From A Producer To A Global Superstar-Chapter 386: After...

The ride back from the studio felt strangely quiet compared to the noise and excitement they had left behind.

The SUV moved smoothly through the Lagos night traffic while streetlights passed across the windows in long streaks of yellow light. Inside the car, the engine hummed softly and the faint glow of phones illuminated the interior, but nobody spoke for the first few minutes.

Shina sat in the seat behind Dayo with the camera still resting in his hands. The strap was wrapped around his wrist like he was afraid it might disappear if he let go. His eyes kept moving between the camera screen and the window as if he was trying to convince himself that what had happened earlier was not a dream.

Finally he exhaled and leaned forward slightly.

"Bro... I no even know wetin to think."

"Like I don’t understand how everything move so fast."

Shina spoke as he didnt even know how he was feeling inside.

Sharon glanced back at him with a small smile.

"Your brain hasn’t settle yet abi ?."

Shina shook his head slowly.

"Guy I swear."

He rubbed his face with both hands before looking toward Dayo again.

"You do me dirty bro oo you just tell me say we dey go somewhere. You no tell me where."

Dayo simply listened.

Shina continued speaking, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and emotion.

"We enter studio. I see Davido with my own eyes. I still dey shocked from that one."

He laughed weakly.

"Next thing you know he say I go direct music video."

He leaned back into his seat again and stared at the roof of the car.

"Bro I no go lie. That thing shock me."

Nobody interrupted him because they could see the emotion building behind his words and they couldn’t deny that even them felt touched as how fast Shina’s life changed at a moment in his life he was just a fan boy and the next moment he is chilling with JD and now making a music video for Davido.

The shock, excitement and emotional turmoil he woukd be going through can be expected.

"I don’t even know wetin I do to deserve this kind support," he continued quietly. "You pick me when I be broke graduate wey just dey shoot videos because I like am."

His voice cracked slightly.

"I no even get equipment that time."

The car remained quiet except for the sound of the road.

Shina looked toward Dayo again and shook his head slowly.

"You carry me from nothing, bro."

There was a pause before he continued.

"I swear this one next level."

His eyes had begun to shine slightly as he spoke.

"I don follow you everywhere. I shoot videos because I enjoy am but I never imagine say something like this go happen."

For a moment nobody spoke.

Dayo turned slightly in his seat so he could look at him properly.

"You’re happy?"

Shina nodded immediately.

"Happy no even reach the word Wey i dey go through e remain small i for crze."

He laughed softly through the emotion.

"I almost cry for that studio."

sharon chuckled quietly.

"Hmm ate you sure its almost cause i was certain that i saw tears in your eyes."

The crew inside laughed.

Shina wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head.

"Guy I serious."

Dayo studied him for a moment before speaking.

"I helped you because I liked your work."

Shina lowered his head slightly.

"You deserve it," Dayo continued calmly. "It takes almost nothing for me to give someone an opportunity."

The words were simple but they carried weight.

Dayo leaned back against his seat and continued.

"So take it as me elevating you."

Shina looked up again.

"Once you grow," Dayo said, "you help elevate other people too."

The car remained quiet again for a moment while those words settled.

"That’s how it works."

Shina nodded slowly.

"I understand."

Then he smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

Sharon glanced back again.

"Now director."

Shina laughed.

"Abeg leave me."

The tension inside the car gradually softened as the conversation faded.

When they finally reached the house everyone stepped out and moved inside while discussing small things about the day. The long studio session had drained most of their energy, and it did not take long before Wayne and Sharon went to their rooms to rest.

But Shina did not go to sleep.

Instead he sat down at the workstation in the living area and placed the camera carefully on the table.

The room was quiet except for the faint sound of the air conditioner.

He connected the memory card and began transferring the footage.

The screen filled with thumbnails from the studio session.

Davido laughing.

Dayo adjusting the beat.

The moment Davido shouted in excitement.

