Seasoned Nigerian rapper Illbliss has voiced his profound grief over the departure of some prominent figures in the music industry from rap to afrobeats.
Illbliss reflected on the heyday of Nigerian rap in an interview with Radio Now 95.3 FM, emphasising how big names like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido got their start in the genre.
Illbliss believes that the hip-hop genre has lost a great deal with these artists’ transition to afrobeats, which has still brought them widespread recognition.
Illbliss acknowledged the commercial challenges faced by rap music in Nigeria, noting that it has struggled to achieve the same level of success as afrobeats.
He further emphasized that the list of successful hip-hop artists in Nigeria remains short, with only a few like himself, Vector, M.I., Reminisce, Olamide, and Phyno managing to make a notable impact.
“We (Hip-Hop community) lost a lot of our soldiers; we lost Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido. Three of them were rappers. I guess they found the afrobeats vibe and it made them global stars.
“Hip-hop is a tough sell in Nigeria. Not everybody has been as fortunate as myself or Vector, M.I., Reminisce, Olamide, and Phyno. It’s not a long list.”
Recall that, Illbliss speaks on his accomplishment in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Unlike most of his peers in the Nigerian music industry, the actor/singer took pride in his versatility.
He claimed to have been a successful banker before deciding to pursue a career in music.
According to Illbliss, he has always wanted to own property rather than just make music for the fun of it.
Speaking in a recent interview with Da Genius, Illbliss said:
“I was a banker for four years. I worked at four different banks. I was in a very high performance department called oil and gas. So I was dealing with upstream, downstream, and clients from drilling companies, construction companies.
“While in the banking industry, I went through a lot of departments. I went from treasury to risk management, to retail banking to private banking to Human Resources. So I’m not your typical Nigerian artiste. I can be rapping but I want to be able to own things and create magic out of entertainment properties.”
