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Who is Ruger?
The Nigerian music scene pulsates with vibrant energy, and amidst its many talented stars, a young artist named Ruger burns brightly. Michael Adebayo Olayinka, known to the world as Ruger, is not just another rising star; he’s a phenomenon who has taken Afrobeats by storm in a whirlwind of infectious melodies, captivating energy, and a lyrical prowess that is unbelievable for his young age.
Born on September 23, 1999, in Lagos, Nigeria, Ruger’s musical journey began early. He nurtured his passion for singing and songwriting throughout his childhood, honing his skills, doing freestyles on Instagram and waiting for the right moment to unleash his talent upon the world.
That moment arrived in 2020 when he met D’Prince, the CEO of Jonzing World Records. Impressed by Ruger’s raw talent and undeniable charisma, D’Prince signed him to his label.
Ruger’s first single, “One Shirt,” featuring fellow Afrobeats star Rema, dropped in January 2021 and sent shockwaves through the music industry. The song, with its playful lyrics and infectious groove, got over 70 million views in just three days.
In February 2021, Ruger released his debut EP, “Pandemic,”. The EP had a blend of Afrobeat, dancehall, and R&B influences with the single “Bounce” becoming the instant club banger that propelled Ruger to the forefront of the Afrobeats scene.
Ruger’s net worth in dollar is around $400,000. Converted to naira, that would be roughly ₦356,416,000.00 (three hundred fifty-six million four hundred sixteen thousand naira).
Ruger’s family
Parents and siblings
While there is lots of information about Ruger’s parents and siblings on the Internet, none was found from a reputable source. At the time of curating this article, Ruger had only stated himself that he has two sisters and is the second child in his family.
Wife, girlfriend, and children
Ruger is not married and doesn’t have kids yet. The question of him being in a relationship is 50/50. We’re not sure about any of the options since he has only been neutral on the subject. Sometimes he sounds like he’s seeing someone, some other times he sounds like he’s not.
Ruger’s educational background
Much is not known about Ruger’s early educational journey. What everybody knows is that he’s still an undergraduate though he has plans to go to school.
16 questions and answers on Ruger’s life

Is Ruger really blind? Why does he wear an eye patch? And when did he start wearing it?
A big no on this one! Ruger’s eyes are complete. According to him, “…the eye patch is a symbol of strength. There’s someone I really idolize, someone I really look up to; so I took it from him”.
When asked who the idol was, Ruger responded by saying the person is late and he wouldn’t want to talk about him because of the weight it bears on him.
Ruger started wearing the eye patch as a symbol of his brand when his record label ‘Jonzing World’ unveiled him as one of their artists.
Did Ruger’s parents support his pursuit for music?
Actually, his parents weren’t against him going into music. They only required that he rounds up with his university education first before getting into music.
But then, Ruger believes that God’s plan will always prevail. So to him, if the opportunity to go to school comes first; then he’ll go to school because that’s God’s plan. And if the opportunity to embrace music fully comes first; then it means God wants him to do music first.
As you know already, Ruger went on with his music career first. That means education will come in later.
Does Ruger go to church?
Okay, so here’s the thing. Ruger joins services in church but he doesn’t appear in person often. According to him, he prays and reads his Bible every morning and he catches up with services online.
Why did Ruger change his name from ‘Meeky Drill’ to ‘Ruger’?
The name change was really not Ruger’s plan. His record label Boss D’Prince gave him the name because he believed it to be more meaningful and striking for Ruger’s skills compared to the initial name.
At first, it was difficult for Ruger to adopt the name because of the weight it carried considering that it literally means ‘a gun’. In Ruger’s words, “…I didn’t know how to own up to the name because it’s a very hard name. D’Prince started fondly calling me Ruger. Then I felt like, okay let me take this name because then I felt like I had the strength to embody the name”.
Does Ruger feel pressured to drop hit songs!
Pressure will always be there no matter what but it really doesn’t have a hold on Ruger. One reason for this is because Ruger intentionally limits his expectations so doesn’t feel the pressure to do more. He only gives his best and leaves the rest to God and his fans.
Another reason why Ruger doesn’t feel pressured is because of his label. According to Ruger, the label has everything mapped out so he knows the path they’re walking. In his own words, “…we’re just waiting for the right time to press each button”.
