By Aronke Gold
At first, when I saw the whole Nepo vs Lapo trend on X, I honestly thought Lapo was referring to people whose parents took loans from LAPO 😂. You know, LAPO, the microfinance bank that gives out small loans, sometimes as little as 20k. So I figured it was a funny jab at the kids of loan beneficiaries going up against the privileged Nepo Babies, the children of elites.
But as I kept scrolling through the threads, it became clear the joke had depth. It wasn’t just about class banter; it was social commentary.
On one side, you have the Nepo Babies, people born into privilege. Their parents’ names, wealth, or status automatically opened doors that others had to knock on for years. These are the kids who never had to worry about school fees, who interned at their uncle’s firm, or got their big break just because of their surname.
Then there are the Lapo Babies; the ones who came from the ground up. Children of everyday Nigerians who had to borrow money just to stay afloat. These are the kids who grew up with parents taking LAPO loans to pay school fees, buy goods for a small shop, or just to get through the month. They had no trust funds or family connections – just grit, street sense, and a long list of prayer points.
The conversation took a deeper turn when people started comparing success stories. Some argued that Nepo Babies had it easy, while Lapo Babies had to hustle twice as hard to get half as far. But here’s where the nuance comes in.
Not to downplay the effort of people like Davido who, despite being a clear-cut Nepo Baby, fought hard to earn his place at the top. Yes, he came from money. Yes, he had access. But access doesn’t guarantee longevity, especially in an industry like music, where talent, consistency, and branding matter. Davido could have easily dropped one or two songs and faded into the background, but he didn’t. He proved himself, time and again, in an industry that doesn’t care about your surname if the music isn’t good. That’s work. That’s strategy. That’s staying power.
So while it’s true that Nepo Babies start several steps ahead, it doesn’t mean some of them didn’t still run the race with grit. At the same time, we can’t ignore how much harder Lapo Babies have to work just to be seen. Many are talented, brilliant, and creative but without visibility or backing, their shine takes longer to catch fire, if it ever does.
At the end of the day, the Nepo vs Lapo banter is more than just laughs. It’s a mirror to society, highlighting how opportunity is distributed and how resilience is sometimes born out of scarcity. Whether you’re a Nepo Baby or a Lapo Baby, the real flex is showing up, staying consistent, and proving you deserve to be in the room, regardless of how you got there.
Do you think being a Nepo Baby automatically discredits someone’s success, or can both privilege and hard work coexist? Let’s hear your thoughts in comment.
