Popular Nigerian veteran musician and dance hall star John Asiemo, popularly known as Daddy Showkey, has revealed that he was once a notorious criminal in Ajegunle, Lagos.

Daddy Showkey made this known in an interview with the Honest Bunch Podcast, narrating that he had access to guns, and that a gang member was burnt alive during one of their escapades.

"One day, when we were out in our usual style, one of the boys saw us and started screaming, 'Thieves, thieves, thieves,' and we ran. They caught me and my friend, and they tied us up, and they were going to burn us.

"I am a living testimony for every young man because if I, John, can be alive today to become Daddy Showkey, nobody can't become someone. We were saved miraculously, but unfortunately, they caught 91A and burnt him alive on the new road in Ajegunle. I was mimicking snakes and all sorts of animals," he said.

The Galala Crooner maintained that he is not ashamed to talk about his past because he is a living proof that someone from a background like him can later become somebody.

He pointed that his near-death experience ended up making him popular.

In his words, "It was that day I became famous. I have always told them in Ajegunle that they see me on the television. People are usually ashamed to talk about their past because it'll be used to mock them, but I'm not. I don't care. I was a lion in a garage. Someone told me to use my voice to shout in the garage for singing."