Why did Ruger reference his mom severally on the track ‘Tour’?
According to Ruger, there was a time when he looked at himself in the mirror and promised himself that he would become so wealthy and big that he could easily take care of his family and mum. He made this promise way back before fame.
So as he grew and became prominent, he recalled that promise. For Ruger, ‘Tour’ was an opportunity to share his experience. In his words, “…many people are struggling with many things. Many talents are dying behind the scenes. Many people are not even heard about or heard of. It’s not easy to get to these places that we are so we have to use these platforms to help others. It’s not easy, ups and downs and all, but the ability to always get back up is very important. So ‘Tour’ is about my struggles, how I’m doing right now, how I’m traveling round the world, spreading my music, and how my fans are accepting me. How venues are being sold out.
In the song ‘Dear Ex’ Ruger said, “I broke your heart into pieces. Picked the pieces, broke it again piece by piece. I f**ked the lady next door, she’s a Mrs” Did that really happen?
So this is a very dicey one but it has a yes. First things first, Ruger confirmed during an interview that the lady next door was married but was a single mom. However, looking back to those experiences, Ruger said he has learnt how to tell the truth and not lie to anybody. In his words, “…I’ll just say it this is how it is or this is how it’s going right now. I don’t promise you no commitment. I’m not promising you anything. A lot of things can happen at any time. I’m just being me”.
How did Ruger feel when Davido mentioned him as one of the next big five artists popping in Nigeria and what’s his opinion of OGs in the industry?
It was definitely an exciting thing for Ruger hearing Davido mention him as one of the next big five artists on the rise. Ruger said, “I’m really happy about that because Davido is someone that has been supporting me right from the beginning of my career even before I came out. He saw me in September 2020 and heard some of my songs and he really loved it. He has been creating awareness even before the time I released my first song. So he knows me and I know him and he has always supported me right from the time. Burnaboy has also supported in his way. I opened the ‘02’ 2021 for Burnaboy. So, I mean, the OGs are the OGs at the end of the day. They see what’s happening and they never ignore you. That’s one thing I appreciate about them”.
Why is Ruger always bringing girls on stage?
This thing may be a part of Ruger’s personality. In fact, here’s exactly what Ruger has said about it, “…me am raw. I’m as raw as it comes. I just say it as it is, when I want to be funny, I’m funny and when I want to be serious, I’m serious. People keep posting videos that Ruger is raw on stage and keeps bringing girls on stage but I never stopped that because they’re just seeing it and don’t know the story behind it all.
“I’m a very interactive person with my fans. You can ask any one of my fans. Apart from that, I literally sit down sometimes and talk to them for like ten minutes on stage. That’s the way I am…and before I bring anyone on stage, I make sure my team gets their ID and make sure they’re of age. You can’t be eighteen or even nineteen and climb my stage. You have to be 21 and above.
I don’t care what anyone is saying and my personality stands strong. I have a very strong character so I do whatever I want to do just to make sure my fans are happy one hundred percent”.
How does Ruger feel about ‘Fake Ruger’?
Here’s a quick update before we move on: Fake Ruger is Ruger’s doppelganger from Kenya. Ruger wa Kayole literally imitates Ruger during live performances and he makes a living from it.
Now back to the question, Ruger has emphasized that to be impersonated means that he is big. We’ve had a Wizkid impersonator, a Burnaboy impersonator, and even two Davido impersonators. So Ruger interprets the whole thing to mean that he has a strong image worth reckoning with.
During an interview on BBC’s Radio 1XTRA, Ruger made it clear that he won’t stop his fake. He specifically said, “everybody must eat”. Ruger also said he’d bring Ruger wa Kayole on stage when he travels to Kenya for shows.
Ruger toured Europe, Canada, etc in 2023 ahead of his debut album. How did he do all that?
Actually the tour was initiated by Ruger’s manager. When Ruger was alerted for the tour he was even surprised because he had no album yet. This literally got him scared so went to the studio and recorded live with band members. Ruger practiced till his voice was strong enough and perfect for a back to back live performance.
It’s important to note that the kind of performance Ruger was going to deliver is not one that his song will play in the background and he sings along. He had to perform his tours with live instruments and his voice alone and he often performed all his tracks from the start till it faded.
