside the likes of Rema, Magixx, Ayra Starr, Korede Bello, Johnny Drille, Boy Spyce, Ladipoe, and Crayon.
Net Worth
The singer has built a fortune for himself since becoming a star in the industry. He is one of the highest-paid new generation artists in Nigeria.
Ruger‘s net worth is estimated to be US$300,000 to US$500,000.