Nigerian music sensation, Crown Uzama, also known as Shallipopi, has revealed that his stage name was inspired by the 1994 Chinese kung fu comedy film Shaolin Popey.

In a recent interview with British media personality Madame Joyce, the singer revealed that he tried using his birth name, Crown, and nicknames such as Drip Face as a stage name before landing on Shallipopi.

He revealed that he discovered the film by accident while growing up.

According to him, his mother bought a Tom And Jerry CD for them but it turned out to be the film Shaolin Popey when they plugged it into their DVD player.

“I was looking for [stage] name, so I was like let me coin something from the movie Shaolin Popey, that’s how I came up with my nickname,” he said.

Shallipopi also revealed that Grammy-winning singer, Wizkid is his biggest musical influence.

He said, “All the artists are inspirations to me. I pick something from all of them. But Wizkid is my biggest influence.”

The ‘Oba Pluto’ crooner also hinted at having a song with Wizkid dropping soon.

“Wizkid is in his daddy era. It’s not even about money because there are a lot of people with money. I think it’s growth. He’s grown now. You can have money and be stupid so it’s growth,” Shallipopi said when asked to give insight about the song.

Vanguard News