What was the experience like for Ruger when he made his tour in 2023?
When quizzed with a similar question at an interview on the ‘Afrobeat Podcast’ Ruger kicked off his response saying, “First of all, you just have to be healthy to be in that type of position as an artist. I know some artists that had to cut their show off because of Health issues because it’s not easy to do this thing back to back”.
He continued saying, “Many times we go back to the hotel just to get our bags and move over to the next city. I remember Barcelona which was the last city – immediately I landed, I went to sound check first. So that’s the way it is. You have to be healthy first of all. Go to the gym to build stamina”
“Another thing is God. I can’t leave God out of it because he’s the only one that can give you the strength you need. If you like, think that you have the stamina; you might get on stage and just collapse”.
So it’s not all bliss on the road. There’s a lot of things that happen behind closed doors – fights”
What’s really the beef between Rema and Ruger?
This may come as a shock to you but Rema and Ruger aren’t beefing. The rumors and news is just fans and bloggers speculating and putting emphasis on little things that don’t really count.
During an interview on ‘E Central’, the issue of Rema and Ruger clashing on the fact that each of them have tracks titled ‘Bounce’ was raised and here’s what Ruger said, “…it was actually interesting because both of us actually had a conversation about it. We knew this would cause a lot of noise but we decided to just enjoy it and bounce along. Rema and I are coming together to take over”.
What does Ruger do in his spare time?
Before we answer that question, here’s a little shocker for you: Ruger doesn’t listen to music too much. Even in the car where you’d expect that he’d play songs, he doesn’t. He doesn’t even listen to his songs. So in his spare time, he’s busy watching anime or sleeping.
If Ruger didn’t do music, what else could he have pursued?
Asides music, Ruger could have been in the tech field because he wanted to study computer engineering.
What lessons has Ruger learned from the music industry?
Honestly, there’s a lot that Ruger has learned from the music industry but here’s the few he shared in his own words, “I’ve learnt that there’s only a few people that love you for you and many people want to be your friend just because of what they want to get from you, that’s just it. After that, they might not even talk to you again. I feel like the only artist friend I have that really loves me is Dremo and I love him too. I respect him so much. All the time I was mixing this album, he was in the studio”.
Ruger net worth and assets

Ruger net worth
Ruger has an estimated net worth of $400,000. Converted to naira, that would be roughly ₦356,416,000.00 (three hundred fifty-six million four hundred sixteen thousand naira). This impressive net worth is generated from his endorsement deals, show performance, streaming royalties, and other paid appearance deals.
Ruger’s house
2022 was a great year for Ruger, he took to his Instagram profile to share a video of his newly acquired multi million home.
Ruger’s car
Interestingly, Ruger isn’t publicly known to own any cars. While some online sources speculate about car ownership, there’s no confirmed information from reliable sources yet.
Ruger’s awards and recognitions
As a testament to his electrifying songs and vocals Ruger won the 2023 Soundcity MVP Awards as ‘Best New Artiste’.
In 2021, AFRIMMA (African Muzik Magazine Awards) nominated RUGER for Best NewComer 2021. They also nominated him for Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Reggae, Ragga or Dancehall and Most Promising African Artiste of the year.
Lessons to learn from Ruger’s life
- Follow your passion: Ruger knew from a young age that he wanted to be a musician and pursued his dream with dedication and hard work. This shows that it’s important to identify your passions and work towards them even if it’s challenging.
- Embrace hard work and perseverance: Ruger’s tour success didn’t happen overnight. Practiced to the extreme to get it right. Achieving your goals requires focus, hard work, perseverance, and resilience.
- Be kind and supportive: Despite facing competition, Ruger maintains a positive relationship with other artists and credits some of his success to their support. This shows the importance of being kind and supportive of others, even when competing for the same goals.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle: Ruger emphasizes the importance of staying healthy, both physically and mentally, to handle the demands of a successful career. Take care of yourself and prioritize your well-being.
- Manage expectations: Ruger doesn’t let pressure or expectations define him. He sets his own goals and focuses on enjoying the journey. As a young person, understand the importance of managing your expectations and not succumbing to external or self inflicted pressures.
- Be grateful: Despite his success, Ruger remains grateful for his blessings and the people who have supported him. Appreciate what you have and express gratitude.