The hug between the two artists.

And finally the moment when Davido told him he would direct the video.

Shina leaned back slightly in the chair and stared at the screen.

"Mad o this is crazy."

He said whispering not wanting to raise his voice and wake the house.

He opened the editing software and began working through the clips one by one.

Minutes passed.

Then hours after continuous cut, replace and edit.

The footage played repeatedly on the screen as he trimmed angles, adjusted sound, and arranged clips into a short sequence that captured the intensity of the moment without revealing too much of the song.

Around two in the morning footsteps approached from the hallway.

Dayo walked into the room holding a glass of water.

He stopped when he saw the glow of the computer screen.

"You’re still awake?"

Shina turned slightly.

"Yeah."

Dayo stepped closer and glanced at the screen.

"You’re editing already."

Shina nodded.

"I couldn’t sleep after such a busy day of such crazy event happening back to back"

Dayo smiled calmly placed the glass on the table and leaned slightly toward the monitor.

"Show me."

Shina replayed the short clip he had assembled.

It started with the moment Dayo adjusted the beat in the studio.

Then Davido’s reaction.

Then the shout from one of the producers when the new sound played.

And finally the moment Davido announced that he would collaborate on the song.

The clip ended there.

Dayo watched the entire thing quietly.

"That’s good."

Shina looked relieved.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He studied the screen again briefly.

"How long is it?"

"About twenty minutes of everything happening."

Dayo nodded.

"That’s enough."

Shina hesitated slightly before asking the question that had been on his mind.

"Should I post it?"

Dayo leaned back slightly.

He thought for a moment before answering.

"Post it."

Shina’s eyebrows lifted.

"Really?"

"Just a teaser."

Sharon walked into the room at that moment rubbing his eyes.

"What are you two doing?"

Shina turned the screen toward him.

Sharon watched the clip once and then chuckled.

"If this one touch internet... trouble go start."

Shina smiled nervously.

"That’s the idea."

He opened his social media page and uploaded the video.

The caption was simple.

"Today was a blessing."

He hit the post button.

For the first few seconds nothing happened.

Then the notifications began.

The phone vibrated.

Then again.

Then again.

Shina frowned slightly and refreshed the page.

The views were climbing quickly.

"Wait."

He refreshed again.

Ten thousand.

Then twenty thousand.

Sharon leaned closer to the screen.

"That fast?"

Shina refreshed again.

Fifty thousand.

The comment section had already started filling.

"Wait... is that Davido and JD in the studio??"

"What are they cooking?"

"Afrobeats about to shake."

Another refresh.

One hundred thousand views.

Shina leaned back in his chair slowly.

"Bro..."

Wayne laughed.

"I tell you."

Dayo stood behind them watching the numbers rise.

More comments appeared rapidly.

"This collaboration go break internet."

"JD and Davido?? That combination mad."

"I need this song immediately."

Another refresh.

Two hundred thousand views.

Shina scrolled through the comment section in disbelief.

Music blogs had already started reposting the clip.

Industry pages were sharing it.

Fan accounts were tagging each other excitedly.

He opened the message section and saw dozens of notifications from people asking what the collaboration meant.

Wayne shook his head slowly.

"You don light fire."

Another refresh.

Five hundred thousand views.

The comments continued pouring in faster than he could read them.

Shina laughed quietly.

"This thing dey move."

Dayo watched the screen calmly.

"That’s good."

Another refresh.

Eight hundred thousand.

Shina blinked.

"Wait."

He refreshed again.

One million views.

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Shina leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen.

"One million."

Wayne crossed his arms.

"In less than one hour."

Shina laughed softly in disbelief.

"Internet don catch am."

Dayo looked at the screen for a moment longer before turning away.

"Good."

Outside the house the Lagos night remained quiet, but somewhere across the internet the first sparks of excitement were already spreading rapidly through the music world.

And this time the entire industry had begun paying